With the summer holidays coming to an end and the restart of classes just around the corner, the Municipality and the public transport companies in La Plata decided to expand the frequencies of the buses and resume service hours. So, As of this Friday, the buses that circulate in the city returned to their usual schedules to the delight of those who mobilize every day to go to work and who had suffered complications in recent weeks from the units overcrowded with passengers.
“With the aim of accompanying the return to the work and academic routine, taking into account the entrance courses, the exam tables and the imminent start of the school year, public transport begins to resume its normal operation”indicated the communal authorities when confirming the measure and stressed that “during the summer holidays, the companies managed to maintain a good frequency and guarantee the mobility of the residents by hiring temporary staff.”
The measure involves the bus lines of Grupo Unión Platense (273, 214, 202, North, South, 520 and 418), those of Expreso La Plata Bs As (Este and 518) and those of Nueve de Julio SAT (508, West, 561, 414, 215, and 225). In addition, the units dependent on Microexpres (East, branches 12 and 13), those of Line Seven SAT (307) and those of Fuerte Barragán (275 and 506) normalized their schedules.
TWO KEY APPS
Within this framework, for those who use the buses on a daily basis in La Plata and the rest of the region, there are two fundamental applications: “When does my bus arrive?” and his own “Google Maps”. Although the first is only available for devices with Android systems, it allows you to see in real time how long it takes for a unit to reach a given stop. While the second, used and known worldwide, recently added a vital function for travelers: a detail of the routes of each bus line in the city and also a somewhat erratic schedule for each of them.
SCHEDULES IN REAL TIME
The app “When does my bus arrive?” is a creation of the company July 9 SAT and is freely available at Google play.
Although it does not reach all lines with service in the city, is a more than useful tool to save time and is that thanks to the GPS tracking of the firm’s units, it indicates, with great precision, how many minutes are left for each bus to arrive at the stop selected by the user.
GOOGLE MAPS
The technology giant, meanwhile, recently announced the incorporation of a key service in Maps, especially for those who are not yet familiar with the routes that each bus line takes in La Plata and the rest of the region.
The company incorporated information on more than 86 routes and more than 8,200 stops that comprise the services of four transport companies: Empresa Línea Siete SAT, Fuerte Barragan SA de Transporte, Nueve de Julio SAT and Unión Platense SRL.
The update was possible, according to the company, from the work in conjunction with ualabeea Cordovan firm that performs data mapping, collects, integrates and standardizes it so that Google Maps can reflect it on the platform.
“This launch is a new step we took to build useful maps that help people get around in their daily lives, discover and explore new cities. We are proud to continue working in Argentina together with partners like Ualabee and local transport agencies, to accompany the development of transport in different cities”said at the time of the launch the Strategic Partner Manager of Google Maps, Joao Frigatto.
“We want to give people back lost time by providing information for their trips, and build smarter and more sustainable cities. This agreement with Google is a fundamental aspect of that objective and is part of the support we provide to governments and transport operators in their processes of modernization,” commented Ualabee’s Director of Operations, Alexis Picon.
The functionality was launched 2 years ago and in the course of 2022 it was extended to more cities in the country, reaching Córdoba, Mar del Plata, Rosario, Bariloche, the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and Bahía Blanca, and now also La Plata.
