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Over in the United
States, the MTA, a New York City public transport service is to invest to
upgrade their bus fleet with free Wi-Fi, information screens and USB charging
ports. The investment will also include new buses for their fleet.
From MTA Press release
Governor Cuomo
Announces Significant Upgrade of MTA Bus Fleet, With More Than 2,000 New
State-of-the-Art Buses to be Added Over Next 5 Years
New
Technology to Dramatically Enhance Customer Experience – Including Wi-Fi, USB
Charging Ports, and Digital Information Screens
Governor
Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the MTA would add 2,042 state-of-the-art new buses to its transportation fleet over the
next five years. The Governor, joined by MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas
Prendergast and MTA New York City Transit President Ronnie Hakim, introduced
the next generation vehicles to the public, as well as previewed enhanced amenities like USB charging ports and Wi-Fi. The
new buses, which will replace nearly 40
percent of the MTA’s current fleet and represent a $1.3 billion investment of Capital Program resources, will begin
hitting streets next month.
“We’re
reimagining the MTA to improve services for all New Yorkers,” said Governor
Cuomo. “Today’s world demands connectivity, and we’re meeting that challenge
with state-of-the-art buses and a major
overhaul of the MTA’s fleet. This upgrade will create a stronger, more
convenient and more connected mass transit system for years to come.”
The
buses, which will have a distinct new look and feel, are a vital part of the
state’s efforts to significantly transform
and modernize the MTA, its infrastructure, and its fleet to meet the growing
demands of the 21st century. The state is contributing $8.3 billion to help fund the MTA’s $26.1 billion 2015-19 Capital
Program.
All
new buses will include added amenities designed to dramatically improve the
overall customer experience, including the charging
ports and free Wi-Fi hotspots on all
rides. A new pilot program to install digital information screens on 200
buses will begin this year, providing customers with the most up to date
information available on upcoming stops, available transfers, weather, and
other information.
The
Governor has called on the MTA to accelerate the deployment of new technology
on city buses to improve the passenger experience and enhance a system that is
more than a century old.
By
2020, 2,042 buses will be equipped with
Wi-Fi hotspots. Seventy-five of the
first new buses will make their debut
in the 2nd and 3rd quarter of this year in Queens, and over the next two years another 70 buses will begin operating in Brooklyn, 209 in the Bronx, and 18 in Manhattan. The remaining new buses will be assigned to various routes throughout the
five boroughs from 2018 through 2020. Additionally, the MTA is in the
process of upgrading existing busses with Wi-Fi and USB charging ports. By the
end of 2017, all express buses will be retrofitted with Wi-Fi and USB charging
ports.
“Wireless
connectivity is prevalent in the lives of our customers. More and more people are using Wi-Fi enabled devices such as
smartphones, laptops, tablets and e-book readers on a daily basis and the
MTA can accommodate this growing trend by introducing high-speed connectivity
and charging ports on-board MTA buses," MTA Chairman and CEO Tom
Prendergast said. “We are fully committed to meeting Governor Cuomo’s challenge
head-on to ensure the entire MTA is focused on delivering improvements to the
people who rely on us every day.”
"Our
new buses will also have a new look and new energy to convey this dynamism as
we bring rapid improvements to our customers," MTA President Hakim said. “More than 2 million people depend on New
York City buses on its busiest days, and as the Governor has made
explicitly clear, we must enhance our transit system to improve everyone's
daily experience."
The
Wi-Fi will provide a new level of connectivity to New Yorkers, bringing ease and
convenience to those working, reading emails, or checking in on their social
media accounts without impacting their cellular data plans. The number of USB
ports on buses will range from 35-55, depending on the make and model, and will
be conveniently located throughout the bus.
Digital information
screens will also provide customers with travel information to reduce anxiety
about missing stops and better enable customers to
plan and arrive at their destinations on time. Buses will have two to three LCD
screens mounted inside the bus, displaying everything from automated stop
announcements, available transfers at each stop, news, weather and advertising
as well as real-time communication from the bus command center.
With
nearly 8.7 million travelers per day,
these upgrades are part of a robust plan to fully transform the MTA into an
innovative, state-of-the-art system with improved customer service and
first-class amenities.
The
first 75 buses slated to roll out this
year are being manufactured by New
Flyer Industries, which is planning to open
a new facility Western New York in November 2016 to assemble major
components on these buses, bringing 30
new jobs to New York.
So that means they are
upgrading their bus services to a premium service, compared to London Buses
which only have audio and visual announcements. The bus types that the MTA have
ordered are going to be manufactured by New Flyer Industries. I don’t know if they are
going to be diesel-electric hybrid or
zero emission as it's not mentioned
in their press release.
There are bus some
services outside of London that have services with Wi-Fi, announcements and
charging ports. I wrote an article on the premium bus services in Britain. Also, in Kent
Thameside the Bus Rapid Transit scheme ‘Fastrack’ buses have
Wi-Fi, announcements and charging ports for their services.
I know this news is
coming from America, but it’s worth showing how transport industries around the
world are progressing.
Recently, the London Mayor placed an order for another 200 New
Routemaster buses to increase the fleet to 1,000 and those buses are
manufactured by Wrightbus.
You
can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr,
Pinterest and Google Plus which
is @CLondoner92
Image Attribution
By AEMoreira042281 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14831834
