Boston’s MBTA is credited by Smarter Cities as one of 7 large-sized metro regions that exhibit some of America’s best and most innovative practices in transit. We have been on top of the MBTA’s plans and growth since their open data initiative last year, and look forward to continuing to follow and support them in leading the way on innovation. Their use of Twitter, for example, has been unbelievable. When I think something might be up, I always feel in the know thanks to an incredibly active and responsive @mbtaGM. Keep it up!
If you click “Boston” in the left sidebar of this article, you’ll be taken to another page that spotlights everything the MBTA has been working on. From that article:
“More than 1.2 million people in the Boston metropolitan area take public transportation each weekday. And Boston is one of only two regions in the nation (the other, surprisingly, being Los Angeles) with a transit system employing all five of the major transit vehicle types: regional rail, subway, light-rail, electric trolley buses, and motor buses. And it has a ferry system to boot.”
Further in the article, the author highlights the MBTA’s use of technology:
“One of the most exciting and important things the MBTA is doing to make public transit ridership as easy as possible is using technology to provide greater access to transit information. ‘There is just a slew of devices for your handheld,’ Brennan says, in particular a new GPS program for buses that allows users to see where the bus is in real time to plan trips. ‘That program alone has been wildly successful,’ Brennan says, mentioning he’d used the app just that morning to get to work.”
If you’re interested in some of the innovative things the MBTA is doing that we’ve covered in the past, here are a few suggestions of articles to check out that track their timeline:
