MTA Bus Time

{{Short description|Vehicle location app for New York City buses}}

File:Bus Time Manhattan Launch (10142555034).jpg interface during its Manhattan launch on October 7, 2013]]

File:Bus Time Manhattan Launch (10142737816).jpg

MTA Bus Time, stylized as BusTime, is a Service Interface for Real Time Information, automatic vehicle location (AVL), and passenger information system provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) of New York City for customers of its bus operations under the New York City Bus and MTA Bus Company brands. First tested in late 2010 and officially launched in early 2011, MTA Bus Time was installed in all MTA bus routes in New York City by 2014.

The software uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology equipped in buses to relay real-time location information to passengers via internet-enabled devices (particularly smartphones), SMS messages, or countdown clocks installed at bus stops. Since 1996, the MTA had tried to install positioning technology for buses through numerous pilot programs, which were implemented in various stages.

Usage and software

MTA Bus Time allows riders to track the location of buses along a route. On computer browsers, the service uses Google Maps to display bus routes and the position of buses along routes, by typing in a route (e.g. {{NYC bus link|Q22}}) or intersection into the search box. It will also give the distance (in number of stops or miles) and approximate time away from the next stop for each bus. For web-enabled mobile devices, typing in a route will display the list of stops along the route and the position of buses along it. Typing in an intersection will give a list of buses operating to that stop and the approximate time for the next bus to reach the stop.{{cite web|url=http://gothamist.com/2015/07/01/3_2_1_bus.php|title=Bus Countdown Clocks Coming To Every Borough, Eventually|last1=Whitford|first1=Emma|date=July 1, 2015|publisher=Gothamist|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150811022051/http://gothamist.com/2015/07/01/3_2_1_bus.php|archive-date=August 11, 2015|access-date=November 8, 2015|df=mdy-all}}{{cite news|last1=Harshbarger|first1=Rebecca|url=http://www.amny.com/transit/select-bus-service-is-now-on-m86-in-manhattan-officials-say-1.10637821|title=Select Bus Line starts running on 86th Street in Manhattan|date=July 14, 2015|newspaper=AM New York|access-date=November 8, 2015}} Intersection information can also be found by scanning the QR code for a stop, or texting the stop's numerical code to receive information via SMS; both codes are found on the Guide-A-Ride box affixed to bus stop signage.See:

{{cite web|url=http://bustime.mta.info/wiki/Help/Index|title=How to Use MTA Bus Time|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=November 8, 2015}}
{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIBcn3tCLMg|title=How to Use MTA Bus Time|date=January 11, 2012|website=YouTube|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=November 8, 2015}} Bus Time is also integrated into countdown clocks installed at several bus stops throughout the city, displaying how many stops away the next bus is, to serve riders without internet devices or mobile phones.

The current Bus Time system uses on-board GPS and wireless communication units, at the cost of about $20,000 per vehicle. For most buses, the console is equipped behind the driver's seat.{{Cite web|title = Cubic Transportation Systems Adds Winning Technology Innovation to MTA Bus Time(R) for ITS-New York Project of the Year|url = http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2014/06/16/644279/10085830/en/Cubic-Transportation-Systems-Adds-Winning-Technology-Innovation-to-MTA-Bus-Time-R-for-ITS-New-York-Project-of-the-Year.html|date=June 16, 2014|access-date = September 29, 2015|publisher=Global Newswire}}See:

