Next Generation Customer Information System
CIS Project Update:
- We are averaging 20 new Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) installations per week. Signs continue to be installed on a weekly basis bringing the count of affected signs closer to 400 and decreasing each week
- Focusing on 3G to 4G LCD display replacements and equity neighborhood locations (such as the Tenderloin, Visitacion Valley, the Mission District and the Western Addition) and then moving on to other locations.
- Sign acceptance testing is also in progress.
- We are working with our vendor to expedite delivery and resources.
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The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is developing a new real-time vehicle arrival and service update system for the Muni public transportation network which it operates. Known formally as the Next Generation Customer Information System, the project aims to provide customers with more accurate and contextual real-time information during their journey to increase public confidence in Muni and help customers take transit to their destinations quickly and reliably.
Muni customers have come to rely heavily on real-time transit arrival predictions to plan their trips and use Muni efficiently. The Next Generation Customer Information System will revamp the predictions infrastructure for the first time in two decades.
Guided by public input, staff research and extensive planning, the Next Generation System will contain new and innovative features that will position Muni to be more competitive in San Francisco’s changing transportation environment. High-level goals include:
- Ensure a positive customer experience;
- Increase equitable access to information;
- Reduce waiting times and total travel time;
- Shift people towards more sustainable transportation options;
- Help customers make better travel decisions, particularly during service disruptions and gaps; and
- Rebuild transit ridership as San Francisco recovers from the COVID-19 crisis and increase discretionary travel over the long-term;
The new system will:
- Employ a more sophisticated and accurate vehicle arrival prediction algorithm
- Replace existing text-based digital signs with enlarged ones that can display graphics;
- Implement solar-powered signage to expand customer access to information at unpowered shelters and stops
- Where applicable, reduce travel times by showing nearby alternative routes with shorter waits
- Balance capacity by providing crowding alerts and suggesting parallel services with space available
- Alerts and messages in multiple languages
- Strengthen Muni network connectivity by showing transfer connection times onboard vehicles (subsequent phase)
- Provide real-time stop accessibility information and elevator / escalator outage alerts to facilitate travel for seniors and persons with disabilities
- Push to talk button will be replaced by incorporating audio in signs
- Improve the rider experience via an enhanced mobile platform
For more information about the project, please refer to the Customer Information System overview presented to the SFMTA Board of Directors.