NJ Transit Executive Director Richard Sarles Wednesday announced a public beta test of “DepartureVision,” a new NJ TRANSIT service that displays train departure boards on mobile devices, such as iPhones, Blackberries or web-enabled cell phones.
With DepartureVision, customers can view actual train departure screens—including arrival time, track assignment and train status — in the palm of their hand.
The beta test of DepartureVision will take place over a period of six to eight weeks, using train departure boards for Frank R. Lautenberg Station at Secaucus Junction. NJ TRANSIT will collect feedback over the pilot period and incorporate it when the technology is launched more broadly in the months ahead.
Customers traveling to Secaucus Junction will be able to view connecting track information before arriving at the station. Similarly, customers who use the new Meadowlands Rail Line to travel to and from football games or major events will be able to check their Secaucus connections from Giants Stadium.
As an additional benefit, users can click on an individual train to see a list of stations it serves.
Customers can access the new system by visiting njtransit.com from their web-enabled mobile device.
In recent years, NJ TRANSIT has implemented a series of web enhancements to improve the flow of information to and from customers, including RSS feeds for train, bus and light rail status; a computerized Lost and Found system; Google Transit integration, a mobile website and mobile “Contact Us” feature for web-enabled mobile devices.