Oct. 2, 2009, 12:00 a.m. - The District Department of Transportation, Office of Planning, and Office of the Chief Technology Officer launched a new version of the DC Circulator’s “Where’s My Bus?” application for Apple’s iPhone™ with advanced features.  “Where’s My Bus?” is a simple, easy to use mobile technology app that lets DC Circulator riders check to see how close the next bus is whether they are at home, the office, or on the go.

iPhone™ users can find the application by searching for “DC Circulator” in iTunes or the Apple App Store.  The application costs $0.99 to download.  Once “Where’s My Bus?” is loaded, riders simply select a Circulator route and bus stop and the app will pinpoint the location of the next bus using real-time GPS data.  The iPhone™ application also includes maps of all 5 Circulator routes.

A free version of “Where’s My Bus?” for all web-enabled mobile devices was released in June and is still available at circulator.dc.gov.

The District government developed the Circulator bus mobile application in-house, completing the project remarkably quickly and at minimal cost – it was a joint agency effort to improve the public transit experience using available staff expertise and resources. As an “open source” application, any municipality with a similar bus system and real-time GPS data can adapt and implement the application at minimal cost to increase the convenience of using transit and ultimately improve mobility in urban areas across the country.

In addition, all Circulator data is being made publicly available to encourage other developers in our area to build their own, better applications. Other applications developed using District data are available in the D.C. government App Store at http://appstore.dc.gov.

The DC Circulator surface transit service was launched in July 2005 and has transported more than 8 million workers, residents and visitors quickly and inexpensively around central Washington since its inception. The Circulator has five routes connecting through the District’s commercial core, and the 43 buses have low floors, multiple doors for easy on-and-off service, and large windows for easy viewing along the route. The Circulator has a simple fare structure of $1 per ride making it easy for people to hop on the bus and pay cash, or purchase tickets in advance online or at curbside multi-space parking meters. Circulator buses arrive at stops every ten minutes throughout the day. Additional information and a link to the “Where’s My Bus” application can be found on the official DC Circulator web site at www.dccirculator.com.