Real-time signs upgraded on C and D lines

Everyone at a bus stop wants to know how soon the next bus is coming, and not everyone has access to real-time travel information on a smartphone.

As of this morning, riders who board regular Metro routes at dozens of RapidRide stops along the C and D lines can now see arrival information for their buses on the digital signs that used to show RapidRide arrivals only. (Stops along the A and B lines have had this feature for some time.)

It’s important to us to keep improving our technology to help our riders travel as smoothly and swiftly as possible.

Next up—we’re working with our vendor to get larger digital signs for stops that serve many routes, so riders can see arrival times for several routes at once.

Metro hears rider feedback on West Seattle service

West Seattle riders have given Metro a lot to think about in response to a recent questionnaire. We wanted to hear all of it – the good, the bad, the ugly – after receiving reports of overcrowded buses on the RapidRide C Line and routes 21, 21X, and 120, as well as service not arriving on time. Concerns were focused on the challenges we faced launching RapidRide C Line and changes to the transit system made Sept. 29.

Read all about it on the Metro Matters blog.

Traffic signal troubles along the C Line

A technical problem recently emerged at four intersections along the RapidRide C Line in West Seattle. Some traffic signal software was causing signals to be stuck or go into flash mode, and the transit signal priority feature that gives buses more green lights has been temporarily disabled at these four intersections while the problem is sorted out.

Buses are taking a little longer to get through the intersection of 35th Avenue SW and SW Avalon Street

We’re working closely with the Seattle Department of Transportation on a solution, and together are committed to reactivating transit signal priority at the four intersections – 35th Avenue SW and SW Avalon Way, 35th Avenue SW and SW Alaska Street, 42nd Avenue SW and SW Alaska Street, and California Avenue SW and Fauntleroy Way SW.

RapidRide buses will continue to travel their routes while we work to find a solution, and transit signal priority remains active at four other intersections along the C Line. Thanks for your patience as we work on this issue.

Transit signal priority is one element that RapidRide incorporates to improve speed and reliability.  On the A, B, C, and D lines there are currently more than 80 intersections equipped with signal priority. The C Line will have nine once they are fully operational.

#OneBusHooray!—progress on RapidRide arrival signs, OneBusAway

For the past few months, riders have told us they were left guessing when the next RapidRide C or D line bus might be coming along. Either the information wasn’t available on their smartphones (via the OneBusAway app) or our real-time arrival signs.

That changed quietly over the Christmas holiday. After months of work behind the scenes on software bugs and special data streams, we’re now seeing more accurate arrival time predictions, both on our signs and in the app.

The predictions should now be more – well – predictable. You should see bus arrival times counting down in one-minute increments, with the countdowns less prone to strange jumps. At RapidRide C and D line stops without real-time information signs, riders can use their smartphones to scan QR codes for information for that stop via OneBusAway.

OneBusAway was developed by graduate students at the UW and has become the most popular real-time third-party app in the area. It has become an important feature that many riders think of as part of Metro’s system, however Metro does not operate the app. Metro provides data to any interested third party application developers who wish to use our system data.

OneBusAway and real-time arrival info are important to us and to our riders, especially during evening commutes when crowding and frustration can be eased by riders knowing, for example, that another bus is only a handful of minutes away.

C and D line arrival signs are more accurate these days.

Our tech experts continue to watch the real-time information system very closely to make sure it’s working as it should. The system is complex, relying on vehicle locators, communications systems (fiber optics and radio), predictive software, two connected RapidRide lines, and the OneBusAway app. Metro is committed to having these all work together as reliably as possible, but on any given day, one little break in the chain of information could produce a temporary outage that requires patience from our riders.

For now, thanks for your patience while we worked on the problem, and let us know how the app and real-time arrival signs are working for you.

RapidRide test bus helps troubleshoot signs

As soon as Monday, Dec. 10, riders may see a test RapidRide bus traveling the C/D lines between Ballard, downtown Seattle, and West Seattle. Instead of stopping to pick up riders, the bus will travel the corridor with Metro staff members aboard to compare actual bus arrival times with what the real-time information signs say.

We’ll collect data for a few days and analyze it as part of our ongoing effort to improve the performance and accuracy of real-time bus arrival signs at RapidRide stops. Behind the scenes, we continue to troubleshoot the software, hardware, and communications that feed the signs – a dynamic system that tracks buses, reports their locations, and predicts and reports when they’ll arrive at upcoming stops.

This key feature is integral to RapidRide service, something riders remind us of daily – especially when traffic congestion delays our otherwise frequent service. We’re working on improving the system with the goal of providing good information more consistently.

We’ll keep you posted on our progress.

Top 3 things Metro has heard about the C Line (and what we did about them)

It’s been about seven weeks since we launched the C Line, and there have been bumps in the road. Metro has heard a lot of feedback, and continues to tackle the issues that bug riders most. Read more and join the conversation on the Metro Matters blog.

More C Line trips to improve frequency, reliability

Some good news for evening commuters who ride to West Seattle: more bus trips for the RapidRide C Line, starting Nov. 5 and 13, to maintain frequent service even when buses get stuck in traffic near lower Queen Anne.

