Skip to main content

Real time passenger information now available

New York State’s Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) Board of Directors is to roll out a real time passenger information (RTPI) pilot program for its fleet of fixed route buses, using automatic vehicle location (AVL) software to determine bus location and speed. Customers will be able to access real time transit information for CDTA fixed route services through the free CDTA iride mobile application for Apple and Android devices, through Google Maps’ mobile apps and maps.google.com, through
December 1, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
New York State’s 5909 Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) Board of Directors is to roll out a real time passenger information (RTPI) pilot program for its fleet of fixed route buses, using automatic vehicle location (AVL) software to determine bus location and speed.


Customers will be able to access real time transit information for CDTA fixed route services through the free CDTA iride mobile application for Apple and Android devices, through Google Maps’ mobile apps and maps.google.com, through the trip planner on its website or by speaking with a customer service representative at CDTA’s call centre. Customers will now see a gray clock icon near a route that indicates real time information is available.

Real time passenger information has been available to Bus Rapid Transit BusPlus customers since its inception in 2011. Customers can access real time information by downloading the free BusPlus application for devices operating on Apple and Android platforms. Customers can also access BusPlus real time passenger information through digital signage at stations, online, through text messaging, and via e-mail.

CDTA tracks its vehicles using GPS devices to report bus location data back to its servers. This information allows CDTA to estimate when the buses will arrive at a stop. If a bus goes off its regular route, the system may not be able to fully predict accurate arrival times.

“We are pleased to roll out the one thing our customers, partners and the community at large have consistently asked for,” said CDTA chairman of the Board David M. Stackrow. “Passengers will have a more convenient and reliable experience because they will be better able to track the services they are using and plan more effectively.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Interview: Jarrett Walker, author of Human Transit
    May 2, 2018
    Elon Musk has called him a ‘sanctimonious idiot’ but public transit expert Jarrett Walker tells Andrew Stone that more data and smarter cars aren't the answer to mass mobility...
  • Variable message signs continue to deliver travel information
    February 2, 2012
    Arguably the 'face' of ITS, variable message signs are far from being a passing solution
  • New York City pilots park by phone
    April 25, 2013
    New York’s Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg recently announced two pilot programs that will allow motorists to pay for parking remotely and view real-time kerbside parking availability all via an app on their phone or online. In the first pilot, motorists can pay for metered parking via a smartphone app (PayByPhone), the internet or by telephone for 264 spaces along eighteen blocks in the Bronx, as well as at the New York City Department of Transportation’s Belmont municipal parking field. The new technology will
  • ATS study finds school bus stop arm cameras effective in reducing violations
    July 4, 2014
    Analysis carried out by American Traffic Systems (ATS) on routes where its CrossingGuard school bus stop arm cameras are installed found that, while the number of violations on those routes fell by more than 15 per cent during the school year, customers have reported stop arm running violation decreases fleet wide, on all buses. The analysis also finds that less than one per cent of drivers who receive one ticket get a second citation. Both results indicate the camera safety programs are off to a quick