Mobility Services for All Americans (MSAA)

3.4 Examples of Current Technology Deployments

There are many examples of technology applied to public transportation. Table 3-4 (later in this section) highlights the 11 federally funded FTA/HHS operational field tests that apply ITS technologies to enable/improve human service transportation coordination. The table includes the project status, description of the field test, technologies used, populations served, funding sources, and basic service characteristics. It is interesting to note how many technologies have been demonstrated in rural and small urban areas. This is due in part to the lower initial capital investment required to install and test the technologies, particularly if they are part of a coordinated procurement effort. It also reflects the fact there have been capital funds available for technology applications either through traditional funding sources (e.g., TEA-21 funding under Sec. 5310 Elderly and Disabled programs and Sec. 5311 Rural programs) or through ITS demonstrations grants.

In addition to the 11 field tests described in the table, this section highlights several examples of the implementation of emerging and proven transit ITS strategies.

3.4.1 Autonomous Dial-A-Ride Transit (ADART) in Corpus Christi, TX [61] – Prototype Technology for Automated Dispatching.

Autonomous Dial-A-Ride Transit (ADART) began operating in Corpus Christi, TX, in late 2003. ADART, developed with funding from the FTA, is a prototype technology that is the first automated distributed dispatching service in the country and provides door-to-door service in smaller sized vehicles. Corpus Christi is a city of about 300,000 residents. It has an established public transportation system and a region-wide, state-of-the-art radio system that serves as the communications backbone for ADART.

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), a local transportation provider, has a good working relationship with other local entities like the police department, emergency services and other transportation providers through an interagency working agreement.

ADART is a subscription-type service that requires all customers to be registered before requesting a trip. Once registered, a customer can book a recurring or occasional trip up to two hours before the requested pickup time. The trip request can be made via the Internet or with a touch-tone telephone. The request is electronically received, logged, and routed wirelessly to an ADART vehicle. Computers onboard the vehicles determine appropriate pick-up and drop-off times, consistent with time windows indicated at the time of booking the trip. The acceptance of the trip request and scheduling of the trip is completely automated. The ADART concept is unique in that the only human involvement in this whole endeavor is the user requesting the trip.

The list of possible ADART applications was narrowed to paratransit services, welfare-to-work trips, service to university students, feeder service at the end of bus routes, late evening and weekend service, and service to high-employment areas. Although many technological elements of the project worked well, the needs of users were not completely addressed by the optimization algorithm used for paratransit operations, and therefore, community acceptance has not been as strong as desired.

3.4.2 Wheels of Wellness in Philadelphia, PA [62]- Coordination through Brokerage

Wheels of Wellness ("Wheels") is a large, non-profit, demand-response brokerage system operating in the greater Philadelphia area. It provides transportation for customers in the Medical Assistance Program, which is funded by the Department of Public Welfare. Wheels is aggressively pursuing technology improvements that will move the system to a fully integrated system incorporating automated scheduling, automatic vehicle location, data messaging, mobile (non-paper) manifests, and Smart Cards. Wheels operates using both contracted and volunteer drivers. The contracted drivers represent 8 carriers and 229 vehicles. Some trips also are brokered through local cab services.

Wheels of Wellness provide more than 5,000 contracted trips daily and averages 100 volunteer trips per day. Wheels operates the call center, schedules trips, tracks carrier vehicles, handles customer complaints, and monitors service. Wheels owns and maintains all of the MDC and AVL equipment. Wheels receives funding from various sources at the Federal, State, and local level, including Medicaid. The software includes a billing module, which facilitates data collection and reporting.

Although most trips require an advance reservation, same-day changes are facilitated through the MDCs and are accommodated when possible. All carriers are networked into the system so they can see the routing and scheduling information. Driver manifests are transmitted electronically, although paper copies of driver manifests are provided to the carriers each day as a back-up.

Flint Mass Transportation Authority (MTA) in Flint, MI – Coordination with Decentralization.

Flint MTA approached coordination through decentralization and then used technology to assist in improving their operations in this type of environment. A single service center was decentralized into 11 separate centers in communities throughout the county for which the Flint MTA provides service, allowing the paratransit service to offer specialized attention to their clients. These service centers are more responsive and the vehicles travel fewer miles.

Although the service centers are decentralized, they still coordinate their activities as a single transit provider. Flint MTA has used technology to maintain a central database and client file which are accessible at all 11 centers. Technology allows Flint MTA to provide information via the Internet; they will soon schedule rides over the telephone using Interactive Voice Response (IVR). Routing and scheduling software has also increased the efficiency of the scheduling and trip reporting processes. In general, the use of technology has made access and operations more convenient; for example, since client information is coordinated between the 11 service centers, wheelchair passengers do not have to transfer between vehicles when traveling across the county. Therefore, vehicles may easily travel outside their service area and even pick up passengers as they pass through.

