Centro has plans to release a free app next spring that will track the location of on- and off-campus buses.

The app has been in development for the last two months and will be available in the iTunes store when it’s released, said Steve Koegel, vice president for business development and corporate communications at Centro. Centro hired Alesig Consulting to develop the app for them, and they are still in the early stages and expect that it will take a couple of months to complete.

Allan Breese, director of business and facilities maintenance services at Syracuse University, said one of the main functions of the app is allowing students to track the route of various buses.

“After you set the app up on your phone, you will be able to put in a route number and be able to see where the bus is on the route,” Breese said.

Parking and transit services are supportive of the developing app, Breese added.

The app is particularly convenient for students who live on South Campus and ride the buses everyday to get to classes, Breese said. One of the advantages of the app is that it will cut down on the amount of time students spend waiting for the bus, he said.

“Let’s say you are a student on South Campus — you know that the bus is three minutes away and you can be there in one minute. That’s just one example,” Breese said.

Rina Matsuno-Kankhetr, a junior international relations major, said the app would make it less hectic to catch the bus.

“I’ve definitely had multiple occasions where I had to sprint to the bus stop from my apartment when the buses were pulling up,” she said.

Matsuno-Kankhetr said she thought it would be great if the app comes with an alert system that would prevent her from running for the bus.

Samantha Linnett, a junior public relations and policy studies dual major, said that the app would be particularly useful with the Syracuse winter approaching soon.

“I think that it would be extremely helpful, especially when it’s cold, to not have to wait outside so long for the bus, because you don’t know when it’s coming — the app could just tell you when the bus is there and you could go out accordingly,” Linnett said.

Maryangel Rodriguez, a junior international relations major, said the app is necessary because the current system isn’t as informative as it could be.

“I think it’s a good idea because the bus shelter doesn’t have a working system,” she said. “I would like to be able to keep track of when the bus is coming, especially in the colder months.”

Koegel said that most companies are looking for new and easier ways to reach consumers.

“This is a day and age where all companies providing services are looking to get on the mobile platform,” Koegel said.

Published on September 24, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Rawan: rashoor@syr.edu