AC Begins WiFi Testing This Month

News Articles
08/04/2006

The AC Transit Maintenance Dept. will begin testing this month on a new WiFi system for Transbay buses. Using grant money acquired by Capital Projects Manager Jon Twichell, they will set up and begin testing routers and wireless gear that will eventually allow riders to surf the internet on their way to and from work.

Given the many signal obstructions AC Transit’s Transbay fleet encounters throughout the region, setting up a reliable system will not be as simple as setting up a stationary wireless network. But Jon Twichell is confident that Transbay riders will soon have a very reliable WiFi system, one of the first of its kind on board a bus system anywhere in the world.

Once the test phase is complete, crews will outfit all of AC’s MCI coaches (the big green freeway cruisers) with WiFi equipment and offer the service to Transbay riders for free. The project team  expects the system to be fully operational by the end of the year.