Build Public Transport Software Around the Rider

Custom rider apps for transit agencies and operators, connected to the systems you run today.

What Public Transportation Software Covers

what's inside

Public transportation software is the set of systems that help agencies plan and run transit services. They also assist riders in planning, paying for, and taking their trips. The main categories are:

Planning and scheduling
Timetables, vehicle blocks, and driver rosters. Bus scheduling software handles this for bus networks. Transit scheduling software is the broader term across all modes.
Operations and vehicle tracking
Service control, dispatch, and automatic vehicle location (AVL), often bought as transit management software.
Passenger information
Timetables, disruption notices and arrival times at stops, on screens and in apps.
Fares and ticketing
Fare rules, ticket sales, validation and payment processing.
Rider apps and trip planning
The apps passengers use to find routes, compare options and buy tickets.
Demand-response and paratransit
Booking and dispatch for on-demand and door-to-door services, including services for riders with disabilities.

Qulix works on the rider-facing layer and on the integrations that connect it to the other five.

What Qulix Builds for Transit Agencies

features

Since 2022, Qulix has developed the rider apps and integrations of a multimodal platform used by transport operators and local authorities in France and Canada. Every capability below comes from that work, on iOS and Android.

Multimodal Trip Planning

One search returns options across public transport, taxis, and parking, with weather, health, and air-quality summaries. It is the central feature of any Mobility as a Service platform.

Payments Through Stripe

Riders buy tickets in the app, often minutes before departure, and can save a card for later purchases.

Card Functionality for North America

Payment follows the card standards used in the platform's Canadian regions.

Non-Authorised Mode

A rider can check a route or buy a single ticket without signing up first.

Trip Rating

Riders rate a trip in the app when it ends, and the feedback goes straight to the operator.

Filtering and Trip Options

Riders narrow results by mode, cost, or journey time before choosing.

Analytics Through Matomo

Matomo, an open-source analytics platform, tracks route selection, purchases, and use of key features.

Regional Customisation

Each authority can adapt the app to its local network and conditions.

Live Vehicle Positions and Arrival Times

The apps show vehicle positions, delays, and arrival times as they change, using the operators' live feeds. The app is part of a real-time passenger information system that riders see. If a feed stops updating, the app keeps working and marks the affected times as possibly out of date.

DISCUSS YOUR PROJECT

Custom or Ready-Made: How to Choose

decision

Many agencies use both, and the decision is made function by function.

When a Ready-Made Product Fits

Scheduling and other standard back-office work, where requirements look much the same from one agency to the next.
A product already running at agencies with networks like yours.
A launch date that leaves no time for a build.
A preference for the vendor to handle maintenance and updates.

In exchange, the vendor decides the roadmap, the rider-facing design, and the data model. Connections to your other systems stop at what the product supports, and licence fees run for as long as you use it.

When Custom Development Fits

You want a rider app under your own brand, designed around your network.
Riders pay with local methods or regional card standards that off-the-shelf products may not support.
Your accessibility requirements go beyond a product's standard settings.
One app has to serve several transport modes, operators, or regions.

A custom build takes longer to launch. Hosting, updates, and the team that maintains the app then stay on your budget for as long as it runs. You own the code and decide what gets built next.

Qulix builds the custom rider layer and connects it to the ready-made products you keep.

LEARN MORE

Working With the Systems You Already Run

process

A rider app runs on data from other systems: timetables, vehicle positions, fares, and parking availability. Qulix builds the integration layer that brings this data into the app and leaves the source systems as they are. Our developers work directly with your product and backend teams.

Integration Audit

Before development starts, we map your backend and each outside source the app depends on, such as vehicle feeds, payment services, and parking data.

Phased Delivery

Integrations and regions go live one at a time, and our engineers work inside your process and tools.

Design for Weak Signal

Data syncs whenever the connection allows, and tickets and routes are stored on the phone, so they still open underground.

Accessibility as a Core Requirement

inclusion

The platform's apps are designed for riders with disabilities. Accessibility was part of the requirements from the start and shapes how a trip is planned and booked.

If you are writing a specification, list the assistive features your riders depend on, such as screen readers or larger text, so they are tested from the first release. For on-demand and door-to-door services, see our article on what good paratransit and accessible transport software looks like.

A Regional MaaS Platform in France and Canada

case study

The Client The client builds a Mobility as a Service platform for transport operators, businesses, and local authorities in France and Canada. Each region gets its own app, published under the local operator's name.

The Challenge The authorities needed one platform for every transport mode in a region, with each region bringing its own operator and settings. The platform had to:

cope with high load at peak times
stay available around the clock
get data updates to riders almost instantly

What Qulix Delivered Since 2022, Qulix has developed the rider apps and their integrations. With these apps, riders can:

plan trips across public transport, taxi, and parking
see weather, health, and air quality summaries for the trip
pay through Stripe
follow their vehicle live

The apps also include card functionality for North America, a non-authorised mode, trip rating, filtering, Matomo analytics, and regional customisation for each authority.

Results

France & Canada

Regional apps live on the App Store and Google Play.

100,000+

Downloads for one regional Android app.

4.3

Average iOS rating across the regional apps, from about 4,800 ratings.

For how the wider platform handles peak load and live data, see our page on Mobility as a Service platform development.

TALK TO US

Frequently Asked Questions

questions

Public transportation software is the set of systems that help agencies plan and run transit services. They also assist riders in planning, paying for, and taking their trips. Agencies typically run several at once.

A typical transit agency uses software for scheduling, operations, and vehicle tracking, passenger information, fares, and ticketing, rider apps, and demand-response services. Scheduling tends to be bought ready-made, while rider apps are more often built to order.

Whether to build or buy depends on the function. Ready-made products suit standard back-office work such as scheduling. Custom development suits rider apps with local payment, accessibility, or multimodal needs, and costs more time and ongoing ownership.

A custom rider app can connect to an agency's existing systems through an integration layer for timetable, vehicle, and fare data. Because live feeds vary in quality, the app should cache key data and flag stale times.

If you are planning a rider app, a new payment flow, or a connection to your current systems, Qulix can review your requirements and outline the options.

TALK TO US ABOUT YOUR RIDER APP OR INTEGRATION PROJECT

Contacts

get in touch

We’d love to hear from you!

Tell us about your project or the challenge you have, and we’ll get back to you soon.

Prefer direct contact?

E-mail us at request@qulix.com