Skip to main content

Innovative transportation award for New York’s MTA BusTime

Transportation consultants Cambridge Systematics have been presented with the 2012 Innovative Transportation Solution of the Year for MTA Bus Time, New York City’s real-time bus customer information system. The award, presented by the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Greater New York Chapter, recognises organisations for their efforts in enhancing the transportation industry in their community through innovation and creativity, and providing value. Cambridge Systematics and partner OpenPlans Transporta
February 6, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Transportation consultants 5673 Cambridge Systematics have been presented with the 2012 Innovative Transportation Solution of the Year for MTA Bus Time, New York City’s real-time bus customer information system.  The award, presented by the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Greater New York Chapter, recognises organisations for their efforts in enhancing the transportation industry in their community through innovation and creativity, and providing value.

Cambridge Systematics and partner 5675 OpenPlans Transportation developed and currently manage the MTA Bus Time software that takes real-time data feeds from over 3,000 buses and manages and delivers bus location information to riders via smart phones, text messages, and web sites. The initial deployment in Staten Island was completed in only five months, and the system is rapidly expanding citywide.

“Delivering real-time bus information to MTA customers across New York City presented a tremendous opportunity,” said Jennifer Strasser, Cambridge Systematics’ New York office director and WTS member. “We’re excited to contribute to an improved experience for millions of bus riders, and honored to have our efforts recognised with this award.” Eric Ziering, director of software at Cambridge Systematics, said, “The success of this project results from an outstanding collaboration among MTA, Cambridge Systematics, and OpenPlans staff.”

MTA Bus Time is an open-source project, and the underlying software platform includes open interfaces that make real-time bus data available to third-party application developers. The data feeds from MTA Bus Time also enable the agency to improve operational efficiency, scheduling, service management, and emergency response.

Related Content

  • May 30, 2013
    Apps help passengers avoided overcrowded public transport
    David Crawford reviews innovations in the comfort zone. Anyone who rides public transport knows that, perhaps second only to delays, overcrowding is a critical part of the passenger experience,” says Nir Erez, CEO of Moovit, the Israel-based social transportation app developer. The app is aimed at taking real-time user feedback on transit and making it available to a wider audience of travellers. Currently available on iPhone and Android, it plans to add Windows 8 and other platforms in the future. Moovit i
  • February 27, 2015
    New York pedestrian safety plans launched
    New York Department of Transportation (DOT), in partnership with the New York Police Department (NYPD), has launched Borough Pedestrian Safety Action Plans for each of the five boroughs in the city. The plans are one of 63 Vision Zero initiatives aimed at eliminating all deaths from traffic crashes, regardless of whether on foot, bicycle, or inside a motor vehicle. Despite aggressive pedestrian-oriented street re-engineering between 2007 and 2013, citywide pedestrian fatalities have not declined. In fact, t
  • October 14, 2016
    Australian ITS industry celebrates 2016 awards
    More than 270 intelligent transport systems (ITS) professionals have recognised their peers for their outstanding contributions to the industry and community at the 2016 ITS Australia National Awards. Winners included Ian Oxworth, who received the ITS Australia Max Lay Lifetime Achievement Award. Oxworth is responsible for the implementation and operation of EastLink’s 26 toll points and all other ITS systems. Mapping specialist Here received the Industry Award for its open location platform (OLP) th
  • July 15, 2024
    Low-carbon mobility, one village at a time
    Shantha Bloemen of Mobility for Africa, winner of this year's Movmi Empower Women in Shared Mobility Award, talks to Beate Kubitz about creative and practical solutions for transportation in the world’s rural areas – and why investment is still needed