SMART launches multi-agency signs for better connections

One of the highlights of the All Aboard event North Bay tour during Transit Month in September 2025, was seeing the real-time multi-agency signs in action.  General managers from many transit agencies and transit users from around the region took the Ferry to Marin County, the SMART train to Santa Rosa station, and buses back to their destination. 

The trips to and from Marin County benefited from realtime multi-agency information displays that've been up since June 2025. For example, the sign at the Windsor station shows that the Petaluma Transit Route 2 to McDowell School is coming in 12 minutes, and Sonoma County Transit Route 44 is arriving in just under 2 hours. All partner agencies represented on the SMART real-time signs have real-time data. When real-time data is being used, a radio wave icon appears next to the arrival. If there is no real-time information available, the display will indicate “scheduled” next to the arrival time. 

The digital signs have been in place since December 2024, starting with real-time SMART train departure times and service alerts. 

In late 2023, SMART was awarded grant funding from the state through the Clean CA competitive grant program for the installation of real-time passenger informational signs systemwide, as well as wayfinding signs along the SMART Pathway. With the funding, SMART was able to award a contract and start the project in April 2024. 

The primary goal was to provide North Bay riders with real-time information for their connecting transit to and from SMART. A related goal was to show information about connecting service for new and occasional riders of SMART to discover and understand potential transit connections to and from the station. 

The connecting information will become even more useful when the MASCOTS plan is rolled out. This plan reorganized North Bay service to use SMART as the primary north-south backbone with connecting bus service.

Interestingly, the multi-agency real-time information was not originally included in the project’s scope. In early 2025, however, SMART staff explored the idea with the signage contractor and, after determining feasibility, amended the project scope to add this functionality within the original budget. 

While the real-time signs are available at all SMART stations, the system omits the real-time partner agency information at three stations that do not have transfers at the location. At the San Rafael and Novato Downtown stations, the signs direct people to walk to the nearby transfer hub, which includes its own real-time signage. At Novato Hamilton station, which does not currently have any transfer stops, the signage there directs people to one of the other Novato stations for transit transfers. 

SMART managed the project, with the real-time integration for the partner agencies provided by SMART’s contractor for real-time signage, Modern Railway Systems and their subcontractor Connectpoint. 

One learning from the project was the level of customization, or “tailoring” of the data feeds to meet the specific needs of this project was unanticipated. The project uses GTFS, an open standard utilized by all the agencies involved with this project, SMART discovered that each agency uses GTFS slightly differently, and every route, stop, direction, and headsign destination had to be considered and in many cases, modified.