Solar-Powered E Ink Signs
- Contract awarded: May 2023
- Projected completion: Late 2024
- Budget: $3.4 million
- Status: Pilot projects complete; scale-up project in planning & design
Realtime arrival information significantly improves the experience of taking public transit, so we’re working hard to make this information available throughout the MBTA system. However, access to electricity and the fiber network is limited or nonexistent in some areas.
Thanks to solar-powered electronic ink (E Ink) signs, we can now bring realtime information to more stations and stops.
Building a Better T
As part of our $9.6 billion, 5-year capital investment plan, we're renovating stations, modernizing fare collection systems, upgrading services for our buses, subways, and ferries, and improving the accessibility of the entire system.
What We're Working on in 2023 and 2024
After conducting multiple pilots to test E Ink technology and gather rider feedback, the MBTA approved a project to scale up the program.
In 2023 and 2024, we’ll begin bringing realtime information to most surface-level Green Line stations on the B, C, and E branches and to additional bus stops in communities throughout Greater Boston.
We are currently in the planning and design phase, with construction expected to begin in the Summer of 2023.
How We Got Here
In 2017, we launched our first pilot to test sign durability and performance, gather customer feedback, and determine whether we could add signs to additional bus and subway stops. We were especially curious to know if the signs could withstand frigid Boston winters.
In 2019, we expanded our pilot testing to include bus stops and to test additional stations on the Green Line where countdown predictions weren’t already available.
Related Projects
This project is one of many we're working on to ensure twice as many passengers have access to a safer, more comfortable, and more reliable Green Line by 2030.
Photo Gallery
Closeup of an E Ink sign on the Green Line E branch at MFA (February 2020)
An E Ink sign displays "Now" as a Green Line C train approaches the Washington Square inbound stop (February 2020)
Closeup of an E Ink sign on the Green Line E branch at MFA (February 2020)
A rider reads the new E Ink sign at the Broadway bus stop in Everett (February 2020)
A close up of an E Ink sign at the Broadway bus stop in Everett
A bus E Ink sign at the Harvard Square @ Garden Street stop in Cambridge (February 2020)
An E Ink sign at the Hawthorne @ Broadway stop in Chelsea (February 2020)
A closeup of an E Ink sign at the Warren St @ Quincy St stop in Roxbury (February 2020)
A diagram measuring the solar path at St. James Ave in Back Bay. We map solar exposure at each potential location to find the spots that get the most sun.
Contact Us
For all questions and comments related to solar-powered E Ink signs, please contact GLT@mbta.com.
Recent Updates
Building a Better T
As part of our $9.6 billion, 5-year capital investment plan, we're renovating stations, modernizing fare collection systems, upgrading services for our buses, subways, and ferries, and improving the accessibility of the entire system.
Related Projects
This project is one of many we're working on to ensure twice as many passengers have access to a safer, more comfortable, and more reliable Green Line by 2030.