Current practices and emerging trends of transit apps for fixed-route bus services in the US

In the past decades, smartphone transit apps have emerged as a cost-effective strategy to enhance the transit user experience. This study provides an overview of transit apps used in 295 US transit agencies to shed light on the current practices and future trends of transit apps as a comprehensive information technology that serves public transportation. By conducting interviews with 21 transit industry leaders, we synthesized the perceived benefits and costs of transit apps and identified challenges and the corresponding strategies. Transit apps enhance user experiences by enabling account-based mobile fare payment and efficient two-way communications. To provide high-quality transit apps to passengers, transit agencies need to improve the reliability of underlying data and vendor management. In addition, five existing business models and emerging trends of transit apps were identified and discussed. The findings of this study advance knowledge about transit apps and provide practical recommendations for future improvements and implementations.