The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority plans to install wireless Internet access at bus stops, reports the Washington Business Journal.
The bidding companies would recoup their investments by charging for services or selling online ads. The transit agency would share in the revenue and provide riders with up-to-the-minute information on bus and train service.
Metro officials say wireless access, along with plans to sell broadcast rights in buses and trains, would increase the system’s $35 million annual ad sales by “several-fold,” but they wouldn’t provide specific figures. They do concede the total could top $100 million annually. That increase would boost Metro’s 2007 expected operating revenue of $643 million by about 10 percent.
The wireless-Internet proposal is the latest in the transit system’s bid to use its 700,000 daily riders to appeal to advertisers. Some 16 teams from 25 companies have submitted proposals to partner with the transit authority. Officials met with four of the groups to discuss the plans further, but wouldn’t name the companies.
The transit agency expects to issue RFPs for the wireless service and other technology upgrades in November, but the timeline could change. Metro also launched a three-year pilot program with Citibank where passengers can receive MasterCards with a computer chip that allows them to pay fares and parking or make purchases with the same card.
“It’s one of those where you think, ‘I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner,’” says Karen O’Shaughnessy, media director for D.C.-based Bomstein Ad Agency.
To increase revenue, Metro wants to add underground cell-phone service from companies other than Verizon Wireless, the only provider since 1997, which means that currently only Verizon customers can use their cell phones in the subway. Verizon spent $26 million to install its network and a Metro radio system for rail. The company also shares revenue from underground calls.
To lower costs, Metro has budgeted $20 million to convert to an Internet-based telephone network. Motorola is working to improve a new police radio system that doesn’t work in seven areas of the 86-station system. Metro wants the public-private partnerships to address emergency communications.
Public Transportation is using a variety of technology:
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The LYNX transit system in Central Florida has equipped six buses with on-board wireless Internet that allows passengers with wireless-equipped laptops to read on-line news, shop by computer, check e-mail and instant-message with friends. Viasys is installing 33 Tropos 5110 radios along the 14 mile route to Disney World and Tropos 4110 radio on each bus. - AC Transit buses in Oakland, California are become rolling Internet cafes. It uses a cellular backbone. Wi-Fi-equipped buses will some day pave the way for other enhancements such as GPS mapping services that allow passengers to go on-line to find nearby stores and restaurants.
- New software-enhanced surveillance systems continuously detect suspicious activities such as unattended items, rapid movements, sudden changes in light and sound, and different types of intrusions is automatically relayed to personnel in the operations control center. On-board Wi-Fi surveillance allows real-time images to be transmitted to police in the event of an emergency, and automatic vehicle location systems make it easy to track down transit vehicles in distress.
- Advances in smart card technology are giving passengers more flexibility and rewards for riding public transportation. New advanced collection systems allow passengers to pass through the turnstiles without waiting in line, and the chip-based cards store fare information and certain discounts they can receive. If the cards are lost, the transit system can disable them so the passenger is reimbursed and receives a new card.
- Interoperable fare cards will soon allow passengers to travel on different transit systems within regions of the country using one card. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), which serves the San Francisco area, recently announced it would offer a “BART Rewards” program that gives frequent riders cash or free tickets.
- Riders have added control over planning their trips thanks to new passenger information technology like NextBus that can alert them when the next bus or train is coming by e-mail or cell phone, and provide real-time updates at the station on its location and how long they will have to wait.
- In New York, HopStop.com provides directions throughout the city using most forms of public transit. Trips123.com, sponsored by a consortium of 16 public transportation and law enforcement agencies in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut provide detailed itineraries on dozens of public and private carriers across the region and PublicRoutes.com, which went online in June and provides directions by knitting together various modes of public transit throughout much of Long Island, New Jersey and southern New York State.
A three-digit telephone numbering system, using 511, provides a gateway for multimodal transportation information to help plan and schedule the most efficient combination of bus and/or rail routes in their area.
The 511 Deployment Coalition is led by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), along with the American Public Transit Association (APTA), the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). More than 30 public agencies, industry groups, industry associations, and private companies from around the country participate in 511.
