Free Wi-Fi, phone chargers, cooler design – can NYC make buses hip?

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has embarked on an ambitious plan to modernize public transportation in New York.

Gov Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) announced the first next-generation public transit bus had arrived in New York City. The bus is the first of 75 that will be launched in 2016 to address a growing problem of outdated and overcrowded transport in the region with more modern designs and digital features to satisfy an increasingly wired public. The buses are one part of a sweeping technological reform for the dated MTA. Thousands of new buses, new ways of buying tickets, and more general updates are aimed at revamping public transportation in the Big Apple. All of the new buses will have free Wi-Fi for passengers and USB charging ports line the top of the buses above the windows. Thousands of buses new and old will also be fitted with new information screens.

Also at the announcement event, a new free app that will allow riders to buy tickets for metro and train lines via their phones was shown to have successfully passed its first field test. It would be available for all riders by the end of 2016.