Time for an upgrade: T stations to show when next train is coming

New screens at Port Authority of Allegheny County’s T stations will show when the next train will be arriving.

The 55-inch screens were installed this week at stations on the North Side and Downtown that show real-time arrival times, according to Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph.

“The goal here is to improve communications with our customers by providing accurate information,” Brandolph said.

There’s nothing worse than waiting at a station or bus stop and not knowing when it’s going to arrive, he said.

The new displays were $21,225 each, including the cost of the equipment, programming and maintenance agreements, Brandolph said. There will be 12 of them in place in the coming months, he said.

Smartphone users can access that information, but the new displays will make it available to anyone at the station.

Riders heading to/from Allegheny, North Side and Gateway stations this afternoon may notice a new addition: Digital displays with realtime vehicle information… And they'll soon be coming to rail and busway stations near you! Details coming soon. pic.twitter.com/fdvLIeQUVu

— Port Authority PGH (@PGHtransit) July 24, 2019

They’re installed in the hallway leading to the tracks at the Wood Street station and were being put into place above the escalator and stairs at the Steel City stop.

It’s part of $980,000 in improvements the Port Authority authorized in 2018 to update communications in the system. Last year, smaller screens installed at some stops were vandalized, replaced, and damaged again.

Those smaller, 10-inch screens cost $3,000 each. Seven of them were installed and each of them had to be replaced once, something that cost the authority $42,000. One remains in use, Brandolph said.

“We would hope the public would respect the fact that these are expensive and useful for riders and they won’t be vandalized,” Brandolph said.

They are encased to deter damage, he said.

They’ll be in place at the Allegheny, North Side, Gateway, Wood Street and Steel City stations and in the coming weeks they’ll be coming to the First Avenue T station, those in the South Hills and on the East and West busways, Brandolph said.

“Displays don’t make the vehicle get there any faster, but it gives our customers the knowledge that it’s coming,” he said.

The screens were largely unnoticed by those using the T Friday morning. City resident Ricon Stus watched it for a minute before boarding the southbound train at the Wood Street station.

Others walked by without glancing up from their phones as they got on and off the train.

Bill Buzza of Sign Pro Inc., the company installing the displays, said they’re still working bugs out of the system as they install and put them online.

The Port Authority can also use the displays to alert riders of changes or delays and there’s also room for advertising on them.

“We’ll be finalizing what’s being displayed over the next couple months,” Brandolph said.