The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) in the US has completed the first phase of Green Line tracking that offers real-time information and predictions to the passengers.
The new development is part of a multi-phase project aimed to serve Green Line’s 227,000 daily customers with accurate information.
Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) secretary and CEO Richard A. Davey said: "Following the revolutionary release of our real-time data to developers and the installation of the customer-favourite Countdown Clocks, Green Line customers will now begin to have the same level of information to make better-informed travel decisions while riding the surface lines of the MBTA."
As part of MBTA’s open data initiative, completion of the first phase delivers the above-ground Green Line train locations to real-time data feed, allowing the passengers to know the exact train timings through real-time applications.
In 2010, MBTA started providing real-time data for all 1,000 buses, followed by the heavy rail subway and commuter rail real-time data.
The second phase, scheduled for the end of this autumn, aims to deliver predicted arrival times for the Green Line, starting with the above-ground branches by the beginning of December.
It will allow MBTA to include the predictions in the real-time data feed and to start activating countdown signs at surface stations on the D-branch.
Scheduled for late 2014, the third phase will provide predictions to Green Line subway stations once the tracking hardware is installed in the tunnels.
The Green Line tracking project is fully funded by the state grant and the entire fleet of 225 trains will be equipped with GPS technology with a funding of approximately $1m.
Image: Green Line train built by AnsaldoBreda on the ‘B’ Branch. Photo: courtesy of Adam E. Moreira.
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