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MBTA installs underground tracking system for Green Line trolleys
But can it track WHICH trolley line a car is on. For instance, at Park Street you have the B, C, D and E lines making stops. If a train is at Government Center one stop away any to tell which line that trolley is running?
Mr Anderson they are using an Automatic Vehicle Identifier. It sounds like a transponder based system which would get you the route based on where the car was assigned.
Ian, Thank you for the clarification. The Green Line is the most frustrating of the four subway lines, let’s hope it works.
@Nathan Anderson. If MBTA’s Green Line uses automatic route setting to line switches as each LRV approaches, based on the car’s AVI transponder info, then the route’s letter (B,C,D,E) should be available for the smart phone display, including spots where routes overlap, e.g., at Park St. I have the same question regarding Pittsburgh’s light rail. It uses transponder-based auto-route, but smart phone location service won’t be available for it until later this year. It’s already online for buses (using GPS) and the phone display includes both the number and letter for routes that partly overlap (e.g. 61A,B,C,D). But if MBTA Green Line operators control the turnouts, that’s another matter. In that case, maybe the onboard AVI’s will provide discrete route info just for the real-time location service. I guess we’ll both have to stay tuned.
Maybe they should try and get the transit lines to work in the snow before they spend money on this foolishness.