DULUTH, Minn. (KQDS TV) -- Arrowhead Transit rolled out a new rider app and transit system at its Hibbing garage. This aims to improve access and reliability for riders across its ten-county rural service area.

Arrowhead Transit is the largest publicly funded rural transportation provider in Minnesota, covering over 21,000 square miles and over half a million rides each year.

"This is a huge deal," said Dominick Olivanti, communications manager at Arrowhead Transit. "There are no other rural public transit systems in the entire country that are operating with this system right now, or a system similar to this."

The new system allows riders to book trips through its mobile app, track their bus in real time, and receive updates if schedules change.

"In Minnesota, we are very accustomed to minus 30 degree weather, and our old system required that we said our bus will be here within a 20-minute window, but this new technology now shows you in real time, just like Uber or Lyft, where your bus is," said Olivanti.

The new system also changes how dispatchers and drivers manage daily routes, automatically organizing trips based on demand and reducing the need for manual scheduling.