More than 180 transit agencies are partnered with our (very suitably-named) company, Transit. When riders glance at their phones to check an upcoming bus or train, they’re greeted with our app’s rainbow rows of ETAs, super precise trip plans, and pop quiz questions about local service. Is the bus late? Does the stop have a place to sit? Is it accessible? That data is then shared with our transit agency friends, who use the insights gathered from Transit riders to improve service on the ground.

As our agency partners grow year after year, month after month, we’ve seen persistent — but inconsistent! — surges in ridership growth in those cities. Some transit agencies do a marvelous job at promoting the app: with websites and bus shelters bedecked in Transit QR codes, well-appointed stories placed in all the newspapers and blogs, and new features communicated to riders with gusto. Other agencies have a harder time, with fewer resources to dedicate to marketing Transit. Even i...