Transit Screen is expanding its reach. The company, which makes screens that show real-time bus and Metrorail arrivals, has formed partnerships with the Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID) and the Ballston BID to place screens in public areas and test whether they reduce pedestrian crowding and encourage the use of transit.
Transit Screen's devices aggregate data from most of the major transit agencies in the greater D.C. area, including Metrorail, Metrobus, Capital Bikeshare, Circulator, ART and PG The Bus. CEO Matt Caywood hopes to be able to integrate data from car2go and other point-to-point rental services in the future as well.
The screens are placed in public and retail locations to keep public transportation riders and commuters out of lines and off of platforms.
"We're solving a problem that no app on a phone or device does," explains Caywood. "You can understand the transit options around you at a glance. And [the screens] show [successive] arrivals. Knowing when later arrivals are coming makes a difference. And, if you are unwilling to wait or prefer to bike, you have that option."
According to Caywood, the partnership in Georgetown came about when Jonathon Kass was elected as its BID's transportation director. "He really wants to solve Georgetown's traffic and pedestrian problems," says Caywood. "The plan is to put screens in five to ten sites around M St. and Wisconsin Ave., in retail stores and bars, and measure the impact the screens have on pedestrian crowding."
In Ballston, says Ryan Croft, VP of business development for the company, there are plans to put a screen outside of the
Ballston LaunchPad, the new business and tech incubator space. Croft hopes the BID will advocate for screens in Ballston's small businesses and hotels as well. "It's a win-win," explains Croft. "It improves the business ecosystem and builds more sustainable, walkable and bikeable communities."
Caywood says that Transit Screen, which grew out of a project he developed with
Arlington County Commuter Services, has garnered "a tremendous amount of enthusiasm from developers, BIDs, end users, and people who want one for their home." Transit Screens are not available on the consumer market. A software license runs $1,999 per screen and users pay $50 in monthly subscription fees; multiple screen discounts are available.
Transit Screen will be launching a second location, in San Francisco, in July. Croft will be moving there to manage the second market. The pair has a tentative list of other cities to expand to, but isn't yet disclosing locations. "We're focusing on U.S. markets where there is open data," Caywood says.