OC Transpo ditches iPhone app, partners with 'Transit' app

The 'Transit' app is loaded on an iPhone, showing OC Transpo information. (Ted Raymond/CTV News Ottawa)

OC Transpo is retiring its iOS app, effective immediately, and partnering with the 'Transit' app to provide riders with bus and train information.

The partnership also includes a free upgrade to Transit's paid-subscription "Royale" service, which includes full schedules, real-time bus tracking, and other interactive, gamified features. Paid subcriptions typically cost $24.99 per year, according to the app.

"The OC Transpo app no longer meets the needs of our customers, is limited to iOS mobile devices, and the departure data is not as accurate as it is on the Transit app," transit services general manager Renée Amilcar said in a memo to city council Wednesday. "Retiring the OC Transpo app and moving to the Transit app will allow us to focus on improving our real-time data quality to improve the customer experience."

The OC Transpo app is nearly 10 years old, OC Transpo says, and few customers use it because other apps, like Transit, are more popular.

Transit is available on iOS and Android devices.

According to a presentation before the transit commission in May, the Transit app is the most frequently used app by OC Transpo customers, with 37 million API calls, or requests for data, per month. By comparison, the OC Transpo iOS app had around 200,000 API calls per month. Other popular apps include BusBuddy and Ottawa Transit.

The OC Transpo app had a 2-star rating in the Apple App Store as of Wednesday. It is no longer downloadable. OC Transpo says if you still have it on your phone, it will remain there until you delete it, but there will be no new information on it after July 1.

App users must download the latest version (5.14.7) of the Transit app to receive the Royale upgrade, OC Transpo says. According to information provided in the app, the upgrade will come into effect automatically with regular use.

A statement from associate director of transit customer systems and planning Scott Laberge confirms the expanded service offered via the Transit app does not expire.

"OC Transpo’s partnership with Transit app provides anyone in Ottawa with an unlimited subscription to the app’s ‘Royale’ service," the statement says. "This expanded service offers additional features that address themes commonly noted in the feedback from our customers. This offer has no expiry date and customers will not have to pay."

Laberge says this partnership will cost OC Transpo around $180,000 per year.