Use of Electronic Passenger Information Signage in Transit (2013)

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SUMMARY USE OF ELECTRONIC PASSENGER INFORMATION SIGNAGE IN TRANSIT Before technological improvements provided easy access to the Internet and, more recently, available mobile devices, public transit authorities considered electronic signs as the first step in providing both static and real-time information to passengers at stops and stations. According to TCRP Synthesis 48: Real-time Bus Arrival Information (2003), “the most prevalent medium used for the distribution of real-time bus arrival information is the elec- tronic sign, also known as a dynamic message sign (DMS), located at a bus stop.” As of 2012, DMS deployment was growing rapidly throughout the United States and abroad as a result of positive customer reactions to real-time information and the prospect of increasing ridership because of sign implementation. In recent years, agencies have been taking full advantage of almost universal access to the Internet and high mobile phone ownership rates to provide information through these media in addition to electronic signage. From TCRP Synthesis 91 (2011), “The demo- graphics of transit riders have changed significantly over the past five years with many more riders and non-riders using cell phones or even smartphones, which provide Internet access and other capabilities such as mobile e-mail and application programs. This has prompted transit agencies to look beyond providing information by means of traditional dissemination media such as dynamic message signs (DMS), which require more resources to implement (e.g., cost for installation, power, communication, and maintenance). At the same time, agencies’ capabilities to provide real-time information have grown consider- ably with many agencies deploying technologies that allow them to provide customers with real-time information, such as when the next vehicles will arrive at a particular stop or station.” Further, although current customer expectations for real-time information on mobile phones and smartphones have prompted many agencies to focus on meeting these high expectations through mobile device applications, electronic signage is still considered an extremely valuable dissemination media. Providing information on electronic signs has an added benefit for users: it is easier to look at the sign than to take out a mobile phone, open the application, and searching for the information. Finally, the capital and operations and maintenance costs associated with deploying electronic signage has encouraged some agencies to either move away from electronic sig- nage or seek more cost-effective approaches. At the same time, the costs associated with providing information on mobile devices were not fully understood, so agencies did not really know which was more cost-effective: providing information on electronic signage or on mobile devices. However, agencies also have recognized that not all of their customers carry mobile phones or smartphones, and these mobile devices can have limited use because of the availability of cellular communication networks; therefore, information provided on these devices needed to also be provided on other media such as electronic signs. Also, oppor- tunities for implementing better, more cost-effective signage became possible owing to more full-screen displays [e.g., the availability of liquid crystal display (LCD), which allows more information than is available on older light-emitting diode (LED) signs to be presented to customers]. Further, agencies’ deployment of open data (defined as transit

2 schedule or real-time data made available to the public) allows for organizations beyond transit agencies to deploy signage displaying passenger information—providing opportuni- ties for the private sector. For example, in 2010, in an ice cream shop in Jamaica Plain (just outside Boston, Massachusetts), Benjamin Resner, a software engineer and entrepreneur, designed and built an LED sign for $350 in materials and an afternoon’s work. He was inter- ested in providing real-time information about Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) bus service outside the shop. The sign is “mounted above a display case, to the left of the ice cream counter and the right of the life-sized cow. In red letters that scroll across the face, it displays arrival times for the next two buses.” Another example is the work of Mobility Lab in the Washington, D.C., area, which is described in chapter six. In summary, based on the survey results and the author’s experience, agencies are explor- ing all possible means of disseminating transit information, including considering the deployment of electronic signage. This Synthesis explores the current state of the practice in electronic signage, which is being influenced by three factors: (1) the increased use of mobile media that could be used to provide transit information; (2) agencies increasingly providing “open data” allowing for the development of third-party transit information appli- cations; and (3) the infrastructure requirements and operations and maintenance concerns regarding the electronic signs. The first two factors do not always consider “information equity,” which is defined as providing real-time information through at least two dissemi- nation media, and in both audio and visual formats. The third factor indicates that there are recurring costs, which many agencies are trying to minimize. Further, the third factor includes accommodating persons with disabilities, which is defined generally for electronic signage at the federal level [e.g., Sections 218 and 810 of the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG)]. For example, many agencies may not be aware that the ADAAG contains guidelines for mounting signs at a height to ensure the legibility of the sign. Another example is that some agencies are considering and designing an audio feature into the signs, meaning that the visual information will be provided in an alternate format for visually impaired customers. This Synthesis examines and documents the state of the practice in the use of electronic passenger information signage in transit using the following five elements: 1. The underlying technology that is required to generate the information that will be disseminated on the sign. This element covers the required underlying software, hard- ware, and communications technology. 2. The sign technology, including type of display (e.g., LED, LCD) and other character- istics such as what can be displayed using specific display types (e.g., characters only, characters and pictures). 3. The characteristics of the information displayed on the signs, including message types, content, format, and accessibility; the use of standards; and the reliability and accuracy of the displayed information. 4. The resources required to successfully deploy and manage electronic signage, includ- ing capital and operations and maintenance costs, and agency staff requirements. 5. The decision process that is used to determine (1) if signage will be deployed; (2) where the signage will be located; and (3) what will be displayed on the signage, as well as the contribution of electronic signage at stops and stations to an overall agency communications strategy, including “information equity.”

