NC State has shifted from TransLoc to Passio GO! as its official bus tracking app, marking the end of a nearly two-decade partnership with TransLoc. To ensure a smooth transition, NC State is keeping both apps running simultaneously until Sept. 1.
Connor Jones, NC State’s transit manager, explained the decision to switch apps. He said the move was partly influenced by TransLoc’s recent history of acquisitions by Ford Motor Company in 2018 and by Modaxo in 2022 and subsequent layoffs and staffing issues.
“During that transition period, at least for Wolfline … TransLoc was in a staffing shortage where we did not have a representative direct between the company and Wolfline for about 16 months,” Jones said. “So whenever things would come up, it would be difficult to get them resolved, just due to that staffing shortage.”
GoRaleigh also ended its partnership with TransLoc last year.
The University issued a request for proposals to explore other options in the market. Passio GO! emerged as the preferred choice due to several key features.
Jones said one major advantage of Passio GO! is its ability to send push notifications for service alerts, which he said was a common complaint in causing students to miss important alerts on TransLoc. This feature allows NC State Transportation to alert users about major detours or impacts directly to their lock screens.
Another enhancement is the ability to view full-day schedules within the app. Jones said this functionality enables students to plan their trips more effectively, especially for classes later in the day.
Passio GO! also integrates with Google Maps in real time, providing dynamic updates on bus locations and delays, as opposed to the static schedule that TransLoc provided.
Aside from the benefit to Wolfline users, Jones said Passio GO! provides more robust data collection and analysis tools to NC State Transportation.
“The extra data, the really granular data we get from Passio, helps us in route planning now, and helps us kind of know what’s going on with the system where we might not have had that insight with TransLoc,” Jones said.
Despite these improvements, student reactions to the new app have been mixed.
Madison Hollingsworth, a second-year studying biology, said she was frustrated with Passio GO!’s accuracy.
“It’s not as accurate as you think it is,” Hollingsworth said. “The bus will say it’s two minutes away, meanwhile, it’s like 17 minutes down the street.”
Hollingsworth said the app’s interface shows overlapping routes and is generally harder to follow than TransLoc.
“They’re overlapping, so I have to constantly turn off the routes I want versus [TransLoc], I can look at them all and still be able to navigate where we are and that kind of stuff,” Hollingsworth said.
Other students like Allie Huneycutt, a second-year studying industrial engineering, found the transition relatively smooth.
“I was a little annoyed at first, but honestly, they kind of go the same to me,” Huneycutt said. “For the basic use, I think they’re very similar.”
Bailey Freedle, a second-year studying chemical engineering, said she appreciated some aspects of Passio GO! but generally found the app more overwhelming.
“It definitely shows the routes a little better, but I don’t think that it shows getting off one bus and then immediately getting on the next bus correctly,” Freedle said. “And it’s kind of hard to figure out what time you’ll get places because it has that big list of times.”
NC State Transportation department acknowledged that there’s a learning curve associated with the new app. Demar Bonnemere, communications manager for NC State Transportation, said much of the feedback has been about users familiarizing themselves with the new interface.
“TransLoc is awesome at wayfinding,” Jones said. “So if somebody doesn’t know which route or where to go, TransLoc was very good at directing them there. Passio GO! within the app itself does not have the same level of functionality as TransLoc did, but with that extra Google Maps power, it pushes you to Google Maps.”
To address any issues or bugs, the app includes options for users to provide feedback directly to Passio GO!’s development team or to NC State Transportation.
“If anyone comes across a bug, if anyone comes across a feature that’s weird or not working, they can directly go into that ticket that goes directly to the Passio development team, and they can describe what’s going on,” Jones said.
Bonnemere said this direct feedback is crucial for troubleshooting.
“The importance of the user being able to submit feedback to Passio through the app, is [Passio GO! being] able to provide more information than we could if you were to let us know,” Bonnemere said. “So, example, you know the type of device you’re using, that could be a factor as to the issue you’re seeing, or the operating system that you’re using, which all of that can get passed onto Passio.”
