Request a Banner on Transit's Home Screen

Transit's in-app banners communicate directly with your riders to inform them about major system changes, system-wide disruptions, or solicit feedback for occasional surveys.

Banners display at the top of the main screen when a rider opens Transit within a specific geographic area. Riders can tap on the banner to either open a web page or launch a specific feature in the app for more information.

Banners work well in these situations:

• Service changes that will affect multiple lines and/or all riders
• System-wide disruptions (for example, due to extreme weather or strikes)
• Major planned disruptions (for example, maintenance work)

Banners aren't suitable in every case. For example, when you want to communicate about a situation that is:

• Specific to one or two lines/routes,
• Intended for a specific audience, or
• Urgent,

We suggest using Service Alerts, which are targeted to individual lines and sent immediately. Riders can choose to subscribe to Service Alerts for specific lines and receive them as push notifications.

Unlike Service Alerts, which can be sent immediately by partner agencies with access to the Transit Dashboard, banners must be set up by staff at Transit.

Request a Banner

Here's what we'll need from you so we can set up your banner — don't worry, it's not that complicated! Please reach out to us at partners@transitapp.com with the information below:

These items are necessary:

• Topic of the banner;
• URL to open when users tap the banner, if there is one. The web page must be mobile-enabled. (No URL? No problem. We won't add a link to your banner.)
• Start date
• End date

These items are optional:

• Suggested first line (max. 60 characters) and second line (max. 70 characters) of text. Please note that our copy editors review these and might suggest some edits!
• Translations of this text in additional languages, if applicable (same character restrictions apply) -- or tell us what languages you need so we can handle translation in-house.
• Desired banner colour, defined as a six-character colour hex code (we typically use colours that match our brand guidelines, so it's okay to have no colour preference)
• Approximate geographical area for banner to appear in app (a single contiguous circular area)

Once we have that information, we'll follow up and help you get the word out!

Template copy

Some announcements pop up frequently enough in the app that we've compiled a list of topics for which we have template copy (available in English, French, and Spanish). 

If your banner falls into one of these categories, don't worry about reinventing the wheel — we've got your copy ready for you!

Announcement type	First line (60 char)	Second line (70 char)	Sample
Planned real-time outage	[AGENCY] real-time info: planned outage until [TIME]	Tap GO to help fellow riders with crowdsourced ETAs
Survey	AGENCY wants to hear from you!	Tap to fill out a quick survey
New! Real-time information available	Now with real-time info for [AGENCY]!	Tap here to learn more, [CITY]
New! Service alerts	NEW ⚠️ Service alerts for [AGENCY]	Stop closed? Trip rerouted? Be the first to know! Tap to see how.
New! Crowding information	Will the bus be crowded? We can tell you.	NEW: real-time [AGENCY] crowding info! Tap to learn more.
Planned service changes	[AGENCY] service changes take effect [DAY, DATE]	Tap for more information
Fare-free (general)	[AGENCY] is free today for [DAY]	Tap for more information
Fare-free (election day)	🗳️ It's Election Day! Ride [AGENCY] for free.	Tap for more information
Fare-free (holiday)	It’s [HOLIDAY]! Ride [AGENCY] for free.	[Holiday/Saturday/Sunday] service in effect. Tap your line to see the complete schedule.
Snowstorm message	Service may be delayed due to winter conditions ❄️	Allow for extra travel time. Tap for more info.
Operator hiring	The best seat on the bus is up for grabs	[AGENCY] is hiring! Tap to learn more.

Banner colours

New banners are given a default dark blue colour, but this can change based on the type of message your banner contains. We reserve yellow #FFA900 for major service alerts (real-time outage, major service changes) and red #E51304 for emergency situations (hurricane, flooding, blizzard conditions). Alternatives to the dark blue include dark green and grey.

Want your agency colour to shine? Don't hesitate to ask us to set up the banner with a custom hex code.

How far in advance do I need to request my banner?

Please submit your request at least 2-3 business days before you'd like the banner to appear in Transit.

Surprise outage? Unexpected storm? If your request is urgent, please include "URGENT" in the subject line of your email to partners@transitapp.com. We'll do our best to help out in a pinch, but we might not be able to assist immediately over nights and weekends.