PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — No more paper signs. SEPTA plans to install solar-powered screens at bus and trolley stops that let riders know when the next vehicle should arrive.
The screens are about the size of iPads. By late May, 10 of them should be mounted under a pilot program.
“This is electronic, real-time signage, like countdown clocks, that is small enough to be installed at a bus stop or a trolley stop,” said Lex Powers, SEPTA chief of customer experience.
Locations for the pilot will be chosen based on ridership, equity and available sunlight for power.
And remember HitchBOT, the traveling robot that was destroyed in Philadelphia in 2015? SEPTA special projects manager Emily Duncan does. She said these screens are encased and designed to resist graffiti and theft.
“All of the vendors were well aware of the challenging landscape that we have here in Philadelphia,” she said. “The devices that were proposed to us for the selection process were equipped to handle anything Philadelphia can throw at it — literally and figuratively.”
The program was stalled during last year’s budget uncertainty and cybersecurity concerns, but SEPTA said the screens should be up and running by this summer.
The screens are made to withstand Philly’s ‘challenging landscape’
