Highway signs to display Caltrain info

Caltrans, the San Mateo County Transportation Authority and Caltrain will begin offering commuter travel time information for Caltrain on the changeable message signs on US 101 between San Jose and San Francisco, which is one of the more congested corridors in the Bay Area.

Beginning July 2, the signs, which currently show the amount of time it will take commuters to travel to destinations along US 101 between San Francisco and San Jose, also will display Caltrain travel times and scheduled departure times. In addition, smaller signs located prior to off-ramps will show parking availability at Caltrain stations. Commuters can use this information to decide whether to take Caltrain or remain on the freeway.

The system will only be activated during the morning and evening commutes. Freeway travel times will be updated using anonymous information from FasTrak transponders and in-pavement detectors, and train times will be based on the Caltrain schedule.

UC Berkeley’s California Center for Innovative Transportation developed the software that makes this service possible.