AT&T 3G Decommissioning Impacts on NextMuni Electronic Displays at Transit Shelters

AT&T 3G Decommissioning Impacts on NextMuni Electronic Displays at Transit Shelters
By Kharima Mohamed

Due to the nationwide AT&T 3G shutdown on February 22, 2022, over 650 NextMuni displays that are currently utilizing AT&T 3G modems will no longer be able to display real-time Muni vehicle arrival predictions or other information. The push-to-talk buttons at shelters using 3G modems will also be inoperable. This outage will NOT impact online real-time information provided on mobile and web formats. 

To address this situation, the SFMTA is: 

Expediting delivery and installation of new replacement displays procured under the Next Generation Customer Information System (CIS) project.  
Upgrading modems in existing displays from 3G to 4G to maintain predictions while awaiting the new replacement displays.  
Providing physical static signage at affected stops and platforms indicating how riders can obtain real-time information in other formats, including by web, text and phone.

As part of the Next Generation Customer Information System project, the SFMTA is ordering over 700 new Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) displays to display real-time information at Muni transit shelters. Approximately one-third of these displays will be double-sided to provide additional visibility at the highest-ridership stops and major transfer points.

The LCD displays will replace existing NextBus Light Emitting Diode (LED) displays, many of which have been in service for two decades and have reached the end of their lives. These LED displays are no longer manufactured.

An extensive public outreach effort helped provide the new display’s overall design and other Customer Information System elements. 

Key features of the new displays include:

24-inch LCD screens with vandal-resistant tempered glass

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant text-to-speech capability
Larger and clearer text
Letters and characters in multiple languages

Unfortunately, the pandemic and global supply chain issues have impacted the manufacturing and delivery of the new replacement displays and brackets to mount these displays. Our display supplier has shipped over 150 of these displays. Once brackets arrive, the SFMTA will coordinate with Clear Channel and start to install them. This effort is currently anticipated for late February and will continue into the spring. 

Manufacturing and installation will continue for all display types – including double-sided shelter displays for higher ridership stops, surface rail station signs, and underground rail station displays – for another year. Our contractor, Cubic, is working with its suppliers to reduce this timeline contingent upon easing of global supply chain issues. The SFMTA is prioritizing display installations in shelters based on serving equity neighborhoods/or routes, as well as less frequent services where customers experience the longest waits. The rationale for those priorities is to minimize inconvenience for as many customers as possible with an emphasis on equity populations.

 Preliminary design of the shelter display indicating estimated vehicle arrival time and route destination.   

 Preliminary design of the shelter display indicating estimated vehicle arrival time and route destination. 

Physical signage at affected stops and platforms providing alternative methods to obtain real-time information:

The SFMTA will install physical weatherproof multilingual signs at potentially impacted shelters and platforms to inform riders how they can alternatively access predictions, which will remain available through mobile, web and phone. 
To provide customers with context-sensitive information and maximize convenience, the posted signs will provide available channels where customers can access location-specific predictions for routes serving their stop.

   Preliminary design of the shelter display indicating estimated vehicle arrival time and route destination.

Printed sign at stops where real-time information on NextMuni displays will not be available due to AT&T’s nationwide 3G decommissioning; information will still be available through mobile, web online means and phone. 

Options to access information include:   

SFMTA.com Stop Pages – The posted signs will include a URL and QR (Quick Response) code that will enable customers to access specific stop pages on the SFMTA website that include predictions for routes serving that location. Each page has a convenient short URL of its stop ID. For example, Market and 11th can be found at SFMTA.com/13245. 
SFMTA.com/NextMuni – The SFMTA will enable geolocation on a new page of our website, SFMTA.com/NextMuni. Based on a user’s location, this page returns the nearest stop pages to find applicable predictions. The page will also include a lookup for address, intersection and places of interest as well as a map interface for users that do not wish to use geolocation.
511 Voice Response – Customers will be able to dial 511 and enter or say the stop ID to receive applicable predictions. 
SF 3-1-1 Operator Assistance – Customer Service Representatives are available to provide predictions and multilingual support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via telephone, and TTY (via 711).   
SMS (Short Message Service) Text – Customers may also text the stop ID to 41411 to receive predictions.

