• by Ray Schultz , December 31, 2019

Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) has upgraded its rider alert system, moving beyond sometimes outdated emails tied only to specific light rail and bus lines, according to an announcement posted in Mass Transit. 

The agency has streamlined its data feed so that real-time information is available via email, in apps such as Google Maps and in platforms such as Next Ride and Trip Planner.

Previously, employees had to manually research routes, then write alerts.

Riders can subscribe to alerts at the station level. These will initially be delivered by email, but the RTD expects to add text messages, by popular demand.

Cancelled light rail trips, which were not included in same-day itineraries in Trip Planner, will be marked as “cancelled” in Next Ride and removed from Trip Planner. Also covered are commuter rail trips. 

Thousands of people had opted in for updates prior to the upgrade. But Next Ride and Trip Planner sometimes displayed false predictions or incomplete information 

“I think a lot of riders have the impression that we don’t put information out because we don’t want to,” states aid Virginia Johnson, lead digital customer relations liaison for the RTD.

The upgrade is being funded with a Colorado Department of Transportation FASTER Transit Grant that will pay for the $20,000 needed to get the platform running, and the $120,000 annual subscription cost.