The Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority (ATL) has officially launched trip-planning app ATL RIDES
The app lets transit customers plan their journeys across 13 counties via six transit agencies – Xpress, MARTA, Ride Gwinnett, CobbLinc, Connect Douglas, and Cherokee Area Transit System (CATS).
“The development of ATL RIDES is the culmination of the strong partnership between these six transit agencies in the metro Atlanta area,” said Jannine Miller, Executive Director of the ATL, in a press release. “Creating and launching this new app is a result of a new level of coordination across the region’s transit agencies.”
Miller said travelers will now have a “digital” one-stop-shop to plan a transit trip between origins and destinations served by different transit operators, whether you’re trying to get from Buckhead to the Battery or Austell to the airport.
Along with syncing up route and schedule options, the app also tells users what the total cost of the trip will be.
ATL RIDES provides the most up-to-date route information directly from the transit agencies. One of the most helpful features is the real-time vehicle arrival information that ATL RIDES offers to the app’s users, enabling riders to see when their next bus or train will reach their location.
Travelers with disabilities can also select a setting for wheelchair-accessible routes. Future plans call for the addition of micro-mobility, such as scooter share and bike share, and on-demand services such as paratransit.
“ATL RIDES, along with MARTA’s new Breeze Mobile 2.0 fare payment app, work together to take some of the guesswork out of taking a trip on transit, making it more accessible for all,” MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood said in the press release.
The ATL RIDES mobile app was funded through a $430,400 grant awarded to the ATL in 2020 from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) $20.3 million Integrated Mobility Innovation (IMI) program. The state also provided approximately $200,000 in matching funds from the Georgia Department of Transportation, as well as other local sources.
The app is available in the Apple and Google mobile stores.
This story has been updated to clarify the funding sources for the app.