While waiting for a bus earlier this year, two Philadelphia street artists who rely on public transportation diagnosed an all-too-familiar ailment: I have no idea when the bus will be here. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo one knows when the bus is coming,\u201d one recalled saying. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe should really make something.\u201d <\/p>\n
Earlier this month, their brainchild \u2014 a solar-powered e-reader mounted into a street sign that provides bus arrival information \u2014 went live on the northeast corner of Broad Street and Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia<\/a>, along bus Route 64. <\/p>\n The device pulls real-time arrival times from publicly available data<\/a> (the same dataset that feeds SEPTA\u2019s app), according to artist Make It Weird, who engineered the rig and asked to remain anonymous because their work meanders into a legal gray area. <\/p>\n Their creation is inconspicuous; to passersby, it could be a road sign graffitied with a lanky bird and stalky flowers. Commuters might get closer and see it reads, \u201cThis data is unofficial. \u2026 Do not contact SEPTA<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWe have a fundamental issue with funding transit in Pennsylvania,\u201d Make It Weird said. \u201cWe, as citizens, often make excuses for real quality-of-life improvements that could be made by saying, \u2018Well, SEPTA doesn\u2019t have money, so quit complaining.\u2019 We\u2019re just saying, \u2018This could be better.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n The sign is akin to a Band-Aid on a public transportation network plagued by infrastructure issues<\/a>, financial turmoil, and an ever-constricting budget<\/a>, as well as a resource for people who don\u2019t have access to a smartphone with unlimited data or SEPTA\u2019s app, said Make It Weird<\/a> and collaborator Bird<\/a>, the alias for the artist whose signature statuesque and slender pink bird appears on the sign. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: The Philly artist who gets mistaken for Banksy<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n \u201cAccessibility is something that\u2019s hugely important to me,\u201d Bird said. \u201cIt comes from a really large place of privilege that people always assume that everyone has a phone or can look something up, and that\u2019s just not the case. Trying to provide that kind of accessibility for everyone \u2014 I think it\u2019s an important place to start.\u201d <\/p>\n Late last month, a prototype of the device near South Philly\u2019s Benna\u2019s Cafe caught the attention of Conrad Benner<\/a> and wound up on Streets Dept\u2019s<\/a> Instagram. <\/p>\n The video has garnered more than 8,500 likes; the comments section is filled with fire emojis and clapbacks at SEPTA. One commenter wrote, \u201cThis is a sincere public service. Artists are extraordinary. Septa should hire them.\u201d Another said, \u201cHopefully, it doesn\u2019t find the same fate as Hitchbot did<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: SEPTA strike averted with deal on two-year contract<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been really appreciative of how many people think it\u2019s cool,\u201d Make It Weird said. \u201cI\u2019ve been also really appreciative of how many people say, \u2018Yeah, other cities are doing this.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n Digital screens that feed real-time tracking information have already popped up in other major cities, like New York City<\/a> and Minneapolis<\/a>. But Philadelphia has been slow to adopt the tech: While a five-year, $6 million contract to install iPad-sized trackers mounted to bus stops was publicized last year<\/a>, SEPTA spokesperson Kelly Greene said in an email that none of the screens have been deployed yet, citing cybersecurity. <\/p>\n \u201cWe recognize the importance of real-time bus tracking for our customers and will provide an update on this initiative as soon as possible,\u201d Greene said. <\/p>\n Make It Weird started making goofy and whimsically mock street signs in June; all their signs are configured to meet the federal standards<\/a>, they said, which helps their art meld with the monotonous \u201cNo Parking\u201d and \u201cTow-Away Zone\u201d verbiage. (One sign near City Hall said, \u201cStop Parking, Ride SEPTA: Fund Public Transit, Sell Your Car,\u201d in the ubiquitous, red Highway Gothic<\/a> sans-serif font. Another triptych read, \u201cGo Birds,\u201d \u201cF\u2014 ICE,\u201d and \u201cFree Palestine,\u201d quoting Hannah Einbinder\u2019s bleeped Emmy acceptance speech<\/a>.)<\/p>\n The Route 64 sign is the first in hopefully a series of 10, all featuring collaborations with other Philly artists who don\u2019t drive. <\/p>\n \u201cTransportation for all,\u201d Bird said. <\/p>\n Make It Weird said, \u201cAnd it\u2019s just fun.\u201d <\/p>\n