Technology Integration Of Fixed-R Service

Transcription

1 Technology Integration Of Fixed-R ed-route And Paratransit Service Dr. Jurgen Greschner INIT Innovations in Transportation, Inc. Chesapeake, VA ABSTRACT For many years, people have designed concepts to integrate Paratransit/On-demand service with Fixed-Route Service. The implementation of such concepts results in an increase in quality and productivity of transit service. However, hardware and software tools have to support such concepts. High-sophisticated CAD/AVL software, Fixed-Route Scheduling and Paratransit Scheduling is available from different vendors. The next step is the integration of the different software systems into an overall system, which allows supporting the integration of Paratransit and Fixed- Route Service. The basis for such integration must be a common and shared data base structure. The article will describe open.p, an open data base concept for public transit which integrates the different services and forms the basis of an integrative concept. open.p is the common database concept of a software suite, which allows CAD/AVL, Paratransit Scheduling and Fixed-Route Scheduling. The intention is to publish open.p to enable vendors to interface with their products. In addition to the integration of fleet management software, the use of the same hardware in the vehicles is important to integrate both services. Based on the same mobile data terminals, vehicles can easily operate in either service. The different deployment is then just a matter of different parameter settings when the operators are logging into the data terminal at the beginning of their shift. CONCEPTS FOR INTEGRATING PARATRANSIT AND FIXED-ROUTE SERVICE Integrating paratransit service with other modes has been playing an important role in INIT s long company history. Since the company was established in 1983, INIT has been strongly involved in the development and deployment of flexible operation systems. The objectives have been always to integrate rail, fixed-route bus and paratransit services into a homogeneous public transit network, and to provide modern information, communication and control technology for the joint management of the different operation modes. In this paper, the term Paratransit is used similar to on-demand bus service. Legal requirements based on the ADA laws and regulations are not considered. A typical flexible operation system consists of a mix of fixed-route and paratransit operation modes (see figure 1): Fixed-route service: This service includes commuter rail, light-rail, fixed-route bus, and school bus. Characteristics are service in both directions and pre-defined schedule. Route deviation: Characteristics are operation along a trunk route and deviations to serve additional stops according to actual traffic demand. Corridor service: A corridor -shaped section of the service area is served at fixed time intervals, however, the sequence of stops is not predetermined but variable according to the actual traffic demand. On-demand service: Characteristics are stop-tostop or stop-to-door or door-to-stop or door-to-door service within a pre-defined area, routes and schedule are developed according to actual traffic demand. Additional services for specific purposes or passenger groups such as, employee shuttles, late night service, disco bus, volunteer service, neighborhood bus, ride sharing etc. These services can be provided on fixed-route/fixed-schedule and/ or demand-oriented basis. In a complex transit system, paratransit modes are effectively used to supplement or substitute fixed-route service in areas or at times where/when the traffic demand is too low and too scattered to provide acceptable fixed routes or schedules. Usually, the different service modes are flexibly assigned to segments of the service area and/or different operations periods according to regional or temporary 1

2 requirements. With the objective to provide high-quality service in the low-demand segments at acceptable cost, transit agencies implement paratransit services to serve as feeder/distributor to/from superior transit means such as rail or express bus. An example of a well-established flexible operation system is Dueren County, Germany (focus on feeder/distributor vans and taxis to commuter rail and bus trunk routes). The success of flexible operation systems can be measured by evaluating the following aspects: Increased productivity of the revenue vehicles due to the ability to change the operations mode in area and/or time in accordance with changing traffic demand. Reduction of vehicle number in peak periods to reduce costs or to utilize the dis-engaged vehicles for additional service. Savings in run time and performance because, in paratransit mode, trip requests can be satisfied over the individual shortest route and stops. Improved customer service regarding waiting times, travel times, in-time performance, and transfer synchronization. Improved passenger information on transit availability by taking all operation modes into account. Operational experience gained from long-term involvement shows that fixed-route services can be supplemented or substituted economically by paratransit modes when and where area-wide transit coverage at low traffic demand is required. The scope of potential savings depends on the pattern of the travel demand and the existence of a suitable road network which allows for alternative routes. The provision of flexible operation modes requires technical support for passenger communication (means to take and respond to trip requests), trip processing and vehicle dispatch, vehicle communication (means to instruct the vehicles on which stops to serve), vehicle location (means to pinpoint the vehicles in the network and provide this information to the control and dispatch center). Different technologies to manage flexible operation modes are available ranging from simple systems such as telephone and microphone to comprehensive systems including automatic vehicle location and comprehensive software for trip request processing, vehicle dispatch, and service coordination. Figure 1. Types of services modes. SOFTWARE INTEGRATION The integration of either Paratransit and a CAD/AVL system or Fixed-Route Scheduling and a CAD/AVL system based on a data and voice radio communication system has already substantial advantages: The transfer of information and messages via data radio reduces the voice communication traffic. The manifest transfer to the vehicle operator via data radio avoids the usage of paper and allows to insert, change and delete trips online when the vehicles is in service. 2

