photo by: City of Lawrence

Riders board a city bus in Lawrence in this undated photo submitted by the City Lawrence.

A new app for planning and tracking bus trips is being rolled out in Lawrence ahead of the new year.

The app, called “Transit,” is used by more than 300 cities worldwide, Lawrence now included, Lawrence Transit announced in a news release Thursday morning.

According to that release, the app provides an improvement over how bus riders in Lawrence are currently able to track buses: It will allow the ability to plan trips and track buses together in a single app. Currently, riders in Lawrence can only do that by using a combination of other tools like Google Maps and another app, “My Bus Lawrence,” which is being phased out.

“We have been working on all fronts to make the rider experience simpler and more convenient,” transit and parking manager Adam Weigel said in the release. “Transit is clear, easy to use and works in other cities that riders may travel to without having to download a new app.”

The new app support launches as Lawrence Transit prepares for the new bus routes and schedules that go into effect Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. Riders who wish to see what those routes will look like once they’re active can view them through a preview mode on the Transit app. More information about how to download the Transit app is available on Lawrence Transit’s website.