Fredericton transit users can now track buses and plan their daily routes with a new app called ReadyPass.
The City of Fredericton officially launched the smartphone application on Sept. 20, following a Transportation Committee meeting.
ReadyPass CEO Alex Kall says he and co-founders Amy Colford and Taeler Dixon created the app and approached the city after they realized there was a need to improve transit service.
Kall says the app is all about viability and improving access to transit users. He says it allows people to see where the bus is in real time and allows people to plan their route and their departure time.
He says the app will help transit users get to their stops on time.
“We like to think that it’s very easy to use for anyone,” Kall said.
Kall says there were early prototypes running on two buses since fall 2015 and all 28 buses were equipped with the remaining prototypes in June. He says they opened up beta testing to a small community of users who tested the app during the summer. Kall says they collected feedback and used it to improve ReadyPass before the official launch.
“It’s a great feeling seeing people being able to benefit from the technology we’ve been working on. This week … it’s become very real to us,” Kall said.
Propel ITC entrepreneur-in-residence, Al Sturgeon, worked with ReadyPass to facilitate business transactions and position their platform. He says Kall and his team have done a great job working with the city. Sturgeon says he wants to see ReadyPass take what they’ve done in Fredericton and implement it around the world.
“It tells other start-ups that the opportunities are there,” Sturgeon said.
He says start-ups should pursue opportunities and share ideas with other entrepreneurs.
Fredericton Chamber of Commerce CEO Krista Ross says ReadyPass joined the chamber’s start-up member category and attended networking events. Ross says Kall and his team spoke with other members of the business community to get ideas and gather input.
“I think it says that Fredericton is open for business, and I think it says that we want to support start-ups and we want to be an innovative, smart city,” Ross said.
Ross says she hopes the app will help increase ridership.
Kall says the app will also eventually include a digital payment system so users can pay their bus fare through their phones. He says the plan is also to have buses accept debit cards. Kall says the goal is have users be able to use their phones, or smart cards, as bus passes.
“I haven’t had cash in my wallet for a couple years, so we’re trying to just get the transit experience to have the same kind of convenience that people are used to,” Kall said.
Fredericton’s manager of Transit and Parking Services, Darren Charters, says the management side of the app is important for the city to be able to collect data.
“We want to know if our operators are on schedule or not,” Charters said.
He says in the future the plan is to collect data so they know where the buses are and when people are getting on and off the buses — providing the city with ridership information so they can make the necessary adjustments to schedules, and other aspects of the transit system.
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