Smart Ride Makes Public Transit A Little Smarter

Public transit systems are not only a boon to the environment, they’re also a boon for the savvy small business. But getting all those schedules straight isn’t always easy to do. Smart Ride from Codemass looks to make it a lot easier for Apple users, especially those with the new iPhone 5.

Smart Ride focuses on providing access not only to routes for public transit systems, but also offer information about vehicle delays, route information, stop locations and more. They’ll even connect to a GPS system for real-time arrival times up to the minute, showing just when a bus or train or the like is set to arrive at a designated stop. Of course, that kind of information can also be applied in other directions, showing when vehicles are to arrive at other stops, so accurate scheduling can be done across a wider swath of geography.

Smart Ride offers support for a substantial array of transit authorities in many major cities, but it looks like California and New York will be the most represented locations, including support for the iconic cable car line in San Francisco.

The advantage to something like this is that users will be able to make the most of the public transit options available in areas that they’re operating out of, or at least in which they’re temporarily operating. For those who spend a lot of time doing business in Los Angeles or New York City, then something like this could be an utter godsend. Those doing business in, say, Charlotte or Dubuque or Boise will be left largely high and dry here with a few notable exceptions like the University of Minnesota and Western Kentucky University. So while this may be a very nice piece of work indeed, it’s not going to be universally nice. There may well be additions later on, so if nothing else, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on. And given that it’s a free app, there’s nothing to lose by picking it up and letting the tide of updates roll on.

So while Smart Ride isn’t smart for everyone, it’s smart for a good chunk of people, and adding more regularly. That makes this one well worth looking into.

Related keywords: cloud-based telephony, Apple, GPS navigation software, iPhone 5