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1 1  = **MTA Bus Time Technology** =
2 2  
3 -[[image:BusTimebus.jpg||alt="Bus Time bus logo" data-xwiki-image-style-alignment="start" style="margin:10px 10px 10px 0px"]]
3 +[[image:BusTimebus.jpg||alt="Bus Time bus logo" style="margin:10px 10px 10px 0px; float:left"]]
4 4  
5 -MTA Bus Time integrates several proven technologies to bring real-time information to its riders.
5 +MTA Bus Time integrates a number of proven technologies to bring real-time information to riders. The result is a system that delivers great results to our customers while being **highly cost-effective, fast to deploy, simple to maintain and operate, and supports expansions in the future** as time and money allow.
6 6  
7 -The two main parts of the MTA Bus Time system are the on-bus hardware and the MTA Bus Time server. Each of these was tailored to the project's needs and to meet the MTA's strategic technology goals. The simplest way to sum up those goals is "Open."
7 +The two main parts of the MTA Bus Time system are the on-bus hardware and the MTA Bus Time server. The delivery of each of these was tailored to the project's specific needs and to meet the broader MTA's strategic technology goals. The simplest way to sum up those goals is "Open."
8 8  
9 -The MTA BusTime system is open to external developers to create their own real-time bus applications using the Bus Time data feed. If you would like to learn more about developing applications using Bus Time, read more about the [[MTA Bus Time Developer API>>url:https://bustime.mta.info/wiki/Developers/Index]].
9 +First and foremost, the MTA BusTime system is open to external developers to create their own real-time bus applications using the Bus Time data feed. If you would like to learn more about developing applications using Bus Time, read more about the [[MTA Bus Time Developer API>>Developers.Index]]. 
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11 -It is also open internally in the integration of the different technology components. This gives us flexibility as to who supplies the on-board hardware (which reports each bus's position), who maintains and improves the MTA BusTime server (which puts all the information together and responds to users' requests), and what other features the system can support in the future.
11 +It is also open internally, in terms of how the different pieces of technology fit together. This gives the MTA maximum flexibility with regards to who supplies the on-board hardware (which reports each bus' position), who develops the MTA BusTime server (which puts all the information together and responds to users' requests), and what other applications the MTA Bus Time system can support in the future.
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13 +
13 13  = The On-Bus Hardware =
14 14  
15 -[[image:TechnologyDowntownTrace.png||alt="GPS traces of Downtown Manhattan urban canyons" data-xwiki-image-style-alignment="end" style="margin:10px 0px 10px 10px"]]
16 +One goal of the project was to demonstrate that the same type of hardware used in our {{html}}<a href="https://www.mta.info/news/stories/?story=70">Smart Card Pilot Program</a>{{/html}} can support the MTA Bus Time system. This would allow the MTA to save time and money by installing a single set of hardware on buses to meet fare payment and real-time bus tracking needs.
16 16  
17 -The on-bus hardware has gone through multiple generations and suppliers. For the pilot on the B63 route (2011) and the retrofits to Staten Island and the Bronx (2012), the MTA partnered with VeriFone Inc. For the 2013 retrofits to the other boroughs the MTA partnered with Cubic Transportation Inc.  Beginning in 2018, for new buses, the MTA designed and implemented its own version. Each solution used open standards implemented by Commercially available Off-The Shelf (COTS) products to transmit the data, initially over Verizon's 3G, and later its 4G wireless data network.
18 +To implement this, for both the pilot on the B63 route in Brooklyn and the rollout to Staten Island and The Bronx, the MTA partnered with {{html}}<a href="https://www.verifone.com/">VeriFone</a>{{/html}}, who supplied the on-bus hardware for the MTA's Smart Card pilot. This hardware solution used open standards implemented by commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) products. These include the VeriFone {{html}}<a href="https://www.verifone.com/unattended-outdoor/transitpay.aspx
19 +">TransitPay MX-700</a>{{/html}}, a small, rugged, and highly secure on-board computer terminal to record and process the data, and the Sierra Wireless {{html}}<a href="https://www.sierrawireless.com/AirLinkGX400">AirLink GX400</a>{{/html}} cellular gateway to transmit the data over Verizon's 3G wireless data network.
