Harford Transit riders may soon be able to look up the time their bus will arrive and get better curb-to-curb service.
The county's transit system was approved Tuesday for $371,560 in new software and hardware that will soon benefit customers of its LINK buses, acting Harford Transit administrator Robert Andrews said.
Harford Transit hopes to build a website where users can locate their bus and dial in to find out how far away the bus is, Andrews said after the Board of Estimates approved the software contract Wednesday.
Bus stops will be marked with a quick response code, the square bar codes that can be scanned by a smartphone, which patrons can scan to find their bus when they are at a stop, Andrews said.
It will also improve curb-to-curb service, allowing Harford Transit to more efficiently dispatch buses for its "demand response" program, as well as to organize passengers more efficiently, he said.
An IVR, or interactive voice response, system will be able to automatically call passengers the night before to inform them their bus is coming, he said.
The new system is an upgrade of the original, $181,249 contract, which created the new technology platform Harford Transit got last year, Andrews said. It brings the total funds granted toward the project up to $552,809.
Federal Transit Administration grant funds were approved to buy 28 "vehicle logic units" or "passenger counter devices," 28 stop annunciation systems and 20 licenses for IVR notification for demand response. The one-year contract is awarded to RouteMatch Software, Inc., of Atlanta, Ga.
Andrews told the Board of Estimates: "Since that grant [last year], technology has exploded in the transit management arena."
He also said the new system should be a big help for passengers.
"Our dispatch center gets bombarded every day, mostly 'Where's my bus?' calls," he explained. "We are trying to make it so we give as much information to our riding public as possible."
Most of Harford Transit funding comes from the federal government, whose priorities in turn determine the priorities of the local organization, Andrews said.
Lately, the feds have been very focused on technology, so capital grants are available mostly for items like this software-hardware package.
"Any time we can see a way to enhance our service for citizens of Harford County, we want to take advantage of it," Andrews said.