The Athens Transit buses are used for daily commutes to-and-from class, but it is making a few smart choices. Athens Transit is adding a connection to Google Maps. For first-time riders these routes have been confusing and hard to follow for years, but as of March 15, students can now plan their routes with the touch of a bus icon on their phone screens.

Steven Bowman, a senior at UGA says, “I took the wrong bus a couple of times. I took 12 instead of 14, and had to walk thirty minutes back to my place.”

UGA IT Senior Manager Stephanie Sharp and her team spent 18 months programming the code to integrate Athens Transit bus routes to Google maps interface. She says this was attempted before, but it was difficult so they gave it up. She was all for the challenge.

Athens Transit System Director Butch McDuffie really worked to get her team equipped with the best staff. McDuffie estimates that Athens Transit will provide over 1.7 million rides to Athens citizens this year.

“If we did not have Stephanie, her staff, the folks from LEAD Athens, that stepped up to the plate and helped us we wouldn’t have it right now.”