Transit, the Trip-Planning App, Now Sells RTD Tickets

Starting today, people who ride the Regional Transportation District’s buses and trains can buy tickets from Transit, the mobile trip-planning app. The company says its user-friendly fare payment option comes within an app that 35,000 people in the Denver Metro already use, both facts that RTD emphasized in a joint statement with the company.

“RTD’s riders are already using Transit every day to plan their trips and track our buses and trains,” said RTD CEO and General Manager Dave Genova. “Offering them the ability to buy our tickets through Transit provides additional convenience, making it more intuitive for people to complete their trips as easily as possible.”

RTD has failed to offer intuitive design within its own app, which launched in 2017 and remains ugly, clunky and confusing. But when Uber started selling RTD tickets within its app in January, it offered a more user-friendly option. Transit, too is likely to offer a smoother experience. The company describes its app as “simple, reliable and oh so pretty.”

Trip planning is the core feature of the Transit app, which has been around for seven years, according to the company’s website. Users can enter a destination in a search box to pull up a range of mobility options and prices, including trips by Uber, Lyft, B-cycle, scooter and public transportation.

Today the app also launched the ability to create an account, which will allow users to pay for mobility options in other cities.

“This new feature allows Transit users to enter their payment information once to purchase transit and bikeshare passes from a broad range of operators,” said the statement. Payments can be made “in cities across North America, including Citi Bike in New York; Capital Bikeshare in Washington, D.C.; Bike Share Toronto; Divvy in Chicago; and BIXI in Montreal.”

RTD has a poor record when it comes to user experience design. In addition to its awkward mobile app, its MyRide tap-to-pay card lacks critical features and its new discount program requires users to navigate an arduous, glitchy and barely functional website through the state’s Peak social services system.