THE "NETBUS" WIFI PROJECT. DELIVERING INTERNET ACCESS TO AC TRANSIT BUS RIDERS.

Alameda-Contra Costa Transit Agency, the San Francisco East Bay provider of bus public transit, is introducing free internet connectivity on its Transbay bus fleet. The service will allow passengers to use WiFi enabled portable computers, PDAs, and mobile phones to access entertainment and information, email, follow up on work assignments, and generally extend technology to their work commute trip. As part of its mission, AC Transit provides long-distance commute service across a number of San Francisco Bay Areabridges. The San Francisco Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland is the primary commuter bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Bridge connects the East Bay with downtown San Francisco. Additional AC Transitlines provide service crossing the San Mateo Bridge to Oracle, Visa and other major employers on the San Francisco peninsula, while other lines service the Dumbarton Bridge to Stanford University and Silicon Valley. Transbay service is provided in large part by a fleet of 78 MCI long distance buses. It is AC Transit's intention to equip the entire fleet of MCI buses with free WiFi for its riders. AC Transit's NetBus concept utilizes a mix of Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technologies. The basic idea behind the NetBus service is to take a 3rd Generation, or commonly called 3G, mobile modem, which connects to a mobile carrier's cellular infrastructure and share the connection between usersvia WiFi (802.11b WLAN). This project is being implemented in conjunctionwith the East Bay SMART Corridors program, a cooperative project created by Alameda County Congestion Management Agency (CMA) to deliver multi-modal and multi-agency systems. CMA and AC Transit have developed a partnership including 25 federal, state, local, and transit agencies to address congestion and mobility needs for some of the most congested arterials in Alameda County. This has been accomplished through implementation of an innovative combination of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technologies and Emergency Management System (EMS) programs, creating the East Bay SMART Corridors Program. For the covering abstract seeITRD E134653.