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19 -To report the bus's location, each version of the hardware includes an enhanced GPS device with "[[dead reckoning>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_reckoning]]" to compensate for lost or corrupted GPS signals in New York's "[[urban canyons>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_canyon]]."
21 +In keeping with the MTA’s policy to have at least two suppliers, for Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, the MTA has partnered with {{html}}<a href="https://cts.cubic.com/">Cubic Transportation Systems </a>{{/html}} to supply an alternate set of hardware. This includes Cubic's "Mobile Validator" rugged terminal, and the {{html}}<a href="https://www.cradlepoint.com/products/machine-to-machine-routers/cor-ibr600-3G-4G-router">CradlePoint IBR-600</a>{{/html}} cellular gateway to transmit the data over Verizon's 4G wireless data network.
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21 -What happens on each bus is simple - at regular intervals, the hardware reports the bus’s location and external destination sign information to the MTA Bus Time server in an open-standard format. Until 2025, the reporting rate has been every 30 seconds. In 2025 we are increasing it to between every 5 and 15 seconds.
23 +[[image:TechnologyDowntownTrace.png||alt="GPS traces of Downtown Manhattan urban canyons" style="margin:10px 0px 10px 10px; float:right"]]To report the bus' location. The MTA's partners add one of two enhanced GPS devices: the {{html}}<a href="https://www.trimble.com/gps-fleet-tracking/placer-gold-series.aspx?dtID=overview">Placer Gold</a>{{/html}}, or the {{html}}<a href="https://trl.trimble.com/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-609641/022542-040_A3000_DS_0412_LR.pdf">A3000</a>{{/html}}, both supplied by {{html}}<a href="https://www.trimble.com">Trimble</a>{{/html}}. This rugged, standalone component has multiple industry standard interfaces and uses "{{html}}<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_reckoning">dead reckoning</a>{{/html}}" to compensate for lost or corrupted GPS signals in New York's "{{html}}<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_canyon">urban canyons</a>{{/html}}." 
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23 -= The MTA Bus Time Server =
25 +While good GPS signals can be obtained for the B63 route and the routes in Staten Island, it was important to demonstrate that this approach would work in all of New York City. The accuracy of the enhanced GPS device was validated, even in Manhattan's worst urban canyons, through testing by MTA engineers in conjunction with a joint research team from {{html}}<a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a>{{/html}} and the {{html}}<a href="https://www.cuny.edu/">City University of New York</a>{{/html}}.
24 24  
25 -This is where the magic happens. All the complexity of sorting through thousands of buses resides on the server. It is this simplicity of design for the on-bus hardware that sets MTA Bus Time apart from other real-time bus tracking and customer information systems.
27 +What happens on each equipped bus is simple - every 30 seconds, the terminal collects the enhanced GPS data and information about what is displayed on the bus' external destination sign. It then sends these data, via the 3G/4G wireless modem, to the MTA Bus Time server in an open-standard format. All the complexity resides on the Bus Time server. It is this simplicity of design for the on-bus hardware, that sets MTA Bus Time apart from other real-time bus tracking and customer information systems and allows it to work with standard payment processing hardware.
26 26  
27 -The server receives the information from each bus in the fleet and integrates it with map, route, and schedule data, along with previous updates. It then applies sophisticated inferential algorithms to determine whether the bus is in or out of service, what route it is serving (if any), and its direction of service. From these inferences, it then determines what stops that bus is going to make, how far the bus is from each stop, and predicts the bus’s time of arrival at each downstream stop.
29 += The MTA Bus Time Server =
28 28  
29 -The server then makes this information available to users in a number of different ways: via a [[desktop web map>>url:https://bustime.mta.info/]], a [[mobile web site>>url:https://bustime.mta.info/m/]] , and [[via SMS>>url:https://bustime.mta.info/wiki/Help/TextIt]] on all mobile phones. It also provides an [[API>>url:https://bustime.mta.info/wiki/Developers/Index]] for developers to create their own applications and interfaces to use the Bus Time data.
