Metro Transit bus riders — and those on other regional systems, too — now have the ability to see the exact physical location of their bus.

This week, Metro Transit rolled out a new enhancement to its NexTrip system called Map It! The innovation, officials say, should help alleviate frustration riders have had using the NexTrip platform. The platform lists predicted departure times, but riders have told The Drive over and over that the system didn't allow them to see if a bus was running late or if one was coming at all.

Map It! can provide reassurance to riders that their bus is on the way, a big comfort on bitterly cold and snowy days, said Ben Rajkowski, Metro Transit's assistant manager of Transit Information.

"Riders can now pull it [a map] up and see that their bus is two miles away," he said. While Map It! won't show how fast the bus is traveling or how long it will take to reach the stop, "it will allow riders to see that one is coming. They won't have to wonder if they have missed it or how to get home."