N.Y. MTA taps real-time information team

[East New York]

Metro Magazine - Cambridge Systematics Inc. and subcontractor OpenPlans Transportation were selected by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority to develop the software for MTA Bus Time, a real-time bus customer information system for New York City.

 

MTA Bus Time will enable bus riders to use smart phones, text messaging or their Web browser to learn how far the next bus is from their stop, saving them time and making bus travel easier. Users also can scan Quick Response (QR) codes on bus stop signs to learn instantly when the next bus will arrive.

 

The system will launch in Staten Island next January, covering all local and express bus routes, and expand to the rest of New York City by mid-2013, covering 6,000 buses and serving 2.5 million riders.

 

The MTA Bus Time platform will allow third-party developers to build their own apps using real-time bus data, so travelers may soon be able to choose from dozens of different smart phone apps, tailored for different kinds of riders.

 

MTA Bus Time is a second collaboration between Cambridge Systematics and New York-based OpenPlans Transportation, who have teamed to deploy an open source transit data warehouse in the Atlanta region.

 

N.Y. MTA taps real-time information team - News - METRO Magazine

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Hmm... Next January... I'll believe it when I see it.

[FamousNYLover]

I wonder why can't M34/M34A SBS is not on NextBus?

B63 bus, Battery Park City Shuttle Bus and RIOC Bus is on Next Bus GPS Locator.

 

Even NY Waterway's free ferry shuttle bus is not on NextBus either.

[mark1447]

I wonder when they WILL make a proper mobile web version of the M34/34A countdown? Sucks i gotta use desktop view just to gain access to the count down.

 

Plus i no longer see bus stop IDs along stops on 34th..

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Okay, so it's now January 2012... No more delays and excuses... I'm looking for that bus tracking info that is supposed to be coming to Staten Island. When?? When???!!?!?

 

Last night I had to run across the street and dodge cars because the last X10 came early. Everyone who took the bus had to run to catch him. :mad: And no I arrived early. He was supposed to leave 57th and 3rd at 22:30 and somehow he got to my stop in 3 minutes (46th & 5th)... B) Yeah right... The bus had folks on it, so I seriously doubt he picked up all of those folks and left at 22:30. He wouldn't had to have hit at least a few lights.

[checkmatechamp13]

Okay, so it's now January 2012... No more delays and excuses... I'm looking for that bus tracking info that is supposed to be coming to Staten Island. When?? When???!!?!?

 

Last night I had to run across the street and dodge cars because the last X10 came early. Everyone who took the bus had to run to catch him. :mad: And no I arrived early. He was supposed to leave 57th and 3rd at 22:30 and somehow he got to my stop in 3 minutes (46th & 5th)... Yeah right... The bus had folks on it, so I seriously doubt he picked up all of those folks and left at 22:30. He wouldn't had to have hit at least a few lights.

 

I see you've picked up some of my habits. B)

 

And according to Google Transit, the bus is supposed to reach 5th Avenue/45th Street at 22:36, so there's a chance that those people were already waiting at the Lexington Avenue stop, so when he left at 22:30, they were already onboard and he was able to make it to 45th Street without hitting a red light (I mean, it's unlikely, but possible).

 

In any case, leaving yourself 3 minutes for the last bus of the night is cutting it pretty close (I mean, if I could, I would've left a couple of minutes earlier if I were you). Even if it's only a few stops from the terminal, the B/O's watch could be set a couple of minutes ahead, and if he goes by that watch, you're screwed.

 

In any case, how early was he when he reached Battery Place?

 

And technically, they could put up Bus Tracking January 31st and still say they kept their promise of delivering it in January.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I see you've picked up some of my habits.

 

And according to Google Transit, the bus is supposed to reach 5th Avenue/45th Street at 22:36, so there's a chance that those people were already waiting at the Lexington Avenue stop, so when he left at 22:30, they were already onboard and he was able to make it to 45th Street without hitting a red light (I mean, it's unlikely, but possible).

 

In any case, leaving yourself 3 minutes for the last bus of the night is cutting it pretty close (I mean, if I could, I would've left a couple of minutes earlier if I were you). Even if it's only a few stops from the terminal, the B/O's watch could be set a couple of minutes ahead, and if he goes by that watch, you're screwed.

 

In any case, how early was he when he reached Battery Place?

 

And technically, they could put up Bus Tracking January 31st and still say they kept their promise of delivering it in January.

