ABQ Ride has launched new features; including if riders are making a connection to another route, they can simultaneously keep track of where the bus is. That is just one of several new functions available with the latest version of the app. Among the new features on the improved app:
- Upon opening the app, it takes you directly to the Live Tracking page (the app’s most used feature)
- Users can now track multiple routes in Live Tracking
- App has direct access to Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) news, push notices and map
- Users can now easily view other apps like the ABQ 311 app from the ABQ Ride app
“The nearly 45 thousand people who’ve downloaded the app since June, 2012 already know how helpful it can be in tracking your bus and getting schedule information,” said Bruce Rizzieri, director of ABQ Ride. “But with new features such as tracking multiple routes, passengers now can make their connections more easily, as well as keep up with the progress of Albuquerque Rapid Transit.”
The ABQ Ride app was developed by Albuquerque-based APPCityLife, Inc. It made its debut in June, 2012, after City of Albuquerque data sets were made available to the public by Mayor Berry’s Open Data Initiative. That program encouraged the development of apps and services for public use. Since then, the ABQ RIDE app has been downloaded 44,900 times (as of Aug. 1). The app provides not only real time information about where buses are located (and now on multiple routes), but other information such as a trip planner (Plan My Ride), schedule and fare information, connections to websites, social media, special alerts about ABQ Ride’s routes and Rail Runner schedules and fares.
Since 2015, the ABQ Ride app has also featured superimposed maps of Albuquerque’s nearly 400 miles of bike trails, along with their proximity to ABQ Ride stops. Another addition is the Metro Savings Calculator feature. You can find it in the app by going to “Fares” and pressing on the feature labeled “What’s It Cost to Drive?” Users input a few numbers such as mileage to and from work, the cost of a gallon of gas, monthly cost for parking, car payment, etc. and get a figure for potential savings over a year’s time.
