Queens commuters will soon be able to track when the next bus will arrive.
MTA Bus Time, which allows riders to follow real-time location of buses through any web-enabled smartphone or computer via GPS, should be coming to the borough within weeks, according to the agency.
“We have completed borough-wide installations in Queens and Brooklyn and are currently fine-tuning software. We are on schedule to go on line in the next several weeks,” MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz said.
MTA Bus Time users can also text an intersection or street address to 511123 to receive a message listing local bus routes or find out information by using a smartphone with a QR-code reader. The QR-code is printed on the Guide-A-Ride schedules posted at bus stops.
The technology started serving all of Staten Island’s bus routes in January 2012. It was later expanded to include all Bronx and Manhattan routes as well as Brooklyn’s B63 and B61 lines.
The MTA said in October 2013 that it would be expanding Bus Time to Queens and remaining routes within the next six months.
Assemblymember Phil Goldfeder has been pushing for the MTA to implement the technology throughout Queens and to set a start date for its launch.
He sent a letter to MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast last week asking him to immediately expand its use in the entire borough.
“Waiting for a bus in Queens should not be a guessing game,” Goldfeder said.
Goldfeder stressed the importance of Bus Time in Queens, saying it would improve local bus service and help ease congestion on roadways.
“[Bus Time] is the perfect solution to make public transportation more accessible and efficient to keep traffic moving,” Goldfeder said.
“I’m excited to see a successful program come to Queens residents,” he added.
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