(The Associated Press circulated the following article on September 21.)
NEWARK, N.J. — More commuters riding New Jersey Transit will be able to find out about late trains more quickly with new technology the agency is unveiling today.
The “My Transit” system will be able to transmit up to 18,000 alerts per minute and more than a million an hour.
More than 40,000 commuters already receive alerts from NJ Transit — via cell phone, hand-held computer and e-mail — that inform them of service disruptions and delays affecting a particular train and time. Another 25,000 have signed up for e-mails about other service changes since the service started in July 2001.
The upgrade, which cost about $33,000, could accommodate all 130,000 regular daily train commuters, said Dan Stessel, a spokesman.
“Service alerts will be transmitted much faster,” he said.
The upgrade also will allow customers to browse their train’s status and search for schedules and fares through a streamlined format for hand-held computers and Web-enabled cell phones.
It also creates a more high-tech lost-and-found system. A computer database and customer Web page replace a paper-based system.
Transit agencies across the country are embracing technology to make their customers’ rides smoother and more predictable. Just as airline customers can sign up for alerts advising them of flight cancellations, transit agencies are using similar technology.
During a power outage in June, about 1,200 customers on NJ Transit’s Montclair-Boonton line started receiving messages at 12:40 a.m. to inform them of a disruption for the next morning’s commute and suggested bus options and alternate routes.
Commuters around metro Seattle, Portland and Cincinnati are able to enroll in customized e-mail alert programs to inform them of delays. Commuters who use King County Metro Transit in Seattle have used a Web site to track buses in real time for more than a decade.