It’s an exciting day for Transit Windsor.
The bus service officially launched the Umo Mobility app.
The launch is part of a multi-million-dollar investment to modernize Windsor’s transit services, providing riders with more ways to pay fares and access transit services.
Riders can download the free Umo app, and after signing up, they can load and reload funds, manage transit accounts, and access trip planning and real-time transit information.
Transit Windsor Executive Director James Chacko says Umo provides many benefits.
“It allows for trip planning; it allows people to find out what utilizing the AVL system where their buses are to help them with their trip planning, with route frequency,” says Chacko. “So it’s more than just making it more convenient to pay; it’s also helping riders provide them with opportunities to make the ridership experience more convenient.”
He says almost 12,000 people have already downloaded the app.
“Overall the response has been really, really, really good,” he says. “There’s been some questions; we’ve been helping to provide that information and educate and engage with people. The team has been going out to the university, the college, different high schools, and different community partners to really make sure everybody’s on board.”
Chacko says for the last six weeks, Transit Windsor has been educating and providing information to riders about the app.
“We’re starting to see people come in even in the last six weeks, getting comfortable, getting their cards changed over, and getting the app loaded on their phone, and there was a number of people in some of the engagements, really chomping at the bit, waiting for this day to happen,” says Chacko.
Transit Windsor users can still continue to pay a cash fare or use a Umo reloadable card if they are not using the Umo app.
All levels of government contributed towards the $3.53 million Umo project.
