When the arrival times of buses and trains are not known to travelers waiting to board them, the time spent waiting while not knowing how long the wait will last is typically perceived to be from two to two and half times the actual wait time. Informing transit travelers at a bus stop or a train station of the expected arrival time of a bus or a train will go a long way in bringing this perception in line with the actual wait time. Achieving this goal will reduce transit travel anxiety, will increase a traveler’s propensity to use transit, and will reduce private vehicle usage in the long run.

The purpose of the symposium is threefold:

To highlight the importance of deploying real-time traveler information in transit systems

To showcase US and international transit properties that have successfully implemented real-time traveler information systems

To describe current efforts and future plans at the MTA (New York) in deploying real-time information systems for bus, subways, and commuter rail services

Speakers

• Andrew Bata, MTA New York City Transit
• Clair Fiet, Utah Transit Authority
• Denis Poliquin, ALSTOM Transportation Information and Security Inc.
• Panel Moderator: John Falcocchio, Polytechnic Institute of NYU