Transit is RTA’s officially endorsed mobile app, and provides real-time arrival information for transportation services across the region. Whether you’re checking where the bus is, planning a trip to somewhere new, or want to pay your bus fare, Transit and RTA have you covered.

Getting started

 

When you first open the app, Transit uses your location to pinpoint the bus routes and other transportation services that are nearby.

Note: Be sure to allow Transit to access your location data during the setup process.

The route display provides pertinent information such as the route numbers, direction, and the name of the closest stop.

Swipe left or right on a route to switch between inbound and outbound route information. When you see a flashing wave icon next to an arrival prediction, that means there’s a GPS tracker on the bus providing the prediction.

Note: Since real-time arrival is based on current bus location, these predictions may change depending on traffic or weather conditions.

Tracking your bus

 

When you tap a route for more information, you’ll see a screen showing a route map, the next three departures, active and future alerts, and a list of stops – all in one place!

 

Planning your trip

 

From the main screen, tap the green search bar to plan a trip or search for a specific transit line. The icon on the right estimates travel times to your favorite destinations, like home or work.

When you choose an origin and destination, you can compare trips side by side. Tap a result for more details.

 

Service alerts

Service advisories from RTA are displayed in the app. When an alert is active, you will see an exclamation mark beside the route number. You can also choose to receive push notifications to your phone when alerts are issued.

 

Favorites

Always take the same routes? Tap a route and then tap the star icon to add it to your favorites. Favorite routes always show up at the top of the list on the home screen when they are nearby. You can also view and modify your favorite routes and service alert subscriptions on the Settings page.

Paying your fare

Buying an RTA ticket on Transit is easy.

Start by tapping the “Buy Ticket” button.

Choose the ticket you want to purchase.

Enter your payment information.

Confirm your purchase, and choose to use your ticket now or save it for later.

When you’re ready to ride, activate your ticket. Look for the contactless scanner which is installed at the front of the bus. Scan your phone against the reader until the light turns green. A single beep indicates successful payment.

WHERE ARE MY TICKETS?

Tap the “gear” icon (top left corner of the main screen). Under “My tickets,” you can see the passes you have available, or purchase additional fares.

HOW DO I GET FREE TRANSFERS?

Base $2 fares purchased in Transit are valid for 90 minutes and eligible for free transfers system-wide. This means that buying your fare with Transit is a big upgrade over regular cash fares, which do not support transfers.

WHAT IS FARE CAPPING?

With fare capping, instead of buying passes in advance, you can also simply pay for each ride as you go. Once you’ve ridden enough to earn an unlimited pass, boom! You’ll be upgraded, you won’t be charged for additional rides until that pass expires.

This means you’ll never pay more than the cost of a day pass in a day, or more than the cost of a month pass in a month. You only pay for the trips you actually take – saving you money, and giving you more flexibility.

Download Transit today… and get more time back from your busy schedule!

No smartphone? No problem.

Unable to download Transit? All RTA bus stops have a unique 5-digit stop number on them. When you text that number to 410-517-7977, we’ll text you back a list of live arrival predictions for that stop.

On a computer? Our routes show up on Google Maps, or you can visit live.goswift.ly/rtamaryland to view virtual maps of our routes. Just select the route, direction, and bus stop you want to see arrival times for.