Additionally, the SFMTA’s Twitter account, @sfmta_muni provides real-time alerts about Muni service disruptions and provides predictions. During staffed hours, the SFMTA will inform customers when their next departure is if they tweet their location, route and direction.  

The SFMTA will continue to monitor the situation with AT&T’s 3G decommissioning and adjust plans if necessary. We will work with Cubic to expedite delivery and installation of new CIS displays.   

In the meantime, we are soliciting feedback from key stakeholders on the design of the new CIS display as we fine-tune how information will be displayed and focused on improving prediction quality for riders. These improvements, anticipated to go live in Fall 2022, include minimizing ghost buses, improving terminal departure predictions, indicating vehicle location and supporting headway-based operations on routes.   

Published February 12, 2022 at 06:52AM
https://ift.tt/KwV51ty

Comments

Powered Scooters Charge City’s Transportation Recovery

Powered Scooters Charge City’s Transportation Recovery By Jason Hyde The SFMTA is releasing its next round of Powered Scooter Share permits on July 1. Scooters remain a sustainable mode of travel and a complement to Muni and public transit service as the city recovers from the pandemic and San Franciscans begin to travel more. The SFMTA’s Powered Scooter Share Program is essential in ensuring that shared scooter operations support the city’s economic recovery in a safe, sustainable, and equitable way. The SFMTA received four submittals for the permit program and will issue permits to two operators : Spin and Lime. Permits will be in effect for a one-year term, with the option to extend for another year at the discretion of the SFMTA based on compliance with various program metrics. While the new permit program does not set a limit on the number of scooters each operator may deploy, it does limit the overall citywide fleet size at 10,000. Starting at a base of 2,000 scooters...

What a Year It Has Been! Let the Celebration of Transit Month Continue

What a Year It Has Been! Let the Celebration of Transit Month Continue By Erin McMillan 49 Van Ness/Mission using the brand new bus rapid transit lanes on opening day in April. During Transit Month this September, we’re continuing the celebration by looking back to more of the work we’ve done over the last year— some that has been less obvious to Muni customers, but critical to a well-functioning system and other work that is more front and center. Fix It! Week and Continuing State of good Repair Work Muni is an impressive transit system. Moving thousands of people on rail and buses every day takes a lot of coordination and a lot of work. Dealing with unique challenges like San Francisco’s geography and shifting travel patterns, we also have to deal with issues related to the Muni system’s age. Proper care and maintenance of a transit system many decades old takes strategic planning as regular maintenance needs to happen while continuing to provide service. Typically, regular Mun...

Permanent Relief for Muni Customers in SoMa?

Permanent Relief for Muni Customers in SoMa? By Erin McMillan Shortly after the pandemic’s onset, the SFMTA implemented Temporary Emergency Transit Lanes to make sure essential trips on Muni wouldn’t get caught in traffic. On Mission Street from 11th to 3rd streets in SoMa , the transit lanes have proven effective at protecting Muni travel times while traffic has increased. Now, with the city’s reopening generating even more traffic, keeping these lanes on the road permanently is as important as ever. Paint Shop Crew Removing Old Pavement Markings for Installation of Transit Only Lanes on Mission Street on September 23, 2020 What’s Next? Given that the data shows the lanes are effective, the SFMTA is now pursing making the full-time transit lanes, and their benefits, permanent. Following up on our initial evaluation of the project, we are now inviting the community to learn about next steps for making the lanes permanent. We are hosting a two-week virtual open house where you ca...

Safer and Easier Parking in Every City-Owned Facility

Safer and Easier Parking in Every City-Owned Facility By Pamela Johnson Parking at any of our 22 city-owned facilities is now easier and safer than ever. Late last month we completed the Parking Access Revenue and Control Systems (PARCS) project. This four-year effort replaced aging parking equipment with modern technology and significant operational upgrades. Customer using new PARCS kiosk at North Beach parking garage Patrons will notice enhanced lighting, new wayfinding signs, audible alarms, cameras, gate arms, and payment machines with two-way digital intercoms . Behind the scenes is an all-new parking management system and 24/7 command center, connected to every machine. Can’t find your ticket to pay for parking? No worries! Thanks to license plate recognition technology, cameras located at every facility’s entrance capture patrons’ plate numbers as they arrive . If a customer loses her ticket, the manager is able to re-issue a ticket based on her license plate...