3 Fixed-Route scheduling data can be transferred to the CAD/AVL data, e.g. as the base of AVL (dead reckoning/logical positioning) and such features as next stop annunciation. The following chapters focus on the integration of all three fields: CAD/AVL, Paratransit Scheduling and Fixed- Route Scheduling. OPEN.P THE TRANSIT DATA BASE MODEL The first step of an integrated software system is a common data base concept. Despite several activities underway to develop a data base concept or structure for public transit (TRANSMODEL, TCIP etc.), in fact no standard is available on which any vendor could start the development of software which consist of ready-to-use interfaces to third party system. Standardization usually ends on a very general level or even defines only the brief structure of interfaces. Therefore, INIT and industry partners have initiated the development of open.p with the intent to provide an open data base concept which is designed for an integrated data management in the field of public transit. The attribute open refers to the open system architecture, which should allow further enhancements, and to the availability of the concept documentation. An open.p description is available for any interested vendor, consultant, public transit authority etc. Every organization is invited to contribute to the further development of open.p. open.p integrates data related to planning, monitoring and control of public transit operations covering the domains including network planning, service scheduling, vehicle and crew scheduling, duty rostering, automatic vehicle location (AVL), monitoring and passenger information as well (See figure 2). The development of open.p is based on ideas and concepts of existing data models (Transmodel 1996, PoeT 1994) and may partially be seen as an extension of theses models. It considers the TCIP standard and follows the guidelines defined therein. INIT has used open.p as its basic concept for software development of three different products: MOBILE CAD/AVL INIT s Computer-Aided- Dispatching and Automatic-Vehicle-Location Software ParaNET: INIT s Paratransit Scheduling Software PlanNET: INIT s Fixed-Route Scheduling Software Building software on a common database means avoiding: Storage of redundant data Risk of inconsistency of data Risk of problematical interfaces Data exchange on a high level between different software products with implication to performance As the concept is open, every third party vendor is able to build an interface to the INIT software products and/or integrate them into own solutions. INTEGRATION OF CAD/AVL, PARATRANSIT SCHEDULING AND FIXED- ROUTE SCHEDULING SOFTWARE This chapter describes the integration of three different software tools in a public transit control center: CAD/AVL, Fixed-Route Scheduling and Paratransit Scheduling. The technical levels are separated from the functional levels of integration. The INIT set of software components as illustrated in figure 3 are able to provide all of the described features. Figure 3. MOBILE - the intergrated product concept Figure 2. open.p - scope of intergrated features. 3

