The long-awaited Cortland bussing app has been released and its game changing for SUNY Cortland students.
After months of uncertainty, students were overjoyed to see the launch of Suny Cortlands new bus tracking app, Dragon Bus on Sept. 2, 2025. Dragon Bus is a collaboration between Suny Cortland and Peak Transit, which specializes in Intelligent Transportation Systems. Relief washed over many students who had rushed to social media sites to show their appreciation and spread awareness of the release of the new Cortland bus app after a year of waiting. A post on the official Suny Cortland Instagram page showing off the debut of the Dragon Bus App has received over seven hundred likes and fifty shares from fellow students and community members.
Dragon Bus has several features that will certainly aid students on a stress free, shuttle experience. Users can track the real time location of buses, view their routes on an interactive map using the Google Maps API, and receive estimated arrival times based on the shuttle’s current location. Notifications can alert users when the bus is coming near the stop and has walking directions to each stop location.
Students also have access to each routes schedules that link to the SUNY Cortland official website, which has every single bus route and time available such as Campus Loop, Late Night Campus Shuttle, North Campus Loop, Shopping Shuttle, and West Campus Loop.
Previously, SUNY Cortland used a Shuttle tracking app known as Double Map. However, Double Map had several well-known problems, such as lagging, inaccurate locations, and bare-bones features. On Dec. 31, 2024, many students were shocked to hear that Double Map shut down its services permanently and was expected to be replaced by an alternative tracking app. However, Cortland did not replace the app right away after the shutdown.
Current senior, Zach Biemer, shares his experience and disappointment about Double Map and its lack of replacement. “Double Map was supposed to make bus tracking easier, but most of the time it just did not work, and when it finally shut down, we were left with nothing. Waiting for the bus became a daily guessing game,” said Biemer.
Due to the shutdown, students had no way of tracking the shuttles and buses that go around and off-campus, which was an issue for those on West Campus, Cheney, or DeGroat who needed the shuttle service to be able to get to their classes on time. Students where in the dark about whether they would ever be able to track the shuttles again.
With the release of the new Cortland Bus tracking app, shuttle rides will no longer feel like a gamble when they will arrive. Whether you are heading to class or off-campus for a Walmart run, Dragon Bus provides a stress-free service, needed to make the commute smoother and more predictable for everyone. All students need now is a Cortland Parking App.