Screenshot from NOLA Transit, Photo via Transport for NOLA

Anyone that has ever been carless in New Orleans understands the frustration RTA users face waiting on the bus. More and more people are using smart phones that can provide them with information on routes and times to ease the transit stress, but one local software developer decided that national GPS trackers and mapping systems wouldn’t cut it. Joel Carranza developed the first local transit app, NOLA Transit, for the city’s Iphone users. 

RTA has made some drastic improvements since the federal flood, but residents were still lacking a local app to guide their routes. Carranza heard their call, and NOLA Transit boasts features such as step-by-step directions, complete lists of bus and streetcar lines, and timetables for all stops and schedules. The key element of the app is that users can access it without internet or cell phone reception. Local nonprofit Transport for NOLA issued a statement about the new feature.

“NOLA transit is a great resource for both the everyday transit rider and those new to riding the bus and streetcar. With the RTA’s newly open transit data, Joel was able to create a tool that makes riding transit easier and more attractive,” said Rachel Heiligman, Executive Director of Transport for NOLA. 

Heiligman’s statement refers to the city’s  new push to make public transportation more accessible. The RTA now provides real time data on their buses and streetcars online.

Carranza frequents the RTA lines, and he knows firsthand the struggles that New Orleanians who depend on public transportation face getting from A to B. Although the local software developer hasn’t figured out a way to make the buses run on schedule, he’s happy to help people navigate their routes in the meantime.

“I’m a bus person, and I kind of hated all the options out there, so I took the opportunity to build an app,” said Carranza. The new app is available for purchase now at the Iphone App Store, and Carranza said it’s worth the $1.99.

“It has schedule information for the entire RTA, direction services so that you can type in, ‘I’m here, I want to go there,’ easily,” said Carranza.

NOLA Transit is especially useful now that Apple’s newest Iphones have eliminated transit mapping capabilities, forcing users to map out their directions at home.

Although the app doesn’t feature GPS tracking yet, it's on its way to being the next parade tracker. Carranza said that real time updates are “the next big thing.” 

“That’s sort of in the works,” he said. “We have schedule information, and the next version of the app will be focused on real time location of the buses.” 

Carranza said the $2 users will spend on NOLA Transit will just cover operating costs. “I have to run a server, and it basically just covers the costs of service,” said Carranza. “This is not a money making venture for me,” laughed the software developer.

The app’s creator said his primary goal was making something specific for New Orleanians. “There are a couple of different bus apps that attempt to solve the problem of, ‘oh, you’re trying to ride a bus from here to New York,’ but I’m trying to make something that’s finely tuned to the city that I live in and make it better and more efficient,” said Carranza. Iphone users can purchase the app here.