MTD Announces Improvements to Passenger Information Kiosks

MTD is excited to announce the launch of an improved interface for our digital passenger information kiosks. Beginning Thursday, September 12, 2024, our Technology Services team began deploying the updated interface to all 36 kiosks throughout Champaign-Urbana.  

MTD conducted a communications survey in early 2023 and found that 76% of passengers who ride MTD rely on digital information kiosks for departure information, making it the most widely used resource in our community. Since then, we have been closely monitoring all avenues of passenger communication and making gradual improvements to enhance the way we present route and departure information. Improvements have been made to our 2024-2025 Maps & Schedules book, posters at bus shelters, and now, on all digital passenger information kiosks. 

       

What’s new? 

  • More departures: using the same amount of space, passengers can now see up to three upcoming departures per route that services that stop. The previous design allowed for only seven departures to be displayed at once; the updated design allows up to 21 departures to be displayed per page. 
  • Pages: at bus stops that are served by more than seven routes, kiosks will automatically page through departures. Each page will be visible for 10 seconds. 
  • Across-street departures: for select passenger information kiosks that are placed only on one side of a stop, kiosks may display departures for the boarding point on the opposite side of the street as well. These departures will be marked by an icon of a person following an arrow across a dashed line. Across-street departure functionality is currently available at these kiosks:  
    • Church & Neil 
    • Gregory & Dorner 
    • Gregory at Ikenberry Commons 
    • Lot E-14 
    • Springfield at Phillips Rec. Ctr. 
    • White & Second 
    • White Street Mid-Block
  • Dark mode: to cut down on light pollution, kiosk screens will transition to a darker color palette around dusk and back to a lighter color palette around dawn. 
  • Real-time indicator: real-time departure information will now be accompanied by an animated icon on the upper right corner of each real-time estimate, indicating information is actively being updated to provide the best estimate. In the event of real-time information disruptions, kiosks will fall back to scheduled times.

Real-time Indicator Icon Example

Across-street Departures Example

The refreshed design, along with the changes described above, provide a better experience for our passengers, and more closely resembles the structure of content on mtd.org. MTD strives to stay on the cutting-edge while still maintaining accessibility of the information we present. We welcome input about these changes to our digital passenger information kiosks. If you would like to voice your comments or concerns, please take a moment to complete this survey: ride.mtd.org/kiosk. Upon completion of the survey, you may opt-in to enter a drawing for a $50 Visa gift card! Survey entries should be completed before 5 pm on Monday, October 14, 2024, and the winner will be contacted shortly after.