Port Authority wins national award for tool that helps riders figure out how crowded their bus is

Port Authority has won a national award for a tool it created to help riders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Transportation Research Board named the authority’s Room2Ride tool the winner of its annual Innovations in Transit Performance Measurement Challenge. Room2Ride uses historical data from the previous two weeks to help riders determine which bus during the day is likely to have room for them during pandemic restrictions.

Last spring, the agency established passenger limits for vehicles to allow for social distancing during the pandemic — no more than 10 riders on a 35-foot bus, 15 on a 40-foot bus, and 25 on a 60-foot articulated bus or light rail vehicle. Operators who have reached their limit have been instructed to drive past additional riders.

To help riders determine their best opportunity to get on a bus, Ellie Newman, Port Authority’s manager of transit analysis, developed Room2Ride. The tool, available on the authority’s website, tells people how many riders used each bus trip during the previous two weeks, giving them a good idea whether the bus will have space at the time they want to ride.

The system updates information every Thursday. The tool is only available for buses because light rail vehicles don’t have a system to record when a rider enters or leaves a vehicle.

Room2Ride was selected over finalists from Jacksonville Transit Authority in Florida; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the University of Washington; and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Newman joined the authority in 2019.