3.4.3 TriMet in Portland, OR – Coordination of Accessibility on All Modes

Much of TriMet's efforts focus on coordination with other organizations that can benefit from the technologies they all use. For example, TriMet is a large and diverse transit agency that requires an ITS communications infrastructure to coordinate activities, yet the cost of installing fiber-optic connectivity is expensive. Therefore, TriMet shared this cost with the City of Portland since the City could also use the connectivity and data at emergency medical centers in the same area. In addition to maximizing the use and cost of hardware, TriMet has recognized the need for reliable and systematic data: it uses a single commercial database management system for its data, which eliminates data compatibility and staff training issues. Lastly, TriMet has used physical coordination to simplify its system design: fixed route bus operations and light rail operations work in the same facility and share an operations command center, which helps address incidents efficiently.

In addition to these physical and architecture changes, TriMet has continually used technology to assist all communities, including using automated scheduling and dispatch, silent alarm buttons on buses, video cameras with real-time viewing, onboard displays, audible enunciators, tracking technology (via TriMet's custom-built transit tracker), and trip planners as well as providing transit data free of charge to way-finding devices.

3.4.4 Reach Your Destination Early (RYDE) in Kearney, NE – Goal Setting Using ITS Architecture

RYDE knew that technology could help it in meeting increasing demand; decision makers felt that developing, implementing, and maintaining an ITS architecture was necessary prior to choosing individual technologies. RYDE found that it can be difficult for managers to understand the concept of an ITS architecture; yet, in RYDE's case, it helped "planners communicate assets, relationships, and desired outcomes." [63] The process that was followed and the mindset that was adopted in developing this architecture have been considered innovative by many evaluators.

3.4.5 OmniLink in Prince William County, VA – Fixed Route Flex Service Aids All Users

Although OmniLink has specific routes and stop locations, the buses will deviate up to ¾ of a mile from the fixed route to provide demand-response service. The service is not considered paratransit because it is not door-to-door; riders must call ahead (at least two hours in advance) to request an off-route pick-up (that is within the 3/4 of a mile radius). This flexible service has become an alternative to the ADA requirement for complementary paratransit. "OmniLink uses GPS-based AVL and mobile data terminals (MDT) to track vehicle location, count boardings and alightings, and provide on-time performance feedback (both real-time and predicted) to dispatchers and operators." [64]

3.4.6 Municipal Railway in San Francisco, CA – Remote Infrared Audible Signals (RIAS)

This technology provides mobility assistance specifically for the visually impaired. RIAS provides directional information that allows a blind traveler to navigate through areas where the system is deployed. The individual user has a handheld receiver device which gives an audible message (through a speaker or headset) from the infrared sign when the user points the device at it. The infrared transmitters are placed in locations such as doors, ticket counters, exits, and amenities. Those with cognitive disabilities may also benefit from this technology because they sometimes require detailed and precise directional information. The transmitters are deployed at more than 22 sites, including transit stations, bus stations, public facilities, and some private facilities.

3.4.7 Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) in Suburban Detroit, MI

SMART, which serves a three-county area, has used shared integration software for routing and scheduling. Their centralized technology is provided to their community partners via free access to the scheduling software and free technical assistance from SMART personnel (which includes providing help with record generation, maintenance support, service analysis, and system training.) The SMART system "is readily scalable to expand its capacity if needed at a minimal cost." [65] The software that is used is largely off-the-shelf, reducing the cost of the system.

3.4.8 Utah Transit Agency Transfer Connection Protection

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) implemented a Transfer Connection Protection (TCP) system to improve the reliability of transfers from the higher frequency light rail TRAX trains to the lower frequency bus services. The CP system examines the status of TRAX trains and issues a "hold at {station name} until {time}" message to buses waiting at the connecting rail stations via the bus' onboard MDT if the lateness of train is within a pre-determined threshold (e.g., 3 minutes). The system was completed and tested in January 2002 prior to the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

TCP is an intelligently integrated system that aims to improve the reliability of rail-to-bus connections. The cost of the TCP system is relatively low compared to other transit ITS systems. The moderate capital cost is achieved by utilizing the existing system data (e.g., train status, schedules, etc.) and the delivery mechanism (e.g., MDT, radio data server, bus and train radio systems) already deployed for other ITS functions. The operating and maintenance costs also are moderate because the TCP operation is fully automated.

3.4.9 Ventura County Transportation Commission – Smart Passport [66] (Integrated Fare Collection in Ventura, CA)

Between January 1996 and October 1999, an automated, integrated, transit-fare collection system was field tested in Ventura County. The project was funded by Caltrans and USDOT.

