The mobile app is called Transit, and it gives users real-time arrival and departure times for buses, rails, subways and other public transportation options in more than 200 cities worldwide, including Miami. According to a news release, the app already has information on public transit systems in and around Miami-Dade County, including the Tri-Rail, Brightline, Broward County Transit and municipal trolley lines. But as of today, the app’s predictions about Miami-Dade Transit — the region’s public transit authority, including the Metrorail, Metrobus and Metromover — will come from Swiftly, which purports to be up to 30 percent more accurate than other prediction engines.
Swiftly and Transit, which is based in Montreal, have built similar collaborations in San Jose, Calif., Boston and Baltimore.
“Our mission is to help people get around cities without using their own car,” said Transit Chief Business Officer David Block-Schachter in a statement. “When agencies like Miami-Dade Transit switch to Swiftly, we always see a big improvement in data quality, along with a drop in rider complaints. This is great news for riders.”
Swiftly CEO Jonathan Simkin said in the statement that his company was founded to make transit agencies more efficient by boosting the accuracy of their analytics and predictions, so the Super Bowl means showtime for them, too.
“This will be more important than ever during the Super Bowl where heavy congestion is expected across Miami,” Simkin said. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Miami-Dade County and Transit to deliver a best-in-class rider experience that will help boost transit ridership and reduce congestion on game day.”
For those who prefer to hail a ride with Uber or Lyft, or alternative mobility options like bikes and scooters, the Transit app also includes a Transit+ feature for planning multimodal trips while getting updates on rail connections.