 

Well, I'm sorry but my office is across the street from the bus stop, so if I cross the street at 22:32 that should be sufficient enough. He's supposed to be there at 22:37. Under normal circumstances, I usually leave 10 minutes where possible before the bus is scheduled to arrive, but my thinking is he's just starting at 57th and 3rd at 22:30 and I'm relatively close to the beginning of the route. I saw him flying down 5th Avenue as I was about to cross the street. I had to literally put my hand out while running across to get him to stop. Seriously, I think that guy is on something. Like I said, it wasn't just me running to catch him. Just about everyone that got on had to run to catch him and he never stops at the actual stop. He acts as if he has no plans on actually stopping at the stop, which again forces people to run to chase him down since they're afraid he's going to continue without stopping.

 

A few people were muttering under their breaths particularly because he continues to not stop at the drop off stops either, letting people off where there is no side walk at. Last night he drives right by the stop there at Hylan and instead lets folks off by that tiny little triangle there where there is barely any sidewalk at and it's pitch black out. Getting to Slosson, he did the exact same thing. Pulls up to behind a car near the light and just opens the door to let people off right there on the service road. This time he wasn't even at the corner and there is no where to walk there on the service road (no sidewalk, nothing and pitch black). Then as the light changes, he closes the door and flies across the street to let the rest of people off where the actual bus stop is.

 

He really needs to be disciplined. The coming early thing is annoying, but what really pisses me is his lack of safety and what's worse are the stupid passengers that get off and are putting themselves in danger to be hit by oncoming traffic on that service road. A few people do ask him if he's going to stop at the normal stop across the street where there is a sidewalk there on Slosson and Reon, but I refuse to get off and demand that he stops at the normal stop where there's a sidewalk and it's lit enough so that I can see where I'm stepping at when I get off. It's really ridiculous. It's just a matter of time before someone gets hurt with his reckless driving. That service road really doesn't offer many places to stop once you fly past the stop in some sections, so that's why it's even more important that he stops where the stops are designated or lets folks off where they're safe from oncoming traffic.

 

As for the bus tracking, yeah I really hope it starts up this month. Aside from him, service on the X10 of late has been okay. B/Os have been close to the schedule or a few minutes behind, this way they pick up everybody. I don't mind if they floor it, but to floor it and come early when you're the last bus of the night and leave people stranded is unacceptable. Yesterday was a holiday too, so some folks weren't really sure of schedule.

[qjtransitmaster]

no surprise MTA want's to know what the problems of SI's bus system really is that is the ulterior motive of bus time. They want to get into the digital age Me thinks somebody was watching NJtransit for a while.

[checkmatechamp13]

I picked up a BusTime brochure on the S59 this morning, so it's probably going to come soon.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I picked up a BusTime brochure on the S59 this morning, so it's probably going to come soon.

 

 

YAY!!!! I keep checking SI Live for info too... Nothing yet, but I'll be checking to see if I see anything on the express bus. Didn't see anything on the X30 this morning. Oh and last night, you'll love this. I took the local bus from the X10. Didn't feel like paying $11.00 for a 5 minute ride. I timed it perfectly too. I checked the schedules of the S54, S61, S62 and S66 on my Thunderbolt. Got the 21:23 from 46th & 5th which was right on time, but he was one that I've had before. He made sure he picked everyone, but cut it too close to chance waiting for the last S54. I got off at Slosson as I normally do and just walked the few blocks to Victory knowing that a bus would be due soon. As soon as I turned the corner a bus was coming and I just got on. Made it to Clove & Victory in no time and got an S53 right as I was crossing the street. I'm not doing that too much though, but I saved $11.00, plus the $11.00 - $15.00 the other day taking the S53 over to Hylan. I have a small student loan that has $1,150.00 left on it and I want it paid off in full the next say 4 months or so. It was originally about $4,000.00 and I've been paying a little here and there since I have a bigger one that is about $25,000 B), so my thinking is if I cut back on car service which runs me a good $200.00+ some months, that I'll take that money and pay off the little friggin' loan, and violà, I'll have more money freed up to play around with (i.e. save or invest). That S53 was crowded and I felt like a fish out of water though being well dressed and such coming from work, so I'd prefer the S54 since there aren't many folks on it and it's a straight shoot to Forest from Victory. Once bus tracking comes in, I can track that S54 to see where it is while I'm on the express bus. Can't do that with car service. I usually try to call them in advance so that I have one waiting for me, but it doesn't always work out like that so this is great.

 

Funny thing about the local buses though is I feel perfectly fine taking the Madison Ave lines. More professional upscale, well dressed folks that ride like myself. :cool: Took the M1 to grab lunch up in the 50s off of Madison yesterday and boy you should see some of the folks that ride. Folks with old money as they call it. lol That's what I'm going to like about Riverdale though. Folks are wealthy up there, but they don't shun public transportation.

