More than 5 million people a month are using smartphones to track their buses, officials said Wednesday.
Bus Time, which was brought to all citywide routes on March 9, lets waiting riders track where their next bus is using GPS and cellular data.
Buses send their location and route information every 30 seconds to a central server, which sends the info to riders through the website bustime.mta.info.
Users can also get information by texting a bus stop code to 511123.
Mobile Web browsers have been the most popular option so far and have been used an average of 3.2 million times a month. About 1.7 million riders use texting, and 550,000 use desktop computers.
“More New York City residents are using public transportation than ever before, and we must make sure our transportation services are working better than ever for them,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The data is also being studied to improve bus performance across the city.
Two railroad apps — LIRR and Metro-North Train Time — have been downloaded 120,000 times by customers through the Apple App Store and Google Play, the MTA said.
“The reception that the two apps have received has been excellent,” said MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast.
The apps show when the next train is due at a station, whether it is on time, and which track it will run on. They also list fare information, waiting room hours, and whether elevators and escalators are working at a station.