Interesting article for bus riders

Subject: Article from Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Arkansas 2014 01 30

Grants to fund smart traffic lights, bus app By Noel E. Oman Instead of installing more traffic lights to handle congestion, Metroplan wants to install better ones. And instead of people wondering when a bus will arrive at a stop, the long range transportation planning agency for central Arkansas wants an app riders can use to show the bus's location in real time. The agency's board of directors Wednesday awarded five grants totaling about $4.5 million that will use technology to optimize the transportation systems already in place. Four of the grants that the board approved will use adaptive traffic-signal systems that will enable the lights to automatically synchronize themselves after assessing traffic in real time and communicating with other traffic signals to keep traffic flowing more efficiently. This is important, Metroplan officials said, in an era of uncertain federal transportation funding that will make building standard congestion-relief projects, such as additional traffic lanes, more difficult to fund. After all, the total amount in the g rants awarded Wednesday - $4.7 million, according to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department - is less than the cost of widening 1 mile of an urban road from two lanes to five lanes. The adaptive traffic-signal technology has been used locally on a limited basis. But with the grants awarded Wednesday, motorists soon will see them on thoroughfares in Conway, Bryant, Benton and Little Rock - all of which are part of Metroplan's regional arterial network. The network consists of major, noninterstate highways across central Arkansas. Little Rock's $1.1 million grant award will install the technology along North and South University avenues - parts of which also carry Arkansas 70B and U.S. 67 - from Cantrell Road to Interstate 30. It is a stretch of more than 8 miles that has nearly 20 intersections controlled with traffic signals.On some sections, the stretch accommodates up to 41,000 vehicles a day. Benton received $595,040 to install a similar system on Military Road between Carpenter Street and Landers Road. Conway received $385,805 to put an adaptive traffic-signal system on Dave Ward Drive from Hogan Lane to Amity Road. Earlier, a joint application submitted by Maumelle and North Little Rock and Pulaski County received a $450,000 grant to install the system on Maumelle Boulevard, which stretches into all three jurisdictions. It's an exciting development in this area, said Casey Covington, the director of the Central Arkansas Regional Transportation Study, which is Metroplan's ongoing cooperative effort to implement a long-range transportation plan for the region. The Central Arkansas Transit Authority, which provides daily bus service mainly in Little Rock and North Little Rock, was awarded a $600,000 grant that will allow the system to provide real-time information on bus arrivals for riders who have cellphones. The system also will provide enhanced Web resources for more efficient online customer-trip planning. Passengers will have the capability to view exact bus locations, as well as enroll in a subscription-based service-alert system to keep passengers informed about their selected routes. The project will include WiFi access for passengers aboard CATA buses and hardware at the downtown Travel Center to display bus route arrival and location information. Jarod Varner, the authority's executive director, hopes the system not only will have an impact on current ridership but will attract a new generation of riders. We are excited about the opportunity to implement a real-time passenger information system that will provide passengers with next bus arrival information through the use of a mobile application, SMS text or the Web, he said. This technology will significantly impact how central Arkansans perceive and utilize the transit system. With the system, We will eliminate the apprehension some passengers feel when waiting for a bus not knowing exactly when it will arrive, and providing wireless Internet will allow our passengers to be more productive as they commute, he said. The total cost of the project is estimated at $750,000. Under the terms of the grant, CATA will provide the 20 percent local match. The money will not only cover the cost of the hardware and software but five years of maintenance. Motorists likely won't begin to see the adaptive traffic-signal systems until the end of the year. Six months will be needed to conduct a system engineering analysis and develop specifications before contracts can be awarded and construction begins, Covington said. Metroplan received fewer grant applications than anticipated, which was disappointing, said Jim McKenzie, the agency's executive director. A total of about $10 million was available. The agency hopes to accept another round of applications beginning next month, he said.