Freedom Transit rings in New Year with new amenities – Observer-Reporter

Freedom Transit is leaning into the New year, new you mantra.

The transportation company, which connects greater Washington County to the Mon Valley and Pittsburgh, recently completed upgrades to five area bus stops and rolled out a mobile app that provides riders with real-time bus information.

Its something thats been in the works for about ... the past year, said Alexandra Sakalik, Freedom Transits outreach and marketing director. Dark hits at 4, 4:30, now. We wanted something that was safer for our riders.

To ensure rider safety and make waiting for the bus more comfortable, Freedom installed new shelters, complete with benches and lights, at five locations throughout Washington and Canonsburg.

The sites upgraded with shelters, seating and solar-powered lighting are stops at Beau Street Park and Ride, Crumrine Tower, Jefferson Avenue outside of Pathways, Valleyview Terrace and Southpointe Park and Ride.

These are just safer places for our riders to wait, especially now that we have the benches, Sakalik said. Weve already identified a couple locations for our next phase.

Sakalik said rider input and traffic patterns factored into which stops received upgrades, and the next phase of upgrades should be completed in fall 2022.

While some riders wait for seating and lighting to be installed at additional stops, the wait for a real-time bus ride app is over for all Freedom Transit commuters.

At the beginning of December, the company launched a mobile app that offers a variety of commuter data. Created in collaboration with developer Modeshift, the app uses Google Maps so riders can track their bus in real-time and locate the bus stop nearest them.

Lets just say youre closest to the Local A, said Sakalik. (The app) will tell you how many more minutes, give you directions in order to get to the bus stop.

Riders can also link their smartcards to the app, which means the app can be used in place of physical bus passes. Commuters can also pay for rides through the app.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Sakalik said more than 70 Freedom Transit riders had installed the app to their smartphones a number much higher than the company expected, given the app launched only two weeks ago.

We think thats a pretty good number, Sakalik said, noting the first pass sold through the app was a Prexie pass (Freedom Transit offers Washington School District students discounted rides).

Freedom Transit is, like several area transit companies, looking for ways to welcome commuters back on busses after the number of public transportation riders dipped during the global pandemic. The company hopes new amenities, including free on-board WiFi, which was rolled out over the summer, and upgraded stops will encourage folks to hop aboard.

This past year has really been an up-and-coming year for us, said Sakalik. I think a lot of transit agencies are pulling out all the stops to get riders back. We have a lot going on. Were just happy to be a part of that change and happy to get new riders and bring back old riders alike.

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Freedom Transit rings in New Year with new amenities - Observer-Reporter