1:01pm | Long Beach Transit has announced that it is the first public transit agency on the West Coast to offer riders the ability to track the movement of its fleet of buses in real time by phone.
LBT said in an announcement Tuesday that the No. 1 most frequently asked question the agency receives is, “What time is the bus coming?”
This question can now be easily and quickly answered by calling customer service at 562-591-2301 and entering the four-digit bus stop ID number, which is located in the bottom right corner of each bus stop sign. The automated system, which uses GPS technology to identify the exact location of a specific bus in real time, will then provide the arrival time of the next three buses scheduled to stop at that stop.
Marcelle Epley. a spokeswoman for LBT, said that the new system also provides trip planning for future bus travel.
The new automated tracking service augments Long Beach Transit’s existing live bus tracking electronic displays at 60 LBT bus stops, on 228 LBT buses, on the LBT website and a touch screen kiosk at the downtown Transit and Visitor Information Center at First Street and Pine Avenue, Epley said.
“This much anticipated new feature is really exciting for our customers,” said Mark Curtis, chair of the LBT Board of Directors. said Mark Curtis, Chairman of the LBT Board of Directors, in a statement. “Through GPS tracking of our buses, this latest technology provides a quick informational resource for our customers 24-7.”
Telephone operators will still be available to assist riders with transit trip planning from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Additional information can be obtained by visiting LBT’s website at LBTransit.com.