Have you ever sat at a bus stop around Truckee, wondering if your bus is five minutes or half an hour away? Tahoe Truckee Area Regional Transit (TART) has recently introduced a real-time bus tracking system designed to solve this problem for many riders, including local teens.
The new system allows riders to track TART buses in real time by downloading the Transit App, or viewing transit information available on Google or Apple Maps. Riders can view arrival predictions of TART buses everyday and receive notifications when routes are affected by service conditions like weather, events or road construction. Through the Transit App, riders can also view a list of all bus stops, transfer locations and times for all routes.
For teenagers in Truckee who use the free bus system to get to school, jobs or extracurriculars, the update provides more stability in their daily transportation routines or occasional trips on the TART buses.
“For teenagers who don’t have access to a car, or don’t want to depend on parents or friends to drive them around, the bus system provides independence,” said Danielle McHugh, Transportation Program Coordinator for the Town of Truckee. “The new real time transit technology provides an extra layer of reliability and helps give peace of mind to parents and teenagers by knowing that the bus is trackable and can give riders that extra confidence.”
In the past, the TART system used NextBus to provide real time information on bus routes and predicted arrivals/departures. However, this system quickly phased out and was discontinued when challenges arose as NextBus relied mostly on cell service and could not provide accurate updates for riders.
With the intention of providing riders with a similar, but more dependable and correct experience, new GPS hardware has been installed on the TART buses. The GPS hardware connects to the Transit and Google or Apple Maps, supplying riders with live information about their bus. The system also brings TART staff live information about vehicle telematics and dashcams for further safety and security.
“This new edition makes tracking live and available to the public, so that anybody booking their trip can see where the bus is,” said McHugh.
Real-time bus tracking technology is a part of both the Town of Truckee’s and Placer County’s short range plans for improving the TART system. With buses arriving or departing almost every hour within the Truckee/Tahoe region, integrating a reliable system for users was an important goal.
“We’re really trying to make TART a system that people seek out as a great option to get and from places. Our goal is to improve the experience and grow our system to make public transportation more accessible and convenient,” said McHugh. “Having this modernization with real time tracking is a step in that direction.”
Currently, the real time tracking is only available for Truckee buses, including the Truckee Local Route, Highway 267 and 89. For Placer County buses and routes within Tahoe City and Kings Beach, real time tracking will most likely be available by June 2026.
As the TART bus system continues to expand its technology, more students are able to track buses in real time, opening up opportunities for youth transportation across the Truckee/Tahoe region.
