Intel subsidiary Moovit, a mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) provider, has added a feature to its app that lets public transit riders in 3400 cities across 112 countries help one another avoid the crowds as Covid restrictions ease.

Moovit’s Android and iOS users can report crowding levels at stations and on lines, allowing others to see how crowded the station is before entering, or how packed a bus or train line is before boarding.

In February, Israeli firm Moovit released real-time crowding information, in collaboration with more than 70 transit agencies, which is dependent on their real-time feeds. However, most transit agencies still do not provide real-time crowding information due to no, or lack of, crowd counters installed on their fleets or at stations.

Now, Moovit is minding the gap and using the wisdom of the crowd to allow users to view and report crowding levels at stations and on lines. This information is seen, validated or updated by other nearby users within a ten-minute window to ensure the data are precise to help people feel safer riding public transportation.

To report crowding levels at stations, users tap Report from the Quick Actions bar in the station details screen and follow the prompts and one tap survey to report how busy the station is. Users can select Not Crowded, A Little Crowded, Crowded or Very Crowded. Other users nearby will then see this information for a period of ten minutes in the station details and stations nearby screens.

To reporting crowding levels on lines, users tap Report from the Quick Actions in the line details screen and follow the prompts and one tap survey to report how busy the bus or train is for users downstream. Users can select Available Seats, Standing Only or Crowded. The status will be displayed for a period of ten minutes across the suggested routes, itinerary, route preview, stations nearby and station details screens.

Users of Moovit’s Android app can also confirm and update reports about station crowdedness created by other Moovit users. When a report is displayed in the station details screen, nearby users can verify if the information is correct or update it to display the most accurate levels of crowdedness with a one tap survey. This feature is expected to roll out to iOS users in the coming weeks. Currently, iOS users can create a report to update the crowding status.

“Our experience in using the wisdom of the crowd via our Mooviter Community, a network of more than 720,000 passionate local editors that help map and maintain transit information in their cities, has been very positive and impactful and has shown us that people are keen on contributing to the common good,” said Yovav Meydad, Moovit’s marketing officer. “We’re drawing on this belief again, empowering millions of Moovit users to help one another feel comfortable returning to public transit.”

In cities where real-time crowding information for lines is available, Moovit will display the real-time feeds supplied by transit agencies instead of the user-reported information.

Moovit was acquired by Intel in 2020 to join forces with Mobileye and advance its MaaS strategy. Together, Moovit and Mobileye aim to accelerate the global adoption of autonomous transportation.

Moovit’s iOS, Android and web apps guide people in getting around town and cities, using any mode of transport. Introduced in 2012, it now serves over a billion users in more than 3400 cities across 112 countries.

Moovit amasses up to six billion anonymous data points a day to add to the world’s largest repository of transit and urban mobility data. For governments, cities, transit agencies and private companies, Moovit offers AI-powered MaaS technology covering planning, operations and optimisation. Microsoft, Uber and Cubic have partnered with Moovit to power their mobility offerings.