{{cite web|last1=Sedon|first1=Michael|title=New electronic signs tell bus riders how long they have to wait|url=http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/12/new_electronic_signs_tell_bus.html|work=Staten Island Advance|access-date=November 8, 2015|location=Staten Island, New York|date=December 9, 2013}}
{{cite web|title=Staten Island Bus Stops|url=http://www.data-display.com/Staten-Island|publisher=Daktronics|access-date=November 8, 2015|archive-date=February 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228044941/http://data-display.com/Staten-Island|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last1=Barone|first1=Vincent|title=Staten Island to receive additional electronic, real-time bus signage|url=http://www.silive.com/northshore/index.ssf/2014/12/post_115.html|work=Staten Island Advance|access-date=November 8, 2015|location=Staten Island, New York|date=December 17, 2014}} The hardware is provided by two companies, Verifone and Cubic Transportation Systems, with GPS devices supplied by Trimble Navigation, and open source software called OneBusAway. The Verifone system is the successor to a pilot "Smart Card" payment system developed along with MasterCard. Cambridge Systematics was also involved in the development. The MTA uses the same servers as Amazon.com.{{cite web|title=Introducing MTA Bus Time|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBECdzm6vLU|website=YouTube|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=November 8, 2015|date=January 11, 2012}}{{cite web|title=MTA Bus Time Technology|url=http://bustime.mta.info/wiki/Main/Technology|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=November 8, 2015}} The technology is similar to the technology used for countdown clocks found in the New York City Subway system (called Subway Time).{{cite web|title=New Interior Electronic Strip Maps Coming to Subway Cars on 2 5 Lines|url=http://www.mta.info/news-maps-subway-new-york-city-transit/2016/02/12/new-interior-electronic-strip-maps-coming-subway|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=February 12, 2016|date=February 12, 2016|archive-date=February 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160212225305/http://www.mta.info/news-maps-subway-new-york-city-transit/2016/02/12/new-interior-electronic-strip-maps-coming-subway|url-status=dead}}

Bus Time is also used by the MTA to create performance reports for bus routes, and by bus dispatchers and managers to monitor and improve service. This technology is called Bus Trek.{{cite web|title=MTA Bus Time Implementation & New Applications|url=http://www.apta.com/mc/multimodal/previous/2013/presentations/Presentations/Glikin%20Reddy%20MOPW%202013.pdf|website=apta.com|publisher=American Public Transportation Association, Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=November 9, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151109021211/http://www.apta.com/mc/multimodal/previous/2013/presentations/Presentations/Glikin%20Reddy%20MOPW%202013.pdf|archive-date=November 9, 2015|df=mdy-all}}{{cite web|title=Transit & Bus Committee Meeting January 2013|url=http://mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/130128_1030_TRANSIT.pdf#page=163|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=March 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531072345/http://mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/130128_1030_TRANSIT.pdf#page=163|archive-date=May 31, 2013|url-status=dead|date=January 2013}}

History

File:M86 SBS (19671782921).jpg wayfinding countdown clock, part of WalkNYC, during the debut of the {{NYC bus link|M86 SBS}} in 2015]]

The mass transit system of New York City did not have any sort of arrival-time information system prior to the installation of the first subway and bus countdown clocks in the 2000s. Many other major cities (such as London, Paris, and Washington, D.C.) had used the technology for many years; several American cities such as Chicago, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon, have also had bus-tracking systems prior to MTA implementation.{{cite web|last1=Grynbaum|first1=Michael M.|title=Experimental Clocks Tell Straphangers if the Wait May Soon Be Over|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/nyregion/08clocks.html?_r=0|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=March 7, 2010}}{{cite web|title=Does Knowing Count? Comparing Urban Bus Tracking Systems and Ridership|url=http://www.thirteen.org/metrofocus/2012/03/does-knowing-count-comparing-urban-bus-tracking-systems-and-ridership/|website=thirteen.org|publisher=WNET|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=March 28, 2012}}

In 1979, the MTA tested a radio-based monitoring system on the buses from the Queens Village Depot, called the "Radio-Data-Locator System" and designed by Motorola. The buses automatically communicated their location to the East New York Bus Command Center in East New York, Brooklyn, every 90 seconds. The system was used to improve bus performance and prevent bus bunching, but was not accessible to the public.See:

