Transit 360, a mobile app that gives information on public transportation, has experienced a five- to six-fold increase in downloads since its 5.0 version launched and it expanded into more cities this month.

MindSea Development Inc. of Halifax first launched the iPhone app, then called Transit To Go, in 2010 so commuters in its home city could see when buses were coming. Since then, it has expanded, using municipalities’ open data to update users in real time about a transit vehicle’s arrival.

With version 5.0, it has expanded to 37 Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Montreal, Quebec City, Victoria, Fredericton and London, Ont., providing real-time data for each city’s public transportation system.

The growth in downloads has been especially strong in Montreal and Calgary, even though Calgary recently launched a city-owned transit app that has real-time data Transit 360 can’t access.

“Just because other apps do the same thing, sometimes people like one more than the other,” MindSea CEO Bill Wilson said in an interview.

“They rely on lots of different things for traffic statistics to glean out of these really complex systems. Is their bus going to be on time? That’s the ultimate question: Can I catch the bus when I want to catch the bus?”

Transit360 saves its users’ commonly used routes and stops, and allows them to see on a map where a vehicle is and when it is likely to arrive at a stop. It also provides alerts to remind commuters of when their bus or train is coming.

In a MindSea user study, the company discovered that many people consult several different platforms, such as Twitter and transportation apps, to decide which route to use in the morning.

“We’re not trying, at the moment, to solve all the transit problems for all the people,” Wilson said.

“We’re really focused on those people that get up in the morning, they know they can take one of four buses, they need to find out which bus or train they need to take and when it’s coming next.”

Transit 360 is featured on Apple Canada’s homepage, as well as among Apple’s featured transit apps. One notable feature of the latest version is that it can be integrated with the Apple Watch.

MindSea partnered with the Halifax Herald Ltd., publisher of The Chronicle Herald, in 2014, with the media company taking a minority stake in the app producer.

Tranist 360 is a free app. Its revenue stream comes from banner ads. MindSea is in talks with publishing companies about advertising on the app, which has a main client base of 18- to 34-year-old women.

“We had to make it as viable a business as we can, and if it isn’t, it’s very difficult to pursue,” Wilson said. “So we wanted to make it a successful app. So far, so good.”