31 +This is where the magic happens. Approximately every 30 seconds, the MTA Bus Time server receives the information described above from each bus in the Bus Time project. The server integrates this information with map, route, and schedule data, as well as previous real-time updates. The server then applies sophisticated inferential algorithms to determine whether the bus is in or out of service, what route it is serving (if any), if it is on a detour, and its direction of service. Based on these inferences it then determines what stops the bus is going to make and how far the bus is from each stop.
30 30  
33 +At that point, the MTA Bus Time server simply makes this information available to users in a number of different ways - via a {{html}}<a href="https://bustime.mta.info">desktop web map</a>{{/html}}, a {{html}}<a href="https://bustime.mta.info/m/">mobile web site</a>{{/html}} on iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, or other smartphones, and [[via SMS>>Help.TextIt]] on all mobile phones. It also provides an [[API>>Developers.Index]] for developers to create their own applications and interfaces to use the Bus Time data.
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35 +
32 32  = MTA Bus Time Software =
33 33  
34 -The MTA Bus Time server is powered by the [[OneBusAway>>url:https://www.onebusaway.org/]] open-source software package. This software was originally developed to aggregate real-time information from multiple bus and ferry operators in the Seattle area and make it available to Seattle's transit users via a range of internet and mobile interfaces.
38 +The MTA Bus Time server is powered by the {{html}}<a href="https://www.onebusaway.org/">OneBusAway</a>{{/html}} Open source software package. This software was originally developed to aggregate real-time information from multiple bus and ferry operators in the Seattle area and make it available to Seattle's transit users via a range of internet and mobile interfaces. OneBusAway uses as its baseline information transit schedules published in the {{html}}<a href="https://code.google.com/transit/spec/transit_feed_specification.html">GTFS</a>{{/html}} format, which the MTA is {{html}}<a href="https://mta.info/developers/download.html">already publishing</a>{{/html}} for all of its bus and rail services.
35 35  
40 +Since OneBusAway is {{html}}<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software">Open Source software</a>{{/html}}, the MTA is able to use it free of charge. Bus Time required a number of improvements and customizations to OneBusAway, for which the MTA partnered with {{html}}<a href="https://transportation.openplans.org/">OpenPlans</a>{{/html}} for the pilot, and with both OpenPlans and {{html}}<a href="https://camsys.com/srv_it_overview.htm">Cambridge Systematics</a>{{/html}} for the rollout. All of these improvements have been contributed back to the OneBusAway project, and are now publicly available and free for any other developer or transit agency to use. 
36 36  
37 -OneBusAway uses as its baseline information transit schedules published in the [[GTFS>>url:https://code.google.com/transit/spec/transit_feed_specification.html]] format, which the MTA is [[already publishing>>url:https://mta.info/developers/download.html]] for all of its bus and rail services.
42 +|=(% style="WIDTH: 16%; padding-top: 15px; text-align: center" %)[[[[image:MTALogo.png||width="65" alt="MTA logo"]]>>https:////mta.info]]|=(% style="WIDTH: 27%; padding-top: 15px; text-align: center" %)[[[[image:CSLogo.png||width="180" alt="cambridge systematics logo"]]>>https:////camsys.com]]|=(% style="WIDTH: 27%; padding-top: 15px; text-align: center" %)[[[[image:OPLogo.png||width="180" alt="open plans logo"]]>>https:////openplans.org]] |=(% style="WIDTH: 27%; padding-top: 15px; text-align: center" %)[[[[image:OBALogo.png||width="220" height="40" alt="one bus away logo"]]>>https:////onebusaway.org]]
38 38  
44 += Behind the Scenes =
39 39  
40 -Since OneBusAway is [[Open-Source software>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software]], the MTA is able to use it free of charge. Bus Time required a number of improvements and customizations to OneBusAway, as well and numerous improvements and upgrades since, for which the MTA partnered with [[Cambridge Systematics>>url:https://camsys.com/]] . These improvements have been contributed back to the open source for the OneBusAway project and are now publicly available and free for any other developer or transit agency to use.
46 +The MTA Bus Time team and partners offer their viewpoints on the project in this behind-the-scenes video.
47 +
48 +{{html}}
49 +<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GBECdzm6vLU" style="margin: 0 auto 0 auto; display:block;" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
50 +{{/html}}