As recently as August 31 of this year, the Clovis Transit released a new app that helps users schedule rides on the Round Up in a more precise and useful way.
Listed as the “Clovis Transit” and developed by Spare Labs Inc, this application that can be used on one’s cell phone, computer or tablet allows riders of the Clovis Transit to schedule rides, view routes, and have an overall experience that benefits the traveler according to City employees.
“The app is an enhancement of our services..the app for us offers additions that you normally wouldn’t get,” said Nick Chin, Management Analyst with the Clovis Transportation Division of the City of Clovis.
With the app, users can schedule rides 24 hours a day, a task that previously was unavailable to transit passengers. Passengers normally only had the option to call in a scheduled ride from 7 am to 5 pm, the transit’s daily hours.
Scheduling trips are also now logged in the app, allowing users to schedule rides up to two weeks in advance. Notifications from the app will update users when rides are scheduled, when a ride is a few minutes out, and can also allow users to track vehicles and their destinations, much like tracking a package from a delivery service.
Originally, passengers would have to call in rides each and every time to the transportation center in order to schedule rides, and while residents still can do this, with the transit app, they now can have the option of the aforementioned notifications and are able to plan accordingly.
“The benefits are being able to pull up your rides and see a history of what’s your schedule and what’s upcoming. Just having the ease of scheduling right there. The beauty of the app as well, is you can have someone using your phone schedule it for you.”
Having the notifications from the app is also a huge advantage according to Chin as he believes users now won’t have to wait outside for vehicles, but simply wait for a notification of a vehicle’s arrival from the comfort of their own home.
When asked why the City decided to create the app, Chin responded, “To better serve our passengers. We’re trying to cut down our wait times, and that’s one thing we’ve accomplished is our wait times have been cut approximately in half. Previously if people had to wait forty-five minutes to an hour, there’s plenty of times [now] where people are only waiting about twenty minutes.”
He went on to extrapolate that at the transit’s busiest time, the average wait time now is around twenty minutes, with the exception of a few longer waits of course. “There’s a lot of times where we’re picking up our passengers in five to ten minutes.”
The app also allows transit employees to see patterns and hot spots of pickups to further permit transit drivers to readily prepare routes that will allow the service of more passengers. Same day trips are being offered as well.
“It’s an enhancement of our service to be able to reach out to more passengers and make it more convenient to schedule and provide them with a lot more information than they ever received. Prior to the app they wouldn’t know where the bus is, they wouldn’t know how quickly the bus was gonna get to them- it allows them to plan their day more and not be waiting on public transit to arrive.”
To use the Clovis Transit, one has to be a Clovis resident and be pre-qualified by the transit authority. As for now the app is specifically used for ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) riders. Only those pre-qualified to use the Clovis Transit, will be allowed to schedule rides through the Clovis Transit app.
“It’s freeing them up and making the most use out of their time.”
The app is free and can be downloaded in whichever digital store one finds their apps.
ADDITION: City of Clovis Transit would like to add there are two separate transportation options offered. One is the Stageline fixed route bus and the other are the Clovis Roundup individual destination transport buses. The app is only applicable to reserve rides for the Clovis Roundup buses.