3 The Synthesis has the following four key results: • Electronic signage is a viable and important dissemination media. Benefits that accrue from the deployment of electronic signage include the following (based on the literature review and results of the survey): – Providing information that is easy to access once a trip has started (e.g., looking at a sign rather than accessing a mobile phone, running an application and searching for the same information displayed on the sign); – Providing information to those customers (and potential customers) who do not have mobile devices or alternate means to obtain the information; – Affecting the perception of wait time; – Improving the perception of the transit service being provided; and – Increasing the feeling of safety and security. • There are several approaches to presenting transit information on electronic signage, depending on the type of sign deployed and the status of the transit service. • The capital cost of signage is fairly high, but the cost of newer (e.g., flat panel screens), customizable electronic signs is lower. Further, the use of open data to provide the information displayed on the signage may increase the usability and effectiveness of electronic signage by being able to provide information on more than one transit service. • Newer sign technology, such as LCD signs, may be able to greatly expand the volume and depth of the information being provided. The Synthesis produced the following five key conclusions: • The deployment of electronic signage should be considered as one of several methods to disseminate passenger information, rather than the only method. • There are opportunities to capitalize on agencies’ open data and low-cost, customiz- able displays—perhaps creating a market for third-party providers to provide signage for a transit agency or a region with multiple transit agencies. • There is potential to expand the typical information provided on passenger informa- tion displays by utilizing full-screen or large touchscreen displays. • Although information displayed on electronic signage cannot be personalized, the content of messages is extremely important when conveying specific types of events. • A plan for measuring and monitoring the accuracy, reliability, and timeliness of mes- sages, which several responding agencies are developing, is an important element of deploying electronic signage. Items for future study include the following: • The amount of staff time required for successful implementation and ongoing opera- tions and maintenance is not well understood. Thus, a study that examines the amount of time required by various departments and staff is recommended. Further, a discus- sion of the associated operations and maintenance costs could be covered as well. • A “model” that agencies could use to determine the “business case” for deploying electronic signage would be helpful. • More guidance is needed for providing an audio version of an electronic sign display. • More in-depth information regarding how to determine the content of messages displayed on electronic signage would be helpful for agencies deploying elec- tronic signage. • More guidance is needed regarding accessibility issues, such as best practices in providing information displayed on signage in audio format. • More information is needed to explore other ways of providing power to electronic signs, such as solar power.

