It probably means very little to most people who don't catch public transport, but the Darwin bus app that tracks the location of your next bus, integrating with your phone GPS, has been shutdown this week, without warning.
Many passengers opening the app the past few days would have noticed the bus timetables and map locations won't function, with the message: "Tracking Shutdown".
Not every single bus on the network was trackable via the app anyway, but passengers would have appreciated the ease of timetable access according to your location, and calculations on how long you had to get to the bus stop for the next one.
Perusing to the NTG transport website, it's bus app link now reads: "The Northern Territory Government has decided to shutdown this service and real-time bus tracking is no longer available.
"Please refer to Public Transport and cycling for your timetable needs.
A link to the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics website provides an "online feedback form", with further information on the app shutdown through 08 8924 7666 Monday to Friday from 6:45am to 4:30pm or Saturdays from 9am to 1pm.
The app is still available for download through the Google Play Store, but just opens to an empty map of Darwin without any bus stops.
It's unclear if the app will return with the planned new ticketing system in June 2025.
Google Maps integration with the Darwin bus timetable still appears to work, but the ease of access and simplification of travel on the app compared to Google Maps will be sorely missed by many, in our opinion.
We stress again how great the app was, without actually needing to track the movement of the bus.
The Mango Inquirer has rang and then emailed through written requests for information behind the decision today; including financial motivations; lack of active users or the scheduled ticketing upgrades for June next year.
We were unable to attain an answer prior to our printing deadline of beer o'clock.
We are The Mango Inquirer.
