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Transit Apps: Helping to Enhance Photo courtesy TriMet TriMet's new mobile ticketing app is being beta-tested by 1,500 volunteer riders. For the increasing number of customers with smartphones and tablets, safety is enhanced. New features, such as mobile ticketing, crowd-sourced information and even shopping, further improve the ride. i BY NICOLE SCHLOSSER, Senior Editor n the last year, transit systems have ramped up their smart phone offerings to provide riders with much more than real-time arrival information. This is happening just as the number of smartphone owners in the U.S. rose to 54% at the end of last year, 40 < mETRO mAGAZINE JUNE 2013 according to comScore. In 2012, 46% of Americans reported using them, based on study findings from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Additionally, one in four Americans owned a tablet by the end of 2012, reported the study. Transit agencies have been able to enhance riders' experience on their systems in a number of ways, ranging from safety to the ability to get those last-minute grocery items on the way home from work. Here is a sampling of some of those apps and their features. metro-magazine.com