The Greenville Area Transit (GREAT) bus system is turning to mobile technology to boost customer service. Greenville’s public transit system has started using NextBus to let riders know when they can expect the next bus to arrive at their chosen bus stop.

“The number one customer question all transit systems get,” said Transit Manager Stephen Mancuso, “is ‘When is the next bus coming?’ Even those who ride every day ask this question because it is not always possible for the buses to be on schedule.  Sometimes traffic is heavy or the weather or a train has slowed the buses down – regardless, our customers will now have a chance to get the answer to that question faster and easier than calling our office.”

NextBus is a web-based system that utilizes GPS units on each bus to locate buses and accurately predict arrival times at stops along the route. Riders will no longer have to guess when the buses will arrive or if they’ve missed a bus. They will be able to get accurate information at their fingertips. Updates are available via a phone call, text message, a website, or City Compass, Greenville’s free smartphone app. People using smartphones will even be able to see a map which shows the location of their bus, updated every three seconds.

Mancuso said, “East Carolina University’s student bus service has been providing this service for some time now and we are excited to be able to offer the same service to all of our customers.  Even better, we have coordinated the two services so that everyone will know when the next bus will arrive, whether it is a GREAT bus or an ECU bus.”

The City of Greenville was able to purchase the NextBus service at a one-time cost of just under $50,000 using a Federal transit grant and money approved by the City Council. Ongoing costs of about $16,000 annually will also be split between the Federal grant and the City.

For more information about Greenville's award-winning GREAT bus system, call Stephen Mancuso at 329-4047.

### COG ###