New Jersey Transit wants to bring wi-fi to its trains and stations. As The Record reported yesterday, the commuter rail has issued a request for proposals from providers of wireless broadband service to outfit its fleet and bring Internet access to the commuting masses. The agency is hosting a pre-proposal conference next week in Newark, and officials are excited about the potential to bring better amenities to its customers. New Jersey Transit said the price of wi-fi access — whether it would be free or come with a cost — would be determined by the RFPs. Wi-fi, said executive director James Weinstein would “[enable] those who wish to remain connected and productive during their commute to do so continuously.” He added, “We hope to receive responses from qualified wireless service providers to advance our plan to bring the Internet aboard NJ Transit trains in the near future.”
With this announcement, New Jersey Transit joins the efforts of the region’s other commuter rail services to offer wi-fi on board trains and in stations. Metro-North and the LIRR are engaged in a similar process, and New York City Transit recently announced its intention to kickstart its underground wi-fi program. To compete in a global economy, these technological advances are badly needed indeed.
4 comments
NJT is being unusually smart here. Commuter trains aren’t and will never be cars. However, they can be commuter trains, part of whose appeal is being able to do productive work during your hour-long trip.
Unfortunately a few years late. Any commuter who would pay for WiFi internet access on the train already has internet through their phone as that is what they have been doing for a while. It might benefit weekend travelers though, provided they know about it.
I agree that it should have been done years ago, but wi-fi is still an important standard. There are certain kinds of work you can’t do on a BlackBerry – for one, anything involving fast typing, typing special characters, or viewing a large screen. I’d hate to try to read or write math papers on a smartphone, but on a laptop I’ve done it on the M72, leeching wi-fi from surrounding buildings.
I’ve never had a Blackberry, so I can’t comment on its functionality, but with my WM phone, I tether it to my laptop via Bluetooth for internet access. Phone stays in my pocket so there’s no wires or anything either.