Riders of the Regional Transit System reported experiencing app glitches since Tuesday, and the technology is still not working properly.
Logging onto the app on Friday revealed a pop up message reading, “We didn’t predict this, we are experiencing technical difficulties. Please refresh the app or try again later. If the issue persists, please contact us for more information.” Additionally, the departure board at the Butler Plaza Transfer Station only signaled, “No Departures At This Stop At This Time.”
All bus routes are still scheduled to operate as usual.
“RTS buses are not affected by the issue with the app, and continue to service routes according to their published schedules,” a June 21 Gainesville news release read in part. “GPS devices on all RTS buses are functioning properly, and we appreciate everyone’s patience while the GNV RideRTS app provider works to restore app functions.”
An RTS representative said to visit the RTS website for complete bus schedules.
Josh Higdon, a 24-year-old UF doctoral student, said they’ve been struggling with outages on the app since Tuesday morning.
“If I don't check the app, there's a semi decent chance I'll miss the bus just because my route is not the most reliable,” they said. “So I checked it Tuesday morning, and I saw that every single stop said there was no bus coming… so, then I called customer service, and they said it was down.”
Higdon, who relies on the buses as their main source of transportation, said they’ve attempted to contact customer service every day since initially noticing the popup but have made little progress. While the service representatives were understanding and explained the search for a solution, Higdon said RTS could provide no timeline for app repairs.
Buses provide a more environmentally conscious and reliable transportation solution for students without access to personal vehicles, Higdon said.
“If the bus is down or the bus app is down, it places a huge burden on us and creates anxiety on us because we don't know if we can reliably get to places and complete obligations that we have to do,” Higdon said.
As of June 21, there is no set date as to when the RTS app will be fixed.
Contact Morgan Vanderlaan at mvanderlaan@alligator.org. Follow her on X @morgvande.
Morgan Vanderlaan is a first-year Political Science and English major and the City and County Commission Reporter for The Alligator. When she’s not on the clock, she can be found watching, writing and reciting theatre!
