NICE's GoMobile Smartphone App Adds 'Next Bus' Arrival Features

WOODBURY, N.Y. - Nov. 9, 2015 - PRLog -- Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) bus, which last year became one of the nation’s first bus systems to offer smartphone app-based ticketing and trip planning, has just added  major new rider convenience features using GPS technology.  NICE’s free GoMobile app now automatically displays “next bus” arrival times and other useful information in real time on an easy-to-read digital map.

“When you give riders real-time information so they can meet the bus when it arrives, instead of just waiting for it to come, you’re fundamentally improving the bus transit experience,” said NICE Chief Executive Officer Mike Setzer.  “Not only is NICE on the cutting edge in providing easy-to-obtain and easy-to-use customer features, but it is using technology to improve the county bus system’s reliability and functionality.”

Launched in June 2014, the GoMobile application has now been downloaded more than 30,000 times.  It is available for both Android and IOS as a free download.  Smartphone-based transit tools have become an industry standard at many larger transit agencies in the U.S., however they are less common in suburban systems.

GoMobile can now pinpoint a rider’s location and track buses on nearby routes to easily see when they will arrive and how long it will take the rider to walk to a specified bus stop.  Riders can see if there are delays, how long the delays are, and possible alternate routes and schedules.  Users can save and display favorite routes, and set alarms to notify passengers of the arrival of a bus and to remind them of pending bus departures.  The app also enables riders to purchase tickets in seconds, anytime and anywhere.

GoMobile also offers real-time arrival information for connecting transit systems, including the LIRR, MTA bus and subway and Suffolk Transit.  This is especially important to many of the 100,000 daily NICE bus passengers who use NICE to commute to and from New York City, and connect to the city’s subway and bus system.  Bus arrival information is also available at www.nicebus.com.

“NICE believes these new features will encourage wider adoption and use of GoMobile among riders who haven’t used previously available mobile ticketing and trip planning features, but will download the app to access bus arrival features,” said Setzer.  For those who already have GoMobile, when they open the app they will be alerted to the new feature with a message across the top.  It will then ask if the user wants to download The Transit App --- NICE’s platform partners in providing this information.

New GoMobile features were made possible by NICE’s new technology platform that features Advanced Vehicle Location and Global Positioning System technology to create an “air traffic control” approach that improves system management and reliability.  NICE Information System is being designed and installed by Clever Devices, based in Woodbury.

NICE is a public-private operating partnership between Nassau County and Transdev.  While Nassau County continues to own the system and make major strategic decisions, Transdev manages all aspects of the transit system under contract to the county, effectively serving as the transit agency.   NICE provides almost 100,000 rides daily with a fleet of 300 fixed route buses and 95 paratransit vehicles.