Nobody likes waiting for the bus. Research shows rider uncertainty is the real problem: where is my bus? When will it get here? Will it get here? Transit is a case of “better information means better service,” and in a time of decreasing budgets, providing real time data to riders is a great way to improve satisfaction.
When the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) wanted to pilot the idea of providing real-time bus location information to riders, they were looking for a open, flexible approach. Calling for open data standards and open source software, the MTA signaled that it was truly committed to making this information maximally available to riders and application developers, while controlling costs and ensuring the agency would retain control over its IT destiny.
OpenPlans, working closely with MTA staff, developed the system to make it happen. Making use of OneBusAway, an existing open source offering, meant the MTA could avoid reinventing the wheel while simultaneously contributing to an open, real-time platform that can be used by any transportation agency, anywhere. The MTA’s commitment to openness also meant the agency could source off-the-shelf GPS and on-vehicle hardware, and contract with a wireless networking provider of their choice, further reducing costs and ensuring flexibility.
The OpenPlans-developed system collects the vehicle’s location and other relevant information every 30 seconds, connects it with route and schedule information, infers actual locations using advanced statistical techniques, and exposes an application protocol interface (API) to the data, so that various interfaces can be developed based by the agency and third-party software developers.
The service launched successfully in February 2011 on the B63 bus line in Brooklyn. Now B63 riders can access MTA Bus Time via a computer or a mobile phone. The service is popular with the public, the information is freely available to mobile app developers and transit advocates, and storefronts have even started adding in-store bus arrival displays to help customers time their errands. The MTA plans to expand the service to all of Staten Island by the end of 2011, and then to the whole city.
Press Coverage
- The MTA’s press release
- BusTime System is Open Source – Center Networks – Feb 10th, 2011
- Real-time Bus Info at 1/4 the Cost via Open Source Software – Virginia Intelligent Transportation Systems – Feb 7, 2011
- Brooklyn bus riders get real-time bus tracking via cellphone – Engadget – Feb 5, 2011
- The B63: Now in Real-Time – Bococa Land – Feb 4, 2011
- Where’s That B63 Bus? ‘MTA BusTime’ Knows! – Brooklyn Daily Eagle – Feb 3, 2011
- MTA Pilot Program Lets Riders Use Phones to Track Buses – WNYC News Blog – Feb 2, 2011
- MTA launches real-time bus info – The Transit Wire – Feb 2, 2011
- Real-Time Bus Info Arrives Along the B63 – StreetsBlog – Feb 1, 2011
- Brooklyn Gets Real-Time Bus Info – Transportation Nation – Feb 1, 2011
- Real-Time Bus Info Debuts on B63 With Open-Source Software – Gothamist – Feb 1, 2011
- Along the B63, an in-house real-time tracking solution – 2nd Ave Sagas – Feb 1, 2011
- Bus-tracking tech gets rolling in Brooklyn – New York Post – Feb 1, 2011
- BusTime Coming to the B63 – Center Networks – Feb 1, 2011