Atlanta Streetcar — there’s now an app for that

Atlanta Streetcar users can now use a smartphone to purchase tickets for the downtown service. The city on Monday announced it has launched a beta mobile app for the Streetcar on iphones and Android devices. BOB ANDRES / BANDRES@AJC.COM

Atlanta Streetcar users can now use a smartphone to purchase tickets for the downtown service. The city on Monday announced it has launched a beta mobile app for the Streetcar on iphones and Android devices. BOB ANDRES / BANDRES@AJC.COM

The city of Atlanta launched a beta version of its long-delayed mobile app for the Atlanta Streetcar on Monday.

The app, available for the iPhone and Android, allows riders to purchase tickets from mobile devices for a single or daily ride or weekly and monthly passes. Users of the Streetcar can also get real-time arrival information on their smartphones.

“The Atlanta Streetcar is now a permanent feature of our city’s transportation system, and with innovations like the new app and expansion to more neighborhoods, the Streetcar will continue to grow in importance,” Mayor Kasim Reed said in a release.

A Streetcar app has been in the works since 2015. In April of that year, Reed said he was keeping ridership on the 2.7-mile transportation system free to allow in part for an app to be designed. But later reports blamed the delay on contract negotiations that took longer than expected.

The city began charging a $1 fee per trip or $3 for a one-day pass at the beginning of 2016.

Portland-based mobile technology firm moovel designed the app for Atlanta, the city said.