The purpose of the project was to create a seamless fare payment system across transit agencies in the region. It was hoped that the system would encourage, accommodate, manage, and assess travel patterns of passengers among transit systems. In addition, the transit agencies involved hoped to improve data collection and reporting processes. The payment card system was devised based on Smart Card technologies and called the Smart Passport. The Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) coordinated the project. The benefits that VCTC hoped to achieve were:

• Regional payment system coordination.
• Seamless regional travel.
• The concept of "one account" or one payment device for regional transportation.
• Cost sharing among partners.

Due to problems with the system, the project did not realize the expected benefits, but instead resulted in a list of lessons learned to be applied to any future implementations of the system. The field test was considered to be a positive step toward regional, multi-agency coordination.

Initial support came from eight transit operators interested in an integrated fare system, a seamless transit system, and improved data collection and reporting processes. These operators were already cooperating to devise an integrated transit system before the Smart Passport project.

VCTC and the participating agencies signed memorandums of understanding stating that VCTC would act as lead agency and would be solely responsible for contractual and financial issues. Surveys were conducted to determine users' opinions of the Smart Passport. As a result of the project, a set of issues was identified that transportation planners and service providers need to examine before planning or implementing a multi-agency fare collection system.

3.4.10 Tahoe Coordinated Transit System (CTS) in Lake Tahoe, California/Stateline, Nevada – Integrated Operation of Public and Private Transportation Resources.

The South Lake Tahoe area is nearing successful deployment of a coordinated transit system (CTS) that serves the needs of residents, visitors, and both public and private stakeholders. The project began in 2000, when the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) received Federal funding for their innovative concept of a coordinated transit system. The CTS vision was to implement advanced technologies that would enable integrated operation of existing public and private transportation resources to provide more effective and cost-efficient services to both residents and visitors.

With this vision in mind, public- and private-sector stakeholders joined together to generate plans for the CTS. The end result was a coordinated transit system involving several advanced technologies:

A shared computer-aided dispatch (CAD) center to manage fleet operations for all transit services in South Lake Tahoe.

An automated trip reservation system to automate paratransit fleet dispatching operations. This includes strategically located trip reservation kiosks in the South Lake Tahoe area to facilitate and increase tourist use of the transit system. It also includes an interactive voice response (IVR) phone-reservation system.

A common set of tools for all transit vehicles, including automated vehicle location (AVL) and radio data and voice communication equipment, as well as mobile data terminals MDTs for all paratransit vehicles.

The institutional scope of the CTS project is very large and complex, encompassing government entities from one city and two counties in two States. The CTS stakeholders represent public planning organizations, public transit providers, and private tourist destinations (five casinos and one ski resort, which formerly provided their own transportation services). The regional planning agency, TRPA, has been responsible for funding management, grant administration, contracting, grant compliance, and project management.

Throughout deployment, the overriding challenges have been coordinating multiple local and State jurisdictions and accommodating public and private sector interests. Many issues, such as ongoing funding and asset ownership, become far more complex in a multi-jurisdictional, public-private environment. One of the more difficult issues encountered in this project was determining how to distribute passengers to the participating casinos equitably. The fear is that customers would have a tendency to get off at the first stop. The "first stop algorithm" concept was designed to address this issue by proposing that CTS automatically vary the order of stops and keep track of how many passengers are dropped at each to maintain an equitable distribution of customers.

Source: Mitretek Systems (for U.S. Department of Transportation ITS Joint Program Office), "Rural ITS Transit Ops Tests Summary", February 22, 2005. 3.5 Issues and Barriers

Footnotes

• Various sources including a press release issued in July 2003: "DART to Debut in Corpus Christi, TX." Available on-line at http://faculty.washington.edu/~jbs/itrans/adart7.htm.
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (for the U.S. Department of Transportation ITS Joint Program Office), Human Services Transportation A Cross Cutting Study. ITS Applications for Coordinating and Improving Transportation Options for the Elderly, Disabled, or Poor (DRAFT), April 14, 2005, pp. 12-18.
• Oak Ridge National Laboratories (for the U.S. Department of Transportation ITS Joint Program Office), Human Services Transportation – A Cross-Cutting Study ITS Applications for Coordinating and Improving Transportation Options for the Elderly, Disabled, or Poor (DRAFT,) April 14, 2005.
• Oak Ridge National Laboratories (for the U.S. Department of Transportation ITS Joint Program Office), Human Services Transportation – A Cross-Cutting Study ITS Applications for Coordinating and Improving Transportation Options for the Elderly, Disabled, or Poor (DRAFT,) April 14, 2005.
• Ibid.
• U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Regional Transportation Operations Collaboration and Coordination, FHWA-OP-03-008. (Washington, DC: 2003), page 38.

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