{{cite news|author1=Associated Press|author-link=Associated Press|title=Radar to be tried in bus monitoring|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/viewer/?file=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252010%2FYonkers%2520NY%2520Herald%2520Statesman%2FYonkers%2520NY%2520Herald%2520Statesman%25201979%2520Grayscale%2FYonkers%2520NY%2520Herald%2520Statesman%25201979%2520Grayscale%2520-%25204835.pdf&highlightsFile=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2Fhighlighter%2Fhits%2F5fac31960911419b7edcdf7e0ac9f6b8#page=1|access-date=November 7, 2016|work=Gannett Westchester Newspapers|date=April 18, 1979|location=New York}}
{{cite conference|last1=Dornfield|first1=S.|title=Queens Village: A quantum jump in bus control/communications|date=September 15–17, 1980|url=https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=197821|access-date=November 7, 2016|publisher=IEEE|location=Dearborn, MI|conference=30th IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference|doi=10.1109/VTC.1980.1622832|url-access=subscription}}
{{cite web|last1=Davies|first1=Peter|last2=Hill|first2=Chris|last3=Emmott|first3=Neil|last4=Siviter|first4=Jeremy|title=Assessment of Advanced Technologies For Transit and Rideshare Applications; Final Report; NCTRP Project 60-1A|url=http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/jpodocs/repts_te/2485.pdf#page=68|publisher=Transportation Research Board, National Research Council (United States), Urban Mass Transit Administration, United States Department of Transportation|access-date=November 7, 2016|date=July 1991}}
{{cite news|title=The M.T.A.'s Answer to Bus Bunching|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/14/archives/letters-the-mtas-answer-to-bus-bunching-con-ed-is-ready-to-testburn.html|access-date=November 7, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=July 14, 1979}}

In 1996, the MTA's New York City Transit Authority (NYCT) contracted Orbital Sciences Corporation to design a bus-arrival monitoring system, planned to be installed on 170 city buses by 1998. The routes on which it would be implemented were the {{NYC bus link|M15|M31|M35|M57|M66}} and {{NYC bus link|M116}}, which operated out of the 126th Street Depot in Manhattan. In 1997, the MTA awarded a second contract to Orbital to install a tracking system on the Long Island Bus system (now the independent Nassau Inter-County Express).{{cite web|title=Orbital Wins $4 Million Contract From New York MTA for Satellite Tracking Of Transit Bus Fleet: Company Wins Second Contract in New York City Area|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/orbital-wins-4-million-contract-from-new-york-mta-for-satellite-tracking-of-transit-bus-fleet-77381432.html|publisher=PR Newswire|access-date=December 17, 2015|location=Dulles, Virginia|date=October 2, 1997}} An additional contract was awarded in 1999 for the MTA's Access-A-Ride paratransit service.{{cite news|last1=Campanile|first1=Carl|title=TA Looks Skyward to Speed Vans & Buses|url=https://nypost.com/1999/09/08/ta-looks-skyward-to-speed-vans-buses/|newspaper=New York Post|access-date=December 17, 2015|date=September 8, 1999}} The system would have included countdown clocks and interactive kiosks at stops, and recorded "next stop" announcements on buses (similar to that of modern subway cars and the still-used Clever Devices system used on the ex-MTA Long Island Bus/NICE Bus units). NYCT Buses would be monitored at the East New York Depot control center, and Long Island buses at a command center in Garden City. After four years, the company had missed most of its deadlines. The technology, meanwhile, was faulty because the skyscrapers in Manhattan blocked signals and the dead reckoning system had failed.{{cite news|last1=Campantile|first1=Carl|title=Problems ‘building’ for Satellite Bus-track Plan|url=https://nypost.com/1999/10/26/problems-building-for-satellite-bus-track-plan/|newspaper=New York Post|access-date=December 17, 2015|date=October 26, 1999}} The NYCT contract was terminated by the MTA in 2000.{{cite news|last1=Kennedy|first1=Randy|title=Out of Touch In the City's Canyons; Satellites Become Blind Eyes in the Sky Trying to Spot and Track Buses|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/15/nyregion/touch-city-s-canyons-satellites-become-blind-eyes-sky-trying-spot-track-buses.html?pagewanted=all|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=December 17, 2015|date=March 15, 2000}}

