SMTD Real-Time Information - Coming Soon to Google Maps!

Bus Locations

See exactly where the bus is as it approaches.

Directions

The on-time status of routes is displayed for each trip option.

Real-Time Departure Boards

Selecting a bus stop on the map shows upcoming departures for that stop and can tell you if a route is running early, late, or on time.

Alerts

Detours and service changes can be delivered to users via alerts for specific routes or stops.

Taking the bus in Springfield is about to get even easier, with real-time schedule updates coming to Google Maps on Monday, March 28th!

SMTD’s static schedule information has been available on Google Maps and other navigation apps since 2015 and real-time bus tracking was made available on the SMTD website in early 2019 as part of our CAD/AVL implementation. This upgrade merges the two, enabling our real-time updates to be published directly to Google Maps.

Here are some answers to questions you’ll likely have:

How frequently does the data update?

Every 30 seconds.

Will the real-time information be accessible on the desktop browser version of Google Maps, or is it limited to the mobile app?

The desktop browser version of Google Maps will display on-time status for routes when you request directions, but will not display vehicle locations on the map or departure boards when selecting a bus stop. These features are only available on the Google Maps mobile app currently.

Will other apps have real-time integrations?

Google Maps is the first but won’t be the last. Because we are making our real-time data available in the GTFS-RT format, you can expect to see it incorporated into more apps and services in the future, including Apple Maps, Bing Maps, Moovit, HERE WeGo, and more.