Where's my bus? Sault transit offers real-time tracking

Sault Ste. Marie Transit is joining the rest of northern Ontario in launching a means for passengers to track their bus and get real-time updates on its location.

The city is teaming up with engineering firm Consat Canada to develop the system, which uses the AnyRide app. The app uses GPS technology to pinpoint exactly where a bus is and how close it is to your stop.

Sault Ste. Marie's director of community services, Brent Lamming, said this is part of the city's "Intelligent Transportation System," which aims to make the transit experience as easy as possible. He said it's one of many initiatives Sault transit is working on.

"The introduction of the BlindSquare app helping people with visual challenges, the on-demand transit initiative…and we're looking also at procuring more buses that have been authorized by city council," said Lamming.

The CAO of Consat Canada, Roger Sauve, meantime, said the technology gathers data that transit systems can use to improve services and compare with other transit providers.

"Very happy to get Sault Ste. Marie in the group," said Sauve. "That actually closes the loop for all the northern Ontario properties, which is tremendous. Also for the transit properties who want to share information, share experiences, how they use the system and how they use the data."

Sauve points out that the Consat system is also being used in other northern Ontario municipalities such as Sudbury, North Bay and Timmins.