In May 2020, Metro launched a no-cost partnership with Transit, making it Metro’s official trip planning app at no cost to the agency. Transit replaced Metro’s previous app.
That partnership is now coming to an end. It was a very productive partnership that we think gave riders a better trip planning tool than we had previously offered. Our goal going forward is to try to develop a single app for Metro with all our offerings, including trip planning.
What does Metro recommend to riders right now if they are looking for an app?
Core features of Transit are still available for free (see below). We have a trip planner on our website at metro.net that is also available for mobile phones. Many different apps pull data from Metro that are used for trip planners, including Transit. Check out this page for some popular options.
We want to commend Transit for being good partners. Their app is not going away. App features in Transit will continue to be available after the end of the partnership with or without a Royale subscription, including:
•Real-time countdowns and tracking for nearby, upcoming bus and rail services
•Trip planning
•Notifications of service disruptions
•Locations of nearby Metro Bike Share stations
•Connecting options such as scooters, Uber, Lyft, and Curb taxis
•Transit’s GO feature, which offers step-by-step navigation, crowdsources real-time vehicle locations to provide more precise information to other riders, and allows riders to answer Rate-My-Ride questions about their trip.
Royale is Transit’s subscription service which includes additional app features and information such as departure information for lines farther away or trips further in the future. While Transit was Metro’s official app, Royale was offered for free to all Metro riders.
Now that Transit is no longer Metro’s official app, users may purchase their own subscription for $4.99/month or $24.99/year.
Transit is giving away free Royale subscriptions to low-income app users, available upon request in the app. Transit’s trip planner, in which riders enter a destination and receive a detailed trip plan using public transit, remains free for all riders in the app.
Metro and Transit are proud of the tools developed together, especially during the pandemic. These include bus crowding predictions, the real-time display of canceled bus trips, integration of Metro Micro into Transit’s trip planner and display of COVID vaccination sites, among other features.
Additional information about the partnership can be found on Transit’s website.
Categories: Projects, Technology
What a mistake. Metro’s old app was total junk. Transit was reliable down to the second.
Hi JB;
The Transit app isn’t going anywhere. You can still use the core functions for free.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
why reinvent the wheel?
I figured Metro providing the upgraded version of the Royale app to its passengers for free was too good to last
This is awful; Transit is such a well developed app, and Metro should’ve worked to renew the partnership. It’s especially important for people who connect to municipal operators like Long Beach Transit and Norwalk Transit for their commutes/trips.
Will the app that Metro develops integrate other systems like Metrolink, LADOT, Culver City Bus, Santa Monica Blue Bus, etc?
Metro’s app was by far the most terrible of the bunch.
To be honest, transit is better off. Metro’s data was ALWAYS off, some vehicles would randomly disappear in app. Weekday schedules would appear during holidays. Overall a bad experience but again, that’s thanks to Metro’s data rather than Transit’s app.