Starting Nov. 13, bus drivers also will have updated evening schedules, based on what we’ve learned from operating RapidRide in downtown Seattle the past six weeks. The revised schedules will help C Line buses arrive more regularly at stops.

See the  news release for more details.

Metro is continuing to gather and analyze data to make the bus system work better in this time of growing ridership and tight budgets. We’ll have more to report in coming weeks. Keep us posted on how the changes are working for you.

How riders can speed up RapidRide

Use an ORCA card to pay your fare.
It’s faster than feeding cash into a fare box. Multiply that small time savings by every passenger on the bus, and you get a noticeably faster ride. You can buy an ORCA card online at www.orcacard.com, at a ticket vending machine at any Link station (including all Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel stations*), or at any Metro Transit or Regional Partners Pass Sales Outlet (locations are listed at www.orcacard.com).

*A ticket vending machine is being installed this week at Convention Place station in the transit tunnel.

Use off-board ORCA readers and board through the back doors.
At stations with off-board ORCA readers, you can pay before you get on the bus and then board through one of the back doors (between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. only – at other times, all riders enter through the front door for security reasons). Where this option is available, it’s a great way to cut down the bottleneck at the front of the bus. We’re working with the City of Seattle to install ORCA readers in downtown Seattle, with the goal of having them in place by fall 2013.

Exit via the back doors.
You can cut the amount of time the bus spends at your stop by leaving through the back doors, so other passengers can start boarding through the front door right away.

Exiting through the back doors allows other passengers to start boarding at the front.

If you’re standing, move away from the doors.
This will allow others to board or leave the bus more quickly. Small delays at each stop add up to a longer ride, so preventing those delays gets everyone where they’re going more quickly.

C and D line update: working out some kinks

We’ve had some start-up challenges with the new C and D lines – overcrowded buses and delays during peak commute hours on the C Line, and some technology that isn’t working yet on the D Line. Here’s a rundown of what we’re doing to address these issues.

Adding buses

After adding two morning and two afternoon trips to both new lines to make buses less crowded and more reliable, we’re monitoring passenger loads. Things appear to be going more smoothly on the C Line during morning commute hours, but there are still problems with the afternoon commute. We may add more trips to these lines or to connecting bus routes if necessary. We’ve also stationed two extra buses near the C and D lines so we can put them into service quickly if the regular buses are delayed or overcrowded.

Actively managing service

Metro has a control center where a dedicated coordinator actively manages RapidRide service during peak commute hours, communicating with bus drivers to help them keep buses evenly spaced. This is a new approach for us, and continues to improve with experience.

Transit signal priority

Most major intersections on RapidRide corridors have transit signal priority systems. RapidRide buses send signals to traffic lights to make green lights stay green longer or red lights switch to green faster.

C Line transit signal priority systems are up and running at all but one of the intended intersections. D Line systems are now operating at more than half of the intended intersections. Metro is working with the Seattle Department of Transportation to turn on the remaining systems by the end of the year.

We’ll be refining traffic signal timing for both lines over the next six months. After that, we’ll continue to monitor the systems and adjust them as needed. The C and D lines are connected, so as signal priority improves on the D Line, the C Line should provide more reliable service coming out of downtown Seattle.

You’ll be seeing fewer nonworking signs and hooded ORCA readers as we get power and troubleshoot isolated connection problems.

Bus arrival signs and ORCA readers

The real-time bus arrival signs at RapidRide stations depend on network connections that have both hard-wired and wireless components. When a sign isn’t working properly, Metro has to identify the problem before we can fix it. The wireless access point may be faulty and require replacement, or the signal may be interrupted by something physically coming between the sign and its wireless access point (in which case we would move one of the antennas).

As of today, there’s still one arrival sign on the C Line that we haven’t fixed yet. On the D Line, we’re working with Seattle City Light to make permanent electrical connections, which will allow us to turn on the off-board ORCA readers and arrival signs. Experience with the A and B lines tells us that once we’re able to hook up the equipment, turn it on, and see if it’s working, most of it will probably work, with a few isolated issues.

Thanks for your patience

While we’re working to get everything running smoothly, we really appreciate our riders’ patience – and also your comments and suggestions, which help us know where improvements are needed.

Next time: what riders can do to speed up RapidRide

More West Seattle residents take transit; Metro works to ease C Line crowding

The good news is that the C and D lines are up and running and we saw an immediate spike in ridership after their launch.

Initially, however, that popularity created some delays and overcrowding during the busiest commute times, particularly on the C Line.

To address this, Metro has added four extra trips to the C Line during peak commute hours (two trips in the morning and two in the evening). The added trips should increase bus arrival frequency from every 10 minutes to every 8-9 minutes during the busiest times – 7 to 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 to 6 p.m.

We can’t say that all of the problems vanished overnight, but we can say that service has been running more smoothly this week, and we’re continuing to make adjustments as we learn more about operating this new service in real-world conditions. So things should continue getting better — and in the meantime, the patience of our riders is greatly appreciated. Please know that we’re paying close attention, both to the service itself and to customer feedback.

Read Metro’s Oct. 5 news release about added trips »

Tune in next week for a C and D line update – what’s working, what isn’t (yet), and why.

C Line bus on Third Avenue in downtown Seattle