Get Notifications about your Trip with GO
Transit’s GO feature is your personal public transport companion. It will guide you from your front door, through one or multiple transit connections, all the way to your destination. GO uses your phone's GPS and motion activity to detect whether you're walking, waiting at the stop, or on the bus.
Here's what this article covers:
- How does GO work?
- Get Notifications about a Trip Plan
- Get Notifications about a Specific Departure
- What if I'm already on the bus/train?
- How much battery and data does GO use?
- What about my privacy?
For more information about customizing GO for your personal needs, check out Customize GO.
How does GO work?
GO helps you navigate the transport system by sending the following notifications:
- Leave Now, when it’s time to leave to catch the bus,
- Hurry Up, to remind you to hurry up if you’re going to miss your ride,
- Your stop is __ stops away, to alert you when your destination stop is approaching,
- Might miss the __ connection, in case the first part of your trip was too slow,
- Time to Get Off, when it's time to switch routes or when you're at your destination.
GO also lets you know if your vehicle goes on a detour or if you've missed your connection, causing GO to switch to the next departure.
Once launched, GO runs in the background and works with voice notifications, so you can get lost in your music or take a nap without worrying about missing your stop. When you arrive at your destination, GO switches off automatically.
When you ride with GO, you provide other riders on your line with more accurate real-time tracking information.
The more you use GO, the more people you help! Read more here: Crowdsourcing
Get Notifications about a Trip Plan

Get Notifications about a Specific Departure


What if I'm already on the bus/train?
When you open Transit while riding a bus or train, just select the route in question, and tap the big GO button. Wait a few moments and Transit will detect that you're on board.
It doesn't matter if the departure listed isn't the one you're on. Because GO detects whether you're on a vehicle or walking, once you've selected a route and Transit has detected that you’re on board, it dismisses all scheduled (or real-time) departure times. GO will adjust to show information about your current trip.
How much battery and data does GO use?
While GO uses some battery, we’ve managed to keep it down to ~5% for an average 20-minute trip (and that assumes you’re glued to your phone the entire ride.)
The same typical GO trip will take less than 100kb of data. That’s less than a kitten GIF, but more than a text message.
What about my privacy?
Your exact position is never shared with other riders. All data you generate using GO is anonymous, and it automatically turns off when you reach your destination. The position of the vehicle is only shared while GO is active and you’re on board.