King County Metro - Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)

Collaborating with several local jurisdictions, Metro was an early experimenter with Transit Signal Priority (TSP), a system to extend green lights to allow buses to get through. The system can boost average speeds as much as 8%, and is in use on several of the city's busiest corridors, including Aurora Avenue North, Rainier Avenue S, and Lake City Way NE.

In 2010, Metro will rollout a new IP network based ITS infrastructure for its RapidRide service. Buses will communicate with roadside equipment using 802.11 wireless technology on the 4.9 GHz public safety band. A fiber optic backhaul connects access points and roadside equipment together to Metro's Communication Center. The system will extend the legacy RFID-based TSP system. It will also be used in conjunction with GPS technology to provide frequent and accurate location updates for next bus arrival signs at RapidRide stations. Those signs are a component of what Metro calls a "Tech Pylon", a free standing wireless-capable kiosk, that also has an ORCA Card validator and other rider information.

Metro is a participating agency in the regional smart card program called ORCA (One Regional Card for All). It was launched for public use on April 20, 2009, along with six other transit agencies in the region.

Metro plans to have automated stop announcements on buses beginning in late 2009 as part of its on-board communications system update.

In 1998 the fleet was updated with a Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system that utilizes battery-powered beacons located at some stops. Metro is currently in the process of replacing it with a GPS-based system as part of a system-wide radio update by 2010.

The extent of Metro's application of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) for transit information available for customers has been limited to a few projects:

• An early project called MyBus by the University of Washington (UW) utilized the tracking data to provide real-time bus information. This is now hosted by Metro under the name Tracker. An improved version of MyBus called One Bus Away, developed by a UW graduate student, combines Tracker information with Google Maps.
• Transit Watch displays, like those found in airports and major train stations, are installed at some transit centers and transfer points to show real-time bus arrival information.
• A pilot project provided bus information displays along a city arterial. Metro discontinued the project in 2005, citing the cost of maintenance and technical problems.
• Metro has a regional trip planner that provides itineraries for transit trips within King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, including those on Sound Transit services, Washington State Ferries, the Seattle Center Monorail, and the Seattle Streetcar. Google Maps also provides trip planning using schedule data as part of their Google Transit service but it is limited only to Metro bus routes.