Freedom Transit now offering free onboard Wi-Fi
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Kimberly Anderson, who recently moved to Washington, Pa., plays on her phone while waiting for the bus to pull out of the station along East Chestnut Street. Anderson said she plans to use the Wi-Fi onboard when she needs it.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Mike Riddle has driven for Freedom Transit since 2007. He said he plans to use the newly installed public Wi-Fi during his breaks.
Sit back, relax and enjoy the Wi-Fi.
Freedom Transit is now offering public Wi-Fi to riders who board the Local Washington, County Lines A and B and Pittsburgh Metro and Metro Saturday buses.
“We understand that a lot of our riders, they may not have that option for data on their smartphone,” said Alexandra Sakalik, the transportation service’s Outreach and Marketing Director. “To board the bus and use the Wi-Fi, it’s not just a transportation solution. It’s a chance to connect our riders to the internet.”
Onboard Wi-Fi has been in the works for about two years, said Sakalik. Freedom received rider requests for the service and when a local partner, Blueprints, voiced support of free Wi-Fi, the transit company began laying the groundwork for the project.
Freedom secured internet service through a state contract with AT&T FirstNet and once the contract was signed, it only took a few weeks to install modems on the company’s fixed route buses, said Deputy Director Ian Ramsey.
A Twitter announcement July 19 was followed by a press release July 23 announcing Wi-Fi was up and running.
But when Robin Jackson, a Washington native and frequent bus rider, was asked about the onboard Wi-Fi late last week, she said, “This is the first I heard about it.”
“I think it’ll be helpful,” said Jackson, adding with a laugh. “I can watch TV on the bus.”
Ruth Scott, a Washington resident who hops aboard Freedom buses for her daily work commute, said she wasn’t aware free Wi-Fi was being offered. Scott said having Wi-Fi onboard will save her phone’s data.
“I don’t really use Wi-Fi, but I got a friend down where I live, he has to go behind the Care Center to get Wi-Fi,” said Tony Hairston, who rides the bus several times a week. “If he rides the bus, I think it would be helpful if people could, you know, have Wi-Fi on the bus.”
Though free Wi-Fi is popular, as of late last week, many riders and some drivers didn’t know they could hook up to Wi-Fi onboard.
Mike Riddle, who has driven for Freedom Transit since 2007, said he didn’t know if his local fixed route bus was equipped with internet.
“I’d use it,” said Riddle. “If I get a little break, I’ll YouTube.”
Sakalik said Freedom Transit plans to market the new Wi-Fi heavily in the coming weeks and noted free Wi-Fi is just one of many exciting initiatives the company is rolling out.
“We’ve looked into real-time tracking for our riders,” she said. Riders will be able to download an app and get real-time information about where their bus is and when it’ll arrive at their stop. “That will come out in the next year for riders.”
For now, riders can enjoy surfing the web, streaming their favorite shows and working during their commutes.
All they have to do is turn on their device’s Wi-Fi, search for the network titled “FreedomTransit-Wi-Fi” and enjoy their ride.