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Study: Baltimore A Top City For 'Transportation Techies'

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Transportation techies. They're people who track buses, cabs and even bikes--all from their smart phones. A new study shows Baltimore is one of the top cities with this kind of technology.

Gigi Barnett explains why.

Ever hailed a taxi with a smart phone or reserved a Zipcar on your touch screen? Maybe you've tracked the best bike routes around. If so, you're part of a growing number of transportation techies in Charm City.

A new study released this week shows Baltimore is in the top 25 cities for tech-driven transportation tools.

"We found that Baltimore residents have access of seven of the 11 different apps on their smart phones to make it easier to get around without a car," said Emily Scarr, Maryland PIRG director.

Scarr heads the consumer watchdog group Maryland PIRG, which backs the report. It ranked Baltimore number 24 out of 70 major U.S. cities. The apps are popular with millennials, who mostly live in Baltimore, don't have a car and want more convenience in travel.

"You're seeing a bunch of these different transportation options and millennials especially taking advantage of them because they might be cost-conscious, because they might be environmentally conscious," said Jeremy Pomp, Zipcar Baltimore general manager.

Pomp runs the Baltimore Zipcar location. His service is part of that choice. Members can reserve a car with their smart phone mere minutes before picking it up.

"It's easy. It's so easy to be where you are and just get what you need immediately and not have to really rely on any extra resources," said Zipcar user Tory Marlin.

But Pomp believes a more mature set is catching on fast.

"We're starting to see a shift where it's not just millennials who get this, where it's baby boomers. Because if you're a baby boomer living in the city, you face the same constraints that a millennial does with parking and things like that," he said.

While the report is good news, it also shows some gaps in the city's transportation technologies. For instance, the state promised to release a bus tracking app last year; it's yet to come out--although passengers can still track buses on a limited basis through a private service.

The best city for transportation techies is Austin, Texas. San Francisco was a close second and Washington, D.C. rounded out the top three.

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