Want to know how to use public transportation for a night out on the town? Or maybe how to get to all the great beaches?

Well, go make an app for it.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority – recognizing itself for the bureaucracy it is – has organized a competition for developers of mobile phone applications. The goal is to encourage the use of mass transit.

“Being a public agency, we felt that it’s really hard for us to deliver as fast in mobile app development and stay on top compared to the private sector,” said Lan-Chi Lam, a web design and strategy manager for the MTA.

Last year, the agency launched its first internally developed iPhone app, Go Metro, featuring bus timetables, subway stops and other basic information. It will soon be out in an Android version, and the agency plans to release an app and website, Next Trip, in April that will show bus arrivals in real time.

Participants in the Developer Challenge are being asked to be more creative. Lam said that one idea could be an app that assists bicyclists get on buses by showing where bike lanes intersect bus stops. Other developers could be focused on attractions, such as beaches or night life.

Entries are due May 20 and the winners will be announced June 13, with prizes ranging from $1,500 to $2,000. Winning apps will be posted on the MTA’s website, Metro.net, but developers will retain the right to sell them at app stores.