High-ridership Montgomery County Ride On bus stops receive real-time arrival displays

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) announced on Aug. 6 that it is installing real-time arrival displays at high-ridership bus stops throughout the county.

The technology, referred to as ePaper and supplied by Connectpoint, is a digital display presenting real-time bus arrival information with an audio readout and text-to-speech button. The MCDOT Division of Transit is currently implementing the screens at 100 bus stops across the county. Approximately 50 screens have been installed as of mid-July.  

“Montgomery County is committed to building a transportation system that is reliable, accessible and easy to use,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “By providing real-time information displays, riders can better predict their travel times and be alerted to any issues that may affect their trip. We recently rolled out phase one of Ride On Reimagined, a long-term plan to modernize and improve public transit and we also made all Ride On buses zero fare last month. Our hope is that more people will choose public transit. It’s a great time to give Ride On buses a try.” 

The real-time information displays will be installed at high-ridership bus stops and transit centers in Bethesda, Germantown, Rockville, Shady Grove, Silver Spring and Twinbrook, Md. 

“The digital signs address a common request among our ridership: namely, real-time information on bus wait times and system alerts,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “We released the Ride On Trip Planner app two years ago, letting riders plan their most efficient route across multiple modes of public transportation and access real-time Ride On bus arrival information. Since then, more than two and a half million trips have been planned on the app and feedback from our riders has been overwhelmingly positive. The ePaper displays are one more way to deliver critical information to our riders.”  

MCDOT says it expects to add more ePaper displays to high-ridership bus stops over the next few years.