Wi-Fi-Enabled
Buses Can Serve as
the Foundation for
Building a
Smart City
W
HEN MARYLAND
state and county offi cials
recently cut the ribbon
on a new bus route, they
made sure to highlight the
fact that each bus off ers
a Wi-Fi connection. It’s
the latest example of the
nationwide push to equip buses
and other mass transit systems
with Wi-Fi. However, the potential
exists to off er riders so much
more than a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot
for checking emails or watching
Netfl ix. Imagine the benefi ts of
integrating the entire fl eet into a
city-wide network that provides
riders with real-time information,
news updates and off ers from local
businesses, government agencies
and the mass transit system based
on their locations. Th at doesn’t
have to be a dream for the future.
Th e technology exists today that
will compel more people to ride
buses, and even enable municipal
offi cials to move forward with
their plans to build smart cities.
Adding high-speed wireless
Internet access to buses is an important
fi rst step to achieving those
goals, and their numbers are growing
nationwide. According to the
American Public Transportation
Association (APTA), the percentage
of buses outfi tted with Wi-Fi
rose from just 0.5 percent in 2008
to 5.1 percent in 2014. But it appears
that enabling people to get some
work done or entertain themselves
is not enough to make riding the
bus a more compelling alternative
to driving their own cars.
Last year, the research group
TransitCenter asked more than
3,000 online respondents from 17
regions across the country what upgrades
they’d like to see on their
commutes. Th ey provided several
options, including free Wi-Fi, power
outlets, more frequent service,
faster travel times, cheaper fares,
robust shelters, and updates on
when their buses will arrive. Th e
outlets and Wi-Fi came in last place.
Of course people are more concerned
about on-time schedules
and convenient routes — that’s not
a surprising fi nding. But that does
not mean transit systems should
slow eff orts to connect buses to the
Internet. Just the opposite, in fact.
Putting the “Smart”
in Smart Cities
Nearly 80 percent of Americans
carry smartphones. Th ey’re
connected to the web, and each
24 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | JUNE 2017
other, every minute of the day.
Th is creates tremendous opportunities
to turn bus stops and buses
into vehicles for delivering government
services more effi ciently,
and for triggering many useful
mobile applications depending on
the user context, such as the end
user waiting at the bus stop. Th is
is also the opportunity to engage
businesses with their customers
through targeted and highly personalized
content.
Th e mass transit system can
serve as the foundation for a
so-called “smart city” that improves
the overall quality of life
for residents and spurs long-term
economic growth. Turning train
stations, bus stops, airports and
even parking spaces and street
lights into a smart network creates
a web of interactive points
that enable residents and visitors
to receive hyper-contextualized,
proximity-based, relevant notifi -
cations on their mobile devices.
Public transportation operator
Keolis has installed near fi eld
communications (NFC) tags —
the same wireless two-way communications
standard you may use
when you send fi les wirelessly to
another person’s phone, or make a
purchase at a store — to bus stops
in the city of Bordeaux. Th ese NFC
tags can provide up-to-the-minute
updates to travelers on bus arrival
times. Th e rider simply taps his or
her phone to the bus stop tag to see
live information on the next buses
due to arrive at the stop, and at bus
stops nearby.
ACCESS TO
the transport
application
thanks to
beacon.
A RIDER snaps a
photo of the user
board.
By Laetitia Gazel Anthoine
What are the benefi ts of integrating an
entire bus fl eet to coordinate real-time
information, news update and incorporate
off ers from local businesses and government
agencies into a transit system?
Buses with
Wi-Fi
0.5%
in 2008
5.1%
2017