3 apps to make local transportation a breeze including Coolbus

birmingham on-demand
On-Demand Birmingham is one of several recent apps making transportation easier in Magic City. Photo via Pat Byington for Bham Now

If you’ve driven anywhere in the Birmingham metro area during rush hour, you already know. Check out these three recently released apps that are designed to make getting around town safer, easier and speedier.

1. Coolbus

coolbus
Coolbus was founded by parents in Vestavia Hills. Photo via Coolbus

Coolbus is a new, Birmingham based and founded carpooling app that helps parents manage chaotic schedules and still get their kids to afterschool activities on time. The app lets you schedule a pickup time, choose a trusted driver from within your network or through a Coolbus reccomendation, and choose your preferred method of payment.

Hear more about Coolbus from founder and CEO John Wright:

“The parent always chooses who their child rides with. Unlike Uber where they’re sending you the most logistically convenient person, on Coolbus trusted people can express interest in driving your child.

You can also ask people that you already trust within the app. Coolbus can also recommend people within the app that you may not know, but based on who you told us you trust, we believe they’re people that you should know.”

John Wright, Coolbus founder and CEO

Learn more about Coolbus:

2. Birmingham On-Demand powered by Via

birmingham on-demand
Community Foundation staff using Birmingham On-Demand service. Photo via Pat Byington for Bham Now

A local favorite, Birmingham On-Demand powered by Via is a city-wide app that extends and complements the current public transportation system. This app allows residents to book a shared ride anywhere in the city with a flat rate of $1.50. Birmingham On-Demand is disability-accessible, and the app operates regular hours throughout the city.

Learn more about Birmingham On-Demand, powered by Via:

3. ParkMobile

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Birmingham’s new ParkMobile sign. Photo via Pat Byington for Bham Now

We all know parking downtown is an issue in Birmingham. Thankfully, with the ParkMobile app, at least paying for your parking spot is easier now. This app lets users find open parking spots in the metro area and pay for spots that have meters on the app.

While it might not fix all of our downtown parking woes, it will at least making paying to park on the street a little less stressful.

Check out more about ParkMobile:

While no one app is going to solve all of Birmingham’s transportation issues, these three can make your daily commute a little easier.

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Claire Hancock
Claire Hancock
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