Archives

  • www.xinsurance.com
Advertisement
The Newspaper for the Future of Miami
Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
Front Page » Government » Miami-Dade getting hundreds of touch-screen internet kiosks

Miami-Dade getting hundreds of touch-screen internet kiosks

Written by on August 22, 2017
  • www.miamitodayepaper.com
Advertisement
Miami-Dade getting hundreds of touch-screen internet kiosks

With fewer and fewer residents using public transit, Miami-Dade is pulling out all the stops to add riders.

To improve the ride and blend more technology into transit, the county has partnered with CIVIQ Smartscapes LLC to install up to 300 interactive touch-screen kiosks, at no cost to the county.

CIVIQ has installed 10-foot-tall kiosks in the Stephen P. Clark Government Center lobby downtown and in the second-floor transit station. The company is to unveil to the county the other planned locations by “the end of August,” said Alice Bravo, Miami-Dade’s director of transportation and public works.

The county is to approve the list by Sept. 22 before CIVIQ installs kiosks.

At the kiosks, riders can plot personalized routes, charge phones, access Wi-Fi and take photos of themselves they can send over e-mail.

CIVIQ is to also provide free-high speed Wi-Fi at the kiosks and on county trains and buses to connect the transit schedules, access emergency alerts and give passengers internet access.

“They’re going to put modems on all of our buses, trains and Metromovers to improve our real-time data,” Ms. Bravo said.

CIVIQ is giving the county over 1,000 Wi-Fi devices in transit vehicles and over 50 for transit stations.

“These devices are much more than a new way to access the internet,” Ms. Bravo said. “It will enhance engagement with our services and provide easier access to information.”

CIVIQ is investing about $20 million up front in the kiosks and Wi-Fi, and is responsible for operating and maintenance costs, the transportation department says. Based on cellular fees for 209 buses, all Metrorail and Metromovers, the county will save $2.1 million, the department says.

CIVIQ aims to profit: each kiosk has a digital screen with ads, and CIVIQ can also push ads out to Wi-Fi users.

The kiosks will have the same interactive interface as the transit department’s smart phone app.

“The kiosks will be reading off our platform that has all of our transit information,” Ms. Bravo said. “They’ll have trip planning, real-time data and all of the other features on the app.”

Ms. Bravo said the county doesn’t yet have the number of kiosks that CIVIQ is committing to. “We’re dealing with it in waves. We want to get a few under our belt to see what the issues are.”

All kiosks are to have video surveillance cameras that feed into the county.

“We will receive the surveillance through central observation centers we have in place,” Ms. Bravo said.

While CIVIQ hasn’t confirmed kiosk locations, George Burciaga, company director of global government development and innovation, told Miami Today that the company is looking into other ways to connect the county.

“We are proud of our partnership with Miami-Dade County and our shared commitment to enhancing the Miami-Dade experience for tourists and residents alike,” he said. “We are actively working with the county to deploy a full smart city solution and bring CIVIQ’s WayPoints into neighborhoods and communities throughout Miami-Dade.”

Angel Petisco, county chief information officer, said, “This is one of the single largest tech upgrades, providing real-time benefits to residents of Miami-Dade, I’ve seen in my years here.”

9 Responses to Miami-Dade getting hundreds of touch-screen internet kiosks

  1. ray

    August 23, 2017 at 2:20 am

    Why isn’t the county doing what’s been running in other cities for five years and more? set things up so passengers can look online and see, in real time, when the bus is coming for every bus and train for that matter, for the county? This is old news in many other US cities. … no kiosks needed and much more efficient. Given that the system is not on time, most of the time, maybe they don’t want the public to be even better able to track how off it is? What a disgrace to tout this private business as though it’s some novel advancement when the norm in big cities, efficient real time tracking on your cell, is ignored.

  2. Visual Pollution

    August 23, 2017 at 1:14 pm

    Visual pollution. Watch these LED display screens get converted to LED billboards.

  3. Interested Party

    August 23, 2017 at 4:38 pm

    Are they hard-wired to the electrical grid, or are they solar powered? Who’s paying for the eletricity being used if they are not solar?

  4. Michelle Pewpipantz

    August 25, 2017 at 9:28 am

    Ray, the county already offers the real time tracking app you describe above. See: http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/transit-tracker-app.asp

    Hope that’s of help to you.

  5. ray

    August 25, 2017 at 10:12 am

    Thanks Michelle

  6. John Joffre

    August 29, 2017 at 2:11 pm

    They can start by maintaining the buses and rail cars, They are filthy. They need to run and run on time. Poorly operated system is the reason people don’t use as much as they could.

  7. Raquel

    August 30, 2017 at 8:09 am

    How about less glitz and more substance. We need investment on the actual service not lipstick for the pig.

  8. Rich

    August 31, 2017 at 3:58 pm

    “fewer and fewer residents using public transit”…

    County needs to make public transit more efficient and extend MetroRail to area that actually needs it.

    Where did the money go from the 0.5% sales tax increase that we voted on in 2002?

  9. paper

    September 26, 2017 at 6:19 pm

    Tһanks for finally writing about >Miami-Dade getting hundreds of touch-screen internet kiosks –
    Miami Today <Loved it!

  • www.miamitodayepaper.com
Advertisement