 

----

 

Update: Just found an e-mail address on the website for bus tracking so I'm going to e-mail to see if I can find out the exact date that this program is starting on Staten Island... Here is the e-mail address below:

 

MTABusTime@gmail.com

 

 

Also, I am checking out this site... http://bustime.mta.info/

 

You can click on an icon on the B63 can it updates the info of when a bus is to arrive at said stop about every 10 seconds. Very nice. :cool:

 

 

On a side note though, this bus tracking is a good 8 years overdue. In Italy, when I went to Bologna for the first time in 2004 and used the buses there, they already had bus tracking in place and no cell phone was needed. You come to the bus shelter and it has an electronic schedule which shows where the bus is (what stop, the distance and how long it is due to arrive).

[Amtrak7]

Link from SubChat:

 

MTA Bus Time

 

Looks to be nice...

[Amtrak7]

There are lots of mistakes...hope they fix them before launching!!!

 

S66 shown as including the whole of the former S60, not just the Grymes Hill part

x22 shown as running via Brooklyn

S74 shows Bricktown as a mid route diversion, not a terminal

S55 shows Arthur Kill

S89 is not shaped (straight line) from Bayonne to the ramp off the bridge

GTFS combo routes included (i.e. someone looking for the S40/S90

Ballpark station still shown.

 

Not all buses appear to be shown.

[checkmatechamp13]

There are lots of mistakes...hope they fix them before launching!!!

 

S66 shown as including the whole of the former S60, not just the Grymes Hill part

x22 shown as running via Brooklyn

S74 shows Bricktown as a mid route diversion, not a terminal

S55 shows Arthur Kill

S89 is not shaped (straight line) from Bayonne to the ramp off the bridge

GTFS combo routes included (i.e. someone looking for the S40/S90

Ballpark station still shown.

 

Not all buses appear to be shown.

 

For the S89, the reason why they do it is because it's nonstop between Bayonne and Walker Street, so rather than having it follow the curves of the road, they draw a straight line because everybody gets the point that it goes nonstop between those points. I'm pretty sure Google Transit does the same thing.

 

And it says "Error on page" at the bottom of the page when I try to search for something, so all I see is a zoomable image of the 5 boroughs and the nearby areas in NJ.

[SIR North Shore]

Just tried out the link and I give it a 9/10. :tup: :tup:

 

All of those random routes that aren't the normal route are various school runs.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Just tried out the link and I give it a 9/10. :tup: :tup:

 

All of those random routes that aren't the normal route are various school runs.

 

The only thing I don't like so far is that it can't tell how long the bus will take roughly to get from point A to point B. When it's freezing cold out or hot, that would be great to have, but this is definitely a step up, big time.

[error46146]

Login info?

[SIR North Shore]

The only thing I don't like so far is that it can't tell how long the bus will take roughly to get from point A to point B. When it's freezing cold out or hot, that would be great to have, but this is definitely a step up, big time.

 

While I agree that would be a nice amenity, I don't even think the MTA knows how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B. The schedules are merely suggestions. At least with BusTime, we can see exactly where the bus is at and I'll assume that you just have to give yourself enough time to reach your destination.

 

@Error... That's not the true bustime website, just a test page of some sort. You can sample it without the map though by using the mobile link and choosing a route:

 

MTA Bus Time: S79 (s79)

I like the service Alert: *The S79 is making great service*

When I checked out the map this am before heading out, the S79 runs very, very, very frequently. More-so than I ever would have thought. That's why S44 service is so....

 

MTA Bus Time: S57 (s57)

[Amtrak7]

The only thing I don't like so far is that it can't tell how long the bus will take roughly to get from point A to point B. When it's freezing cold out or hot, that would be great to have, but this is definitely a step up, big time.

 

That's the disadvantage with the MTA's own system rather than Clever Devices. A lot cheaper and a lot faster to implement, but that's the tradeoff. You should know approximately how long it takes to go one stop, though, if you use the route regularly.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

That's the disadvantage with the MTA's own system rather than Clever Devices. A lot cheaper and a lot faster to implement, but that's the tradeoff. You should know approximately how long it takes to go one stop, though, if you use the route regularly.

 

True, plus I figure that I have all of the bus schedules that I need on my Thunderbolt anyway, so I'll just check them where necessary. But it's great to know in advance if the bus has come or not, esp. if it's the last one. That's another thing though... Is there anyway of knowing if the bus you're tracking is the last bus or what?? The regular express buses that I use are supposed to be the last ones of the night, but sometimes they bunch and you may think that the last one came when in reality it's the next-to-last bus.

[checkmatechamp13]

True, plus I figure that I have all of the bus schedules that I need on my Thunderbolt anyway, so I'll just check them where necessary. But it's great to know in advance if the bus has come or not, esp. if it's the last one. That's another thing though... Is there anyway of knowing if the bus you're tracking is the last bus or what?? The regular express buses that I use are supposed to be the last ones of the night, but sometimes they bunch and you may think that the last one came when in reality it's the next-to-last bus.