5 type of display (e.g., LED, LCD) and other characteristics such as the information that can be displayed on specific display types (e.g., characters only, characters and pictures). The third covers the characteristics of the information dis- played on the signage, including message types, content, format, and accessibility; the use of standards; and the reliability and accuracy of the displayed information. The fourth covers the resources required to successfully deploy and manage electronic signage, including capital and opera- tions and maintenance costs, and agency staff requirements. The fifth and final element is the decision process that is used to decide if signage will be deployed, where it will be located, and what it will display, as well as the contribu- tion of electronic signage at stops and stations to an overall agency communications strategy, including “information equity.” Information equity is defined as providing real-time information through at least two dissemination media, and in both audio and visual formats. A review of the relevant literature is combined with sur- veys of selected transit agencies and other appropriate stake- holders in order to report on the current state of the practice. Based on survey results, four case examples or profiles were developed to describe innovative and successful practices, as well as lessons learned and gaps in information. TECHNICAL APPROACH TO PROJECT This project was conducted in five major steps. First, a lit- erature review was performed to identify the characteristics of the underlying technology, electronic signage, and infor- mation displayed on signage; resources required to deliver information by means of electronic signs; and contribution of electronic signage to an agency’s communications strat- egy. See the References section for a list of references and the Bibliography for the reviewed literature. Literature Review This report includes a review of the relevant literature, in addition to the results of a survey that was conducted as part of this project. The survey included items in the five elements described previously, as well as questions regard- ing their lessons learned in deploying electronic signage. This synthesis also contains the results of interviews with CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION PROJECT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The primary focus of the Synthesis is on determining the experience that transit agencies have had with deploying electronic signage to provide transit information in the United States and abroad, and the process that agencies are using to decide to deploy information through this dissemi- nation channel to serve the needs of their customers. In the past 15 years, electronic signage displaying static and real-time transit information has been deployed by transit agencies throughout the United States and abroad. Various sign types [e.g., light-emitting diode (LED), liq- uid crystal display (LCD)] are available for installation at transit stops and stations, as well as nontraditional locations such as office buildings and shopping malls. Although tran- sit information is increasingly provided on mobile phones and smartphones, agencies recognize that electronic signage has independent utility. Further, because many transit cus- tomers do not have mobile devices, electronic signage is an important channel through which vital transit information is conveyed to the public. Further, as discussed in TCRP Synthesis 91 (1), pub- lic transit customers have relatively high expectations for real-time information at all stages of their trips. It has been observed that mobile devices do not always operate in transit stations where there may be no cellular com- munication coverage. Even if coverage exists, it is faster to look at signage rather than access a mobile phone, open the appropriate application, enter the right informa- tion (if necessary), and wait for the results. In addition, electronic signage can provide useful information to cus- tomers, resulting in positive customer satisfaction and a potential improvement in the overall agency image. As a result, electronic signage provides the opportunity to pro- vide transit information to customers at stops and stations regardless of mobile device ownership. This Synthesis examines and documents the state of the practice in the use and deployment of electronic signage using the following five elements. The first is the underlying technology required to generate the information that will be disseminated on the signage. This element covers the required underlying software, hardware, and communica- tions. The second is the signage technology, including the

6 Finally, customer reactions to and perceptions of electronic signage, which are positive, have been studied extensively. Several studies describe how customers perceive the benefits of signage, including a reduction in perceived wait times, reduction in anxiety, increase in safety and security, adjusted travel behavior, and improved attitudes toward transit. Survey and Survey Results The survey conducted as part of this Synthesis covered the five elements as mentioned earlier. Surveys were sent to 37 transit agencies around the world; 37 were received, includ- ing 5 from Canadian agencies and 5 from European agen- cies. All responses represent agencies that carry a total of more than 10.75 billion passengers annually, with respond- ing agencies’ annual ridership ranging from 1 million (a respondent with fixed-route bus service) to 3.6 billion (TfL). First, as expected, the top two underlying technologies are computer-aided dispatch (CAD)/automatic vehicle loca- tion (AVL) and real-time prediction software that are pur- chased as part of a CAD/AVL or related system. Among the respondents, 87% of the signs are LED. The top type of information provided on electronic signs is next vehicle arrival/departure prediction time. In terms of sign location, most are located either in a transit station, or at a bus or bus rapid transit (BRT) stop. The characteristics of the signs (e.g., dimensions, number of characters displayed, number lines on the display, colors used) vary greatly depending on the sign type. Second, the overwhelming reason for deploying elec- tronic signage is to increase customer satisfaction, followed by to supplement other methods of disseminating informa- tion. Forty percent of the respondents performed a study to determine whether to deploy electronic signage; of those, the majority conducted a business case analysis. The most prevalent criteria for locating signage was board counts at stops/stations, followed by the availability of power and the number of lines or routes at a station or stop. Third, the format of the information displayed on a sign varied depending on the type of