Los Angeles is a city that has long been notorious for its congested freeways and its gridlocked streets, but the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is doing its part to change that perception. Metro operates a 2,300-vehicle bus fleet and 275-vehicle rail fleet with a daily ridership of nearly 1.3 million. It has grown to become the third largest public transit agency in the United States. Some of the most notable growth has come through the expansion of Metro’s rail network over the course of the past few years. In 2016, Metro Gold Line and Metro Expo Line expansion projects opened up 13 new light rail stations, connecting Azusa and Santa Monica to its rail network. Metro has the most active transit expansion initiative in the country with a $5 billion annual budget and is relying more and more on technology solutions like digital signage to improve information dissemination to its riders.
As Metro continues to expand, integrating technology to further improve the passenger experience has become a priority. Since 2011, Metro has generated bus and rail arrival predictions based on in-vehicle GPS locator data for bus and track circuits for rail. This technology has allowed Metro passengers to access real-time information on arrival times via the web, the GoMetro smartphone app, or cell phones via text message. Usage of the Nextrip technology has grown every year since its introduction and now nearly one third of all trips made across the Metro network have been assisted by real-time arrival information.
Metro has also moved to streamline the flow of information through the implementation of digital signage. Digital display screens have been installed throughout rail stations and transit centers to convey information regarding arrival times, destinations and service delays. Displays at transit centers facilitate multimodal trips with information regarding connection to the regional rail network.
Sign Management
The earliest phases of Metro’s installation and implementation of digital signage was not without its problems. Originally, arrival predictions and service information were relayed from Metro to a third-party vendor, which then relayed them to the stations where they were displayed on screens via a media player. The need for a third-party vendor left Metro with no direct way to monitor the digital signs and as a result, sign malfunctions would often go unnoticed until reported by passengers. Metro established the goal of finding a proactive solution to improving sign management, and ultimately to more effectively and efficiently respond to problems with digital signage maintenance. After investigating and testing various solutions, the Metro team decided to develop its own application to generate the sign information. A web-browser application was written with Angular JS to support this development.
The numerous benefits of the new Nextrip electronic signage (e-signs) application were felt immediately. By eliminating the need for a third-party vendor, the application has proven to be both efficient and cost-effective. More importantly, digital signs that are generated by this application can now be monitored remotely by Metro in real time. Because of this, Metro can react immediately when a problem occurs. Reflecting the success of Metro’s application, third-party vendors have now begun to consider the need for system maintenance tools in their digital sign products and are now improving their products to support this need.
Future Plans
With a digital sign management tool implemented and optimized through the new application, Metro is turning its sights towards the future. It is in the process of expanding the scope of its digital signage presence, bringing new e-signs to bus stops. Out of the nearly 14,000 bus stops served by LA Metro, 300 were chosen to host digital Nextrip displays. These sites were selected through careful consideration of ridership data and existing passenger shelters. The expansion of the e-signage program will improve the rider’s trip not only in downtown Los Angeles, but also in neighboring communities across the county. Installation of the new bus stop e-signage will start in early 2017. Additional digital signage applications for customer information, wayfinding and transit alerts are also being evaluated to further this popular method of communication.
By streamlining the flow of information directly to riders through improved Nextrip e-signage, Metro hopes to facilitate multimodal trips and attract new riders. Network expansion and improvement projects, like e-signage, have led to a growing number of Angelinos embracing mass transit. In November 2016, ballot Measure M, which proposed a sales tax to fund future Metro transit projects, passed with more than 71 percent of Los Angeles County residents voting in its favor. The ballot measure enacts a new half-cent sales tax and extends the half-cent sales tax enacted by Measure R. Measure M will generate more than $860 million in revenue annually and is forecasted to raise about $120 billion in its first 40 years. This revenue will fund not only Metro’s mega projects, such as expansion of the rail network, but also technological improvements such as e-signage.
As the evolution of digital signage continues to expand, Metro will continue to pursue practical applications for these user-friendly devices. Low-cost, user-friendly, ease-of-maintenance solutions will help drive digital signage expansion. Multi-purpose digital signage that enables public-private partnership arrangements will also help fuel the expansion as Metro looks for cost-sharing solutions that provide the end user with useful and complimentary information instead of the various interested parties developing single-purpose digital signage solutions that may not maximize the opportunities that can be realized.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) is a member of the Digital Signage Federation, the only independent, not-for-profit trade organization serving the digital signage industry. The DSF supports and promotes the common business interests of worldwide digital signage, interactive technologies and digital out-of-home network industries. To learn more, go to www.digitalsignagefederation.org.
Al Martinez is senior director of information technology at Metro. He has more than 25 years of transportation experience in both transit and traffic operations. Martinez joined Metro in 1997 to manage the Metro Freeway Service Patrol program and was promoted to supervising engineer in Operations to oversee the development of Metro’s Advanced Transportation Management System (ATMS) bus fleet management system. He implemented the Nextrip bus arrival program, which was also expanded to rail. He currently directs Metro’s Transit Application team, which oversees fleet management (ATMS), maintenance (M3), scheduling (Hastus) and video (SmartDrive/DVR) systems and related bus/rail applications.
