MTA NYCT 700/800 MHZ Bus Radio System
To replace its aging analog bus radios, the MTA built a public-safety-grade 700/800 MHz network that links 6,000 buses to a new Bus Command Center through more than three-dozen radio sites across New York City. The upgrade hardens fleet operations against storms, speeds incident response, and delivers real-time data to dispatchers.
Industry
Transportation
Owner
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT)
Service/Expertise
Network & Communications Infrastructure
Security Systems Integration
Project Delivery Type
Design-Bid-Build
Interior of the Bus Command Center facility (photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority).
Dispatcher workstation at the Bus Command Center facility (photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority).
Exterior of the Bus Command Center facility (photo courtesy of the New York Post).
VI Contribution
Working under tight outage windows, Vasquez Integrators installed high-capacity routers, Layer 2 / Layer 3 switches, and base-station radio equipment at over 40 locations. Our field teams dressed fiber jumpers, landed power and grounding cables, and ran exhaustive stress-tests—pushing the backbone to peak voice-and-data loads to identify and mitigate bottlenecks, and confirm seamless RF-to-IP hand-offs before service cut-over.
After deployment, VI executed a system-wide performance survey: technicians visited every shelter, tower, and rooftop node with Anritsu spectrum analyzers and microwave measurement kits to verify signal integrity, path loss, and VSWR. Detected anomalies were corrected on the spot, ensuring each link met the MTA’s stringent reliability targets as the digital radio network entered live service.