Jason Roy chooses one between Rohit Sharma, David Warner as his opening partner https://ift.tt/3fkBiWu

Rohit Sharma and David Warner are two of the most destructive openers in the limited-overs format. The duo had been reigning the opening spot for their respective sides for years. Both the players continue to be the mainstays for their countries in all the three formats of the game. from IndiaTV: Google News Feed https://ift.tt/2ZjgDNe

SFMTA to Replace All Parking Meters in the City

SFMTA to Replace All Parking Meters in the City By Jessie Liang San Franciscans will see new parking meters on city streets beginning in early March 2022. Staff from the SFMTA’s Parking Meter Shop will replace the meters at all the nearly 27,000 paid parking spaces in the city because those meters have reached the end of their useful lives, and because many of the meters rely on 3G communications technology that soon will be phased out by the wireless companies. The first new meters will be installed in the South of Market and Mission Bay neighborhoods. SFMTA staff will provide notices on vehicle windshields when the new meters are activated. The new meters will provide several benefits, including larger and more legible screens, more intuitive user interface, more powerful batteries, and more resistance to vandalism. The following neighborhoods will move to a pay-by-license-plate system with new paystations. South Beach SoMa Mission Bay Civic Center H...

Bob Planthold Tribute

Bob Planthold Tribute By Stephen Chun San Francisco lost a dedicated advocate for pedestrian safety and accessible public transportation with the recent passing of Bob Planthold. Having contracted polio at an early age, Bob used bright yellow Canadian crutches to help him move around. Firsthand experience of the obstacles people with disabilities may face in getting from place to place and accessing services made Bob a tenacious and persistent champion for pedestrian safety and accessible transit. Bob’s activism contributed to real change that benefited people with disabilities in San Francisco. He was a member of the steering committee for the San Francisco Accessible Parking Policy Advisory Committee, which was established by the Mayor’s Office on Disability and SFMTA in 2012 to look into ways that SFMTA blue zone policy and the State Department of Motor Vehicles’ disabled placard policies could be improved to ensure greater availability of accessible parking in the Cit...

New Customer Information System Signs Coming to a Transit Shelter Near You!

New Customer Information System Signs Coming to a Transit Shelter Near You! By Kharima Mohamed As part of the Next Generation Customer Information System project, over 700 new Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) signs will display real-time information at Muni transit shelters. Approximately one-third of these signs will be double-sided to provide additional visibility at the highest-ridership stops and major transfer points. This week we installed a single-sided prototype at Eddy and Larkin streets. Serving the Tenderloin, an Equity Neighborhood , this sign will feature real-time predictions for the 19 Polk and 31 Balboa routes. The primary purpose for installing this prototype is to conduct in-field hardware testing, especially with rain, wind and colder temperatures. We know there is an urgent need for more effective signage and are excited to roll out the new customer information system later this year. The new LCD signs will eventually replace all existing Next...

Street Transformations to Address COVID-19 Keep San Francisco Moving

Street Transformations to Address COVID-19 Keep San Francisco Moving By Eillie Anzilotti A street closure in the Tenderloin as part of the COVID-19 response efforts. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, many aspects of people’s lives have changed – including how we get around town. To reflect this new reality, the SFMTA pivoted in the way we design and operate our streets. From streets that prioritized people walking and bicycling in some of San Francisco’s major parks to Temporary Transit Lanes (TETLs) that protected Muni lines from the return of traffic congestion, San Francisco reimagined how streets could be used for people. We have documented some of these transformations in a new report that highlights emergency street operations, Temporary Emergency Transit Lanes , the Slow Streets Program , Tenderloin street closures and reusing streets within or close to parks for recreational purposes. Within each effort, the report touches on the ways in which city ...

Agra: All historical monuments except Taj Mahal to reopen from September 1 https://ift.tt/2YnrJQd

The Agra district administration on Thursday announced that all historical monuments here, other than the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort, will reopen from September 1. District Magistrate P.N. Singh said that the monuments -- Fatehpur Sikri, Sikandara, Etmauddaulabs tom, Ram Bagh, Mehtab Bagh and a few other smaller ones would be thrown open to public, but with a set of conditions.

My precise view

Search This Blog