In 1999, the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) planned to launch a tracking and countdown clock program on the {{NYC bus link|Q60}} route (then privately operated under a DOT subsidy by Green Bus Lines) along Queens Boulevard. The DOT planned to put it in operation by 2002.{{cite news|last1=Campanile|first1=Carl|title=TaA’s in Orbit Over Its New Bus-tracker System|url=https://nypost.com/1999/06/15/tas-in-orbit-over-its-new-bus-tracker-system/|newspaper=New York Post|access-date=December 17, 2015|date=June 15, 1999}}{{cite news|last1=Topousis|first1=Tom|title=City’s Dot to Train Eye in Sky on Buses|url=https://nypost.com/2000/11/15/citys-dot-to-train-eye-in-sky-on-buses/|newspaper=New York Post|access-date=December 17, 2015|date=November 15, 2000}} In summer 2005, a $13 million contract was awarded by the MTA to Siemens for a pilot countdown clock program at fifteen stops along the same six bus routes in Manhattan of the previous NYCT program.{{cite news|last1=Chan|first1=Sewell|title=Metro Briefing New York: Manhattan: M.T.A. Approves Bus Experiment|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E2DA1731F93BA15755C0A9639C8B63|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=December 17, 2015|date=June 28, 2005}} This project also experienced delays, with the first countdown clocks operational by October 2007.{{cite news|last1=Coleman|first1=Amanda|last2=Donohue|first2=Pete|title=Bus arrival-time boards shut down|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/bus-arrival-time-boards-shut-article-1.307476|newspaper=Daily News (New York)|access-date=December 17, 2015|date=February 2, 2008}} After issues with arrival time accuracy, the clocks were shut down in February 2008, and MTA pulled out of the program in early 2009.

In August 2009, countdown clocks were installed at eight stops for the {{NYC bus link|M34}} and {{NYC bus link|M16}} crosstown buses along 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan. These clocks were installed at the top of the Cemusa bus shelters at the stops by Long Island-based Clever Devices, which provided the GPS equipment free of charge. The clocks were praised by The New York Times as a "Miracle on 34th Street," a play on the famous film of the same name.See:

{{cite web|last1=Grynbaum|first1=Michael M.|title=Miracle on 34th Street: Knowing Bus Arrival Times|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/miracle-on-34th-street-your-bus-arrival-time/?mtrref=undefined&_r=0|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 10, 2015|date=August 11, 2009}}
{{cite web|last1=Romero|first1=Katherine|last2=Namako|first2=Tom|title=34th St. bus countdown clocks ticking|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/08122009/news/regionalnews/34th_st__bus_countdown_clocks_ticking_184108.htm|work=New York Post|access-date=November 8, 2015|date=August 12, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818143325/http://www.nypost.com/seven/08122009/news/regionalnews/34th_st__bus_countdown_clocks_ticking_184108.htm|archive-date=August 18, 2009|url-status=dead}}
{{cite web|last1=Parker|first1=Billy|title=Countdown Clocks Make Their Way Above Ground|url=http://gothamist.com/2009/08/12/countdown_clocks_make_their_way_abo.php|publisher=Gothamist|access-date=November 8, 2015|date=August 12, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918134539/http://gothamist.com/2009/08/12/countdown_clocks_make_their_way_abo.php|archive-date=September 18, 2009|df=mdy-all}} Around this time, many new Orion VII NG buses delivered to the MTA were equipped with AVL consoles built by Clever Devices.{{cite news|title=MTA NYC Transit Bus Arrival Info Here Now on 34th Street Crosstown|url=http://www.mta.info/news/2013/01/14/mta-nyc-transit-bus-arrival-info-here-now-34th-street-crosstown|access-date=March 11, 2016|work=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|date=January 14, 2013|archive-date=November 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128220538/https://www.mta.info/news/2013/01/14/mta-nyc-transit-bus-arrival-info-here-now-34th-street-crosstown|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Bus Company Committee Meeting January 2010|url=http://mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/100125_1033_BUS.pdf|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=March 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218050154/http://mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/100125_1033_BUS.pdf|archive-date=December 18, 2010|url-status=dead|date=January 2010}} On October 14, 2010, the first version of the Bus Time web service, also developed by Clever Devices, was launched along the route using the same GPS system.{{cite web|title=New York City Transit: History and Chronology|url=http://www.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffhist.htm|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=March 12, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108233754/http://www.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffhist.htm|archive-date=January 8, 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last1=Magee|first1=Kelly|title=Bus here yet? Check your phone|url=https://nypost.com/2010/10/15/bus-here-yet-check-your-phone/|work=New York Post|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=October 15, 2010}}{{cite web|title=MTA Bus Time® to Debut Sunday on the M34/M34A SBS Crosstown|url=http://mta.info/news/stories/?story=631|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=November 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410103916/http://mta.info/news/stories/?story=631|archive-date=April 10, 2012|date=April 6, 2012}} Following the transition of the two routes into the M34 and M34A Select Bus Service in late 2011, the countdown clocks were removed by the contractor in April 2012, and were replaced with the current Bus Time system.{{cite web|last1=Donohue|first1=Pete|title=MTA has given up on bus countdown clocks in favor of Bus Time program|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-prefers-bus-time-countdown-clocks-article-1.1217360|work=Daily News|access-date=November 8, 2015|date=December 10, 2012}}{{cite web|last1=Bernstein|first1=Andrea|title=The Actual Story – The MTA Removes Countdown Clocks on the Crosstown Line|url=http://www.wnyc.org/story/283501-real-time-bus-info-comes-to-ny-crosstown-route/|website=wnyc.org|publisher=WNYC|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=April 9, 2012}}

