One display on the vehicle. The rest on the rider's own phone.
Today's onboard passenger information systems are expensive because every vehicle needs screens, players, and per-vehicle licensing, and all of it broadcasts the same thing to everyone. This concept keeps a single display doing what it does well, and hands the detailed, personal version to the device the rider is already holding. Two parts, two links. Open the display on a large screen and the rider app on a phone, then scan the code.
The onboard display
Nothing to touch. The rotation adapts on its own: route, live connections, area news and weather, advertising, and a dedicated slide whenever a public alert is active. A ticker carries everything else. Best on a TV or projector.
Open the display →The rider's phone
Tap a destination on the map or type it, set the time you need to arrive, and get routes ranked with the risks flagged. Save a commute and it gets watched, with a text when you need to leave earlier.
Open the rider app →What's real and what isn't
- PATH train arrivals. Actual countdowns at Hoboken, Newport, Grove Street, Newark and World Trade Center, refreshed every 30 seconds.
- Weather at every stop. Current conditions pulled per coordinate along the route.
- Public alerts, statewide and local. Active National Weather Service advisories for New Jersey and for the corridor, ranked by severity.
- Map and location. Real tiles, and your device's GPS if you allow it.
- NJ Transit bus and rail positions. Their feeds need registered credentials and a server in between, which is the next build step.
- Delays and service alerts on the 126, and the disruption that triggers the departure change.
- Advertising and area news, geofenced by corridor, standing in for a managed content package.
- Saved trips and text messages, shown as they would be delivered.
Worth knowing
The rider app asks for location only when you tap the target button, and never requires an
account to plan a trip. Saved trips and text alerts would require one, since texting someone
means knowing their number.
This is an internal proof of concept. It runs on publicly available data and is not
affiliated with or endorsed by NJ Transit. Nothing here should be used to catch an actual
train.