County Launches Trip Planning App, Montgomery County, MD, 2023

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) has launched the Ride On Trip Planner app. This application, available through smartphones and with a web-based version, allows customers to plan shared mobility trips on DC Metro’s bus and rail system, buses through Montgomery County Transit (aka. Ride On), bikeshare, and shared e-scooters. Ride On Trip Planner is a white-label application supported by Moovit. The app offers real-time waiting times for transit services and ridership levels on Ride On buses through crowdsourcing information. Transit officials can also use real-time demand data through the application to determine whether or not to deploy additional buses along particular routes. This enables the transit agency to respond to changes in demand immediately instead of altering bus schedules weeks or months ahead.

MCDOT is funding this effort with a $468,820 Accelerating Innovative Mobility grant from the Federal Transit Administration. Platforms like Ride On Trip Planner are designed to ease peoples’ interactions with public transit and shared mobility systems, encouraging their use. Moreover, real-time data can provide transit officials and policymakers with better information for scheduling and funding decisions.

Last updated August 7, 2023