The pilot route for the most recent iteration of MTA Bus Time was the {{NYC bus link|B63}} in Brooklyn, where thirty buses were equipped with the technology in February 2011.{{cite web|title=MTA BusTime Offers Real-Time Bus Location Information for B63 Customers: Information Available Online, by Text Message and on Your Smartphone; MTA BusTime Coming to Staten Island Next|url=http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/31482/release-2011-02-01-b63-bustime.pdf|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=February 1, 2011}} By January 2012, every local and express bus in Staten Island was equipped with the system.{{cite web|last1=Sedon|first1=Michael|title=New service will tell Staten Island commuters where their bus is|url=http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/01/new_service_will_tell_staten_i.html|work=Staten Island Advance|access-date=November 9, 2015|location=Staten Island, New York|date=January 11, 2012}} The M34/M34A SBS began using the system on April 6, 2012, with nearly every Bronx bus route using the system by the end of 2012. All five boroughs of the city used the system by March 2014, and a mobile app was released in 2015.{{cite web|title=MTA Real-Time Bus Tracking Arriving in Brooklyn and Queens in March|url=http://www.mta.info/news-bus-time-buses-brooklyn-queens/2014/02/24/mta-real-time-bus-tracking-arriving-brooklyn-and|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=February 24, 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Whitford|first1=Emma|title=MTA's Bus Tracker Is Now Available As An App|url=http://gothamist.com/2015/06/05/mta_bus_times_there.php|publisher=Gothamist|access-date=November 9, 2015|date=June 5, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113120928/http://gothamist.com/2015/06/05/mta_bus_times_there.php|archive-date=November 13, 2015|df=mdy-all}}

In 2019, the MTA Bus Time and MYmta apps began displaying real-time passenger counts for express buses.{{cite web | last=Bascome | first=Erik | title=Here’s how to see if that bus you’re waiting for has open seats | website=silive | date=July 3, 2019 | url=https://www.silive.com/news/2019/07/heres-how-to-see-if-that-bus-youre-waiting-for-has-open-seats.html | access-date=August 10, 2024}} This functionality was later expanded to all bus routes and added to the MYmta app in 2020.{{cite web | last=Schulz | first=Dana | title=The MTA's app now tells you how many people are on a bus in real-time | website=6sqft | date=July 21, 2020 | url=https://www.6sqft.com/the-mtas-app-now-tells-you-how-many-people-are-on-a-bus-in-real-time/ | access-date=August 10, 2024}} The MTA removed the real-time passenger counts from the MTA Bus Time app in August 2024, but the counts were restored following objections from customers.{{cite web | last=Matteo | first=Mike | title=MTA restores express bus seat counts on mobile app; here’s what you should know | website=silive | date=August 9, 2024 | url=https://www.silive.com/news/2024/08/mta-restores-express-bus-seat-counts-on-mobile-app-heres-what-you-should-know.html?outputType=amp | access-date=August 10, 2024}}

References

External links

"MTA Bus Time" on MTA website:
[http://bustime.mta.info/ Main Site]
[http://bustime.mta.info/wiki/About About]
[http://bustime.mta.info/wiki/Main/Technology Technology]

Category:MTA Regional Bus Operations

Category:Bus transportation in New York City

Category:Public transport information systems

Category:Mobile software

Category:2011 establishments in New York City