MBTA kicks off real-time tracking of Green Line trolleys

The MBTAGreen line is catching up to the rest of the transit system in terms of offering passengers access to real-time data.

This afternoon, the T was expected to beginoffering real-time information on the the nation’s oldest subway line. The locations of Green line trolleys will be fed to dozens of T real-time apps, the transit agency announced Thursday.

This will mark the completion of the first phase of a multi-phase project to provide real-time information and predictions to the Green Line’s 227,000 daily customers.

“Today marks an important milestone in one of the most highly-anticipated projects the MBTA has undertaken in recent years,” said outgoingMassDOT Secretary & CEO Richard A. Davey.

“Following the revolutionary release of our real-time data to developers and the installation of the customer-favorite Countdown Clocks, Green Line customers will now begin to have the same level of information to make better-informed travel decisions while riding the surface lines of the MBTA,” Davey said.

The first phase of the project entails adding above-ground Green Line train locations to the MBTA real-time data feed, according to the T, allowing developers who produce apps to provide information about where the next train is.

The second phase of the project, expected by the end of the fall, will include producing predicted arrival times for the Green Line, starting with the above-ground branches.

The T expects above ground predictions to be up and running by early December, paving the way for countdown signs at stations on the D branch.

Customers on other lines will be able to see predictions on their phones and other devices, according to the T.

The third phaseof the project will deliver predictions to Green Line subway stations, currently planned for early winter, when tracking hardware is installed in the tunnels.