 

It depends where you are on the line. If you're down by say, Worth Street, you might see one bus by 14th Street and another one by 23rd Street, and you'll be able to figure out that the last bus is the one by 23rd Street.

 

And by the way, there's no need to text any code. You can go to this website and search for your route in the box at the stop: MTA Bus Time: S46 (At least that's how it works on a regular computer. I don't know how it works on SmartPhones)

 

And since the route I searched as an example is the S46, it looks like there are some pretty big gaps in service (as of 18:16). Eastbound, there are buses by Lockman Avenue and Port Richmond Avenue, and the next one is all the way by the ferry. Westbound, there is only a bus by Castleton Avenue/Glen Avenue, and an S96 by the West Shore Plaza.

 

Hopefully, it's just a glitch in the system because I feel sorry for anybody who is waiting for buses if those are truly the only buses on the road. Eastbound, there should be a bus around Bard Avenue (the S46 runs every 12 minutes, and it's about 25 minutes from Port Richmond Avenue to St. George, so there should be one halfway between those points). Westbound, there should be one around Clove Road, one somewhere in Elm Park, and one somwhere along South Avenue, and there should be a few more S96s on the road as well.

[SIR North Shore]

True, plus I figure that I have all of the bus schedules that I need on my Thunderbolt anyway, so I'll just check them where necessary. But it's great to know in advance if the bus has come or not, esp. if it's the last one. That's another thing though... Is there anyway of knowing if the bus you're tracking is the last bus or what?? The regular express buses that I use are supposed to be the last ones of the night, but sometimes they bunch and you may think that the last one came when in reality it's the next-to-last bus.

 

This! I used to have work schedule that ended with enough time for me to catch the last X1 to Staten Island. The X1 itself is very reliable on most days, but there were some days when the bus would not show for awhile and then it shows up with standees & I get on assuming it's the last bus. When I hit Staten Island and get off, another near empty X1 comes flying past the stop. This happened last week of December and the X1 I rode was an old 2200 MCI while the empty X1 was a Prevost. :cry:

 

 

Maybe there is something preventing the S46 buses from transmitting their location at a certain point because I too felt like there's no way there are that few buses on road looking at the website compared to how many I normally see on Castleton.

[checkmatechamp13]

Definitely.

 

Even now, I think there's an error. It's showing one eastbound bus by Innis Street/John Street, and it's showing an S46 and S96 together a few blocks past Bay Street/Victory Blvd, and a few minutes ago, it was showing nothing at all in either direction.

 

Hopefully they'll work out these glitches.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

It depends where you are on the line. If you're down by say, Worth Street, you might see one bus by 14th Street and another one by 23rd Street, and you'll be able to figure out that the last bus is the one by 23rd Street.

 

And by the way, there's no need to text any code. You can go to this website and search for your route in the box at the stop: MTA Bus Time: S46 (At least that's how it works on a regular computer. I don't know how it works on SmartPhones)

 

And since the route I searched as an example is the S46, it looks like there are some pretty big gaps in service (as of 18:16). Eastbound, there are buses by Lockman Avenue and Port Richmond Avenue, and the next one is all the way by the ferry. Westbound, there is only a bus by Castleton Avenue/Glen Avenue, and an S96 by the West Shore Plaza.

 

Hopefully, it's just a glitch in the system because I feel sorry for anybody who is waiting for buses if those are truly the only buses on the road. Eastbound, there should be a bus around Bard Avenue (the S46 runs every 12 minutes, and it's about 25 minutes from Port Richmond Avenue to St. George, so there should be one halfway between those points). Westbound, there should be one around Clove Road, one somewhere in Elm Park, and one somwhere along South Avenue, and there should be a few more S96s on the road as well.

 

Yeah yeah yeah... I use the Desktop version on my Thunderbolt so I won't be doing any texting, although I did test the text feature out. The Desktop layout is much easier and quicker though since it updates automatically. With the text messages you would have to keep texting to find out where the bus is in terms of its location. Rather annoying if you're really trying to track where a bus is since its position is usually constantly changing.

[SIR North Shore]

The mobile Bus time website has been functioning properly today just in case anyone is wondering. There were no missing buses as far as I could see.

[SIR North Shore]

I manged to find a couple more errors on the website:

 

the SI-bound X1 & X10 has

 

5 AV - W 27 ST

BROADWAY - E 22 ST

BROADWAY - E13 ST

 

when it should be

 

5 AV - W 27 ST

W 23 ST - 5 AV

PARK AV S - E 22 ST

BROADWAY - E13 ST

 

And the Midtown X10 is missing

W 23 ST - AV OF THE AMERICAS