Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is putting free WiFi on 150 of its buses as part of a pilot program. By the end of the year, L.A. Metro should have 300 WiFi-enabled buses, according to MTA spokesperson Steve Hymon.
Also, WiFi will be installed on any newly manufactured buses MTA orders. Eventually all of the county’s 2,200 buses serving its 4,000 square-mile region may be upgraded.
The buses with new 4G LTE WiFi will not be concentrated to one specific area or route, they are being arbitrarily assigned to routes across L.A. Metro, said Hymon.
The benefit to riders is obvious: the WiFi will save you data and provide better Internet connection than you may get from your cell service provider.” he said.
The free WiFi service has no time limit, but the WiFi won’t allow large downloads, like movies.
MTA will also use the free WiFi (with WPA 2) to track buses, but it will not track individual smartphones.
Features include:
- Ability to alert security 24/7
- An MTA customer relations chat feature
- An MTA map with real-time arrival information and service alerts
