London's Stansted Airport provides digital information on transit options and times

I can't say I go to lots of airports.  But it is fair to say that most don't have great information about transit options, although they are improving with internal wayfinding signage directing people to transit connections.

BWI Airport outside of Baltimore is one of the best I've been to in terms of having a digital screen information system that describes the various mobility options available.

It does provide real-time schedule information on some but not all of the services: Amtrak and MARC train service; and certain MTA bus service.


It would be easy enough to provide a full set of real time scheduling information, using the TransitScreen application or an equivalent.

The TransitScreen app is used by the Orange Barrel Media digital billboard outside Capital One Arena to display transit information.


TransitScreen information displayed on a large screen outside a parking structure at Fenway Park, Boston.

Fare machines too.  Airports are also not always so great about having farecard machines proximate to the area where buses stop to pick up passengers.  This isn't a problem for trains, light rail, and subway connections, because those areas always have fare machines.

At BWI Airport, this is a problem in terms of bus service.  All they need to do is install an MTA fare machine in this area, because the CharmCard it dispenses is inter-operable with DC's transit system.  That card can be used on the WMATA B30 Metrobus that serves the Airport.

Stansted Airport.  Our NZ correspondent Nigel shared with me an article from Railway Gazette International, "Travel information and adverts at Stansted Airport" on a new transit information + ads screen application at Stansted Airport in London. From the article:

The baggage reclaim area at Stansted Airport now has digital screens which show live car, coach and rail journey time comparisons for travel to London Liverpool Street station.

The project was jointly devised and created by train operator Greater Anglia, creative agency LIDA and DOOH.com, with ads appearing on media owner Primesight’s Digital Arrivals Network and Digital 6-sheets.

‘We appreciate this part of the journey is a fine balance of excitement and frustration for passengers, particularly as navigating transfer options can be tricky’, said Chris Ford, Marketing & Digital Manager at Stansted Express. ‘By harnessing different sources of real-time data into one we can provide reliable and digestible information to help customers make informed decisions on how to get to and from central London.’

‘Applying live data is a fantastic way of turning an otherwise general advert into a functional utility that saves passengers time and effort during what is often a stressful part of their journey’, said Neil McKenney, Managing Partner at DOOH.com. ‘Using our platform, it becomes easy to infuse digital out of home ads with the ability to function in the same way as a webpage.’

More airports need to consider more systematically providing this kind of information as a form of serving more of the total "customer journey".

-- ACRP Report 157: Improving the Airport Customer Experience


Speaking of my ongoing complaints about the need for tourism centers at airports, especially at the airports in the Washington area, I thought it very ironic that the digital screen advertising system at National Airport states "75% of air travelers are likely to visit a tourist attraction after learning about it at the airport." Then why don't the jurisdictions get together and address this?

Two places that stand out for decent visitor centers at airports are Denver and Orange County, California.  Before light rail served the Seattle Airport, it was a standout for the provision of transit information.  Ironically, that was eliminated with the Light Rail Station addition, which doesn't provide the same level of information as was provided previously.

Public transit information rack, Seattle-Tacoma Airport, 2007.