information and the sign’s characteristics (type, number of characters available, etc.). More than 95% of respondents used the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) regarding mounting location and height, and slightly more than 90% used the character height guidance to determine the mounting and display characteristics of the electronic signs. Eighty-nine percent of respondents pro- vide information displayed on a sign in audio format. A variety of standards are being used, including the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS), Transit Communica- tions Interface Profiles (TCIP), Service Interface for Real Time Information (SIRI), and NextBus Public Extensible Markup Language (XML) Feed. In terms of accuracy and key personnel at selected agencies that have illustrative approaches to deploying and using electronic signage. The literature review revealed a wealth of material, cov- ering both U.S. and international experience, on the subject of using electronic signs to provide passenger information. The literature review produced five major conclusions. First, current sign technology and the underlying technologies that generate the information displayed on signs allow the deployment of innovative signage. Several recent studies have documented the deployment of large touchscreen signs, some of which allow customer interaction. For example, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), New York City Transit (NYCT) recently deployed several “On the Go! Travel Stations,” which are 47-inch interactive touchscreens that display “subway notifications, trip planner, subway map [and] continuous ads. [There are] buttons for Service Sta- tus, Elevators, MTA Maps, Key Destinations, a Trip Plan- ner, and Planned Work” (2). In Brussels, similar devices were installed in several rail stations, allowing customers to explore information on real-time disruptions, train and route schedules, station maps, and rail networks. Second, the literature describes the use of electronic sig- nage to display multimodal information. Several papers dis- cuss the deployment of signage in California that displays highway and transit travel times, signage at airports that provide real-time transit information to arriving customers, and signage in the Washington, D.C., area that combines real-time information from multiple transit agencies and Capital Bikeshare using open data from each agency. Third, information content, particularly in the United States, is not well documented. However, the literature on this topic provided detail as to what could be displayed depending on the situation (e.g., normally operating service, disrupted service, cancelled service). Transport for London (TfL) conducted an in-depth study in terms of what infor- mation should be displayed and the relative importance of each type of information. And Network Rail in the United Kingdom (U.K.) provides detailed guidance as part of its Operational Information System (OIS) Process Guide (3). This guide shows the content of many different types of pas- senger information displayed on electronic signs throughout the Network Rail system covering systems in England, Scot- land, and Wales. Fourth, making information displayed on signs accessi- ble has been accomplished in the United States and abroad, even though there is limited legal guidance regarding such accessibility. Several reports describe the use of various techniques to announce the information displayed on signs: a button that when pressed will announce what is on the sign, periodic announcements of the display, remote infrared sig- nage, telephones directly connected to a customer service center at the sign location, and touchscreen monitors.

7 reliability, respondents used various methods to monitor these two characteristics. Fourth, there was a wide variation in resource require- ments for deploying electronic signage. Further, the survey responses indicated that some agencies implement signage without knowing the resource requirements. Limited infor- mation regarding the actual labor required from specific staff in the organization was reported. Further, little infor- mation was reported on operations and maintenance costs. Finally, in more than 80% of the respondents that have a communication strategy, electronic signage contributes to that strategy. Seventy percent of the respondents consider providing transit information on electronic signage as a way to attract “choice” riders. Just over 65% of the respondents consider information equity. Only one agency has elec- tronic signs that display advertising—in this case, advertis- ing takes precedence over what is displayed on the sign, so real-time information is displayed only in an available “slot” between advertising. Second, a survey was conducted to collect information on factors such as types of underlying technology; types of electronic signs used; characteristics of the information displayed on the signs, use of standards, and the reliabil- ity and accuracy of the displayed information; and neces- sary resources to deploy electronic signage. The survey also explored information on how electronic signs contribute to an agency’s overall communications strategy. Appendix A contains the survey instrument, and Appendix B contains the list of agencies responding to the survey. Third, the survey results were documented and summa- rized. Fourth, telephone interviews were conducted with key personnel at four agencies and organizations that have experience with deploying electronic signs to provide pas- senger information. Chapter six presents four case examples from selected agencies that have significant experience with implementing electronic signage. Finally, the results and conclusions were prepared and documented. REPORT ORGANIZATION This report is organized as follows: • Chapter one presents the goals and objectives of the Synthesis, and describes the technical approach used to conduct the project. • Chapter two summarizes the literature review. • Chapter three describes the underlying technology, sign technology, information displayed on the signage, use of standards, and the reliability and accuracy of the information displayed on the signage. • Chapter four presents information about the resources needed to deploy electronic signs. • Chapter five discusses the contribution of electronic signs to an agency’s communications strategy. • Chapter six presents case examples from selected agencies that have experience implementing electronic signage. • Chapter seven summarizes the results of the Synthesis, and presents conclusions. • The References and Bibliography present the literature reviewed. • Appendix A contains the survey instrument. • Appendix B shows the list of responding agencies. • Appendix C shows the total annual ridership for each responding agency.