4 TECHNICAL LEVELS OF INTEGRATION Hardware and System Integration: The availability of providing software on a common hardware structure and operating system avoid the numerous disadvantages operating different hardware and system software simultaneously. Data Base Integration: As pointed out above, the fundamentals of integrative software are a common data structure and concept. User Interface Integration: The software should be provided within the same framework and logic seen from the user s viewpoint. The same features for displaying and managing data should be available in the different fields of application. Benefits are e.g. reduced training costs, avoiding stress caused by the use of different software packages and altogether lower implementation efforts. FUNCTIONAL LEVELS OF INTEGRATION Planning Integration: In an integrated system operational integration of both services is possible. That means e.g. that in Off-Peak-Hours, Paratransit vehicles can be used for Fixed- Route Service on routes where only lower capacity is required. The Paratransit vehicles appear on the GIS system as standard Fixed-Route vehicles depending on the parameter provided by the operator log-on. Instead of logon for Paratransit service the operator enters route/block information and is registered as a Fixed-Route vehicle by the system. Monitoring Integration: The Fixed-Route and Paratransit Fleet can be monitored within one single GIS system display or if required separately. The map display of the service area of a CAD/AVL system contains all Fixed-Route and Paratransit vehicles or sub-groups of these two service modes according to the parameters set by the dispatcher. When a delay in Fixed-Route service occurs, the dispatcher can check if a Paratransit vehicle is available in the area and ready to provide the service. Via data or voice radio the operator advises the operator to enter on a certain route at a specific point to support the fixed-route service. In this case the operator logs-on with the route/block number provided by the dispatcher. After the ad-hoc service the vehicles can return to Paratransit operations. Service Integration: This is the highest level of integration and refers e.g. to a Feeder/Distributor Concept. As described above the Paratransit is combined with Fixed- Route service. Two examples: Integration of fixed-route service into paratransit scheduling: A passengers calls form a point where he/she can not have access to a fixed route and wants to a location in the service area which is also not covered by the regular route service. What happens in the control center: The paratransit dispatcher takes the request and schedules a trip, which consists of a sequence paratransit-trip fixed-route-trip paratransit-trip. During the scheduling process the dispatcher should see the vehicle of both service modes within his GIS system. If automatic scheduling is required, the paratransit software must consider the scheduling data from the fixed-route service to compile the complete trip. Consideration of Paratransit Service hours within Fixed-Route Scheduling or vice versa: The available vehicle service hours are divided into Fixed-Route periods and Paratransit periods. Both, Fixed-Route and Paratransit scheduling software as well, have access and use to the same vehicle data record where the service hours are defined. There is no need for entering the vehicle data twice. Integration of Service Restoration Features: Effective Computer Aided Dispatching means not only monitoring, but managing the service. Computer Aided Service Restoration (CASR) is the most sophisticated discipline within a CAD/AVL system. Features as Connection Protection or Headway Control to prevent bus bunching help to maintain a customer-friendly service quality. The feature Connection Protection is in particular useful when integrating fixed-route and paratransit to avoid the situation that the paratransit vehicle transfers a passenger to a stop and the fixed-route bus has left already. Whereas in Fixed- Route service the connection protection points are mostly pre-defined off-line, in the combined service Dynamic Connection Protection is necessary. Therefore, within the scheduling process, the system generates a message to the fixed-route bus which shows the bus operator that a passenger would like to join the bus at a certain stop. Via data radio the message is transferred to the mobile data terminal of the bus and appears on the operator screen: Wait for transfer passenger at stop XYZ! Even a signal could be produced for the attention of the dispatcher, which would inform if the fixed-route bus leaves the transfer stop before the planned transfer time. In this case, the dispatcher would have the chance to contact the fixed-route operator by voice radio and to check if the transfer actually took place. 4

5 HARDWARE INTEGRATION: MOBILE EQUIPMENT FOR BOTH SERVICES One goal of every maintenance manager is to reduce the number of different types of equipment he has to deal with and thereby the complexity of the overall system. The smaller the number of different technical systems the smaller is the number of interfaces and the probability of errors. Fixed-route and paratransit vehicles should therefore be equipped with the same devices wherever possible. Investigating the ITS equipment for a transit vehicles, the following equipment could be used by both types of service: The mobile data terminal (MDT): The bus operator logs-on to the mobile data terminal either with its route/block number for fixed-route service or with a code identifying his shift as Paratransit service. According to his log-on he is provided the fixedroute information he needs or the manifest with his specific trips for the day. The mobile radio interface (MRI) and the mobile voice and data radio: In a standard CAD/AVL system only one radio is required for both, voice and data radio communication as well. The same equipment can be used in both services. If required, a system for Traffic Signal Priority: Stateof-the-art TSP requires no additional hardware equipment in the vehicles, but operates based on the MDT, MRI and radio. A specific software assures that radio signals are transferred to the intersection controller where the information is processed by the priority algorithms. If the necessary way-side equipment is installed, the standard hardware which is already installed in every vehicle could be used for also getting a green light in Paratransit mode. If required, a system for Automatic Passenger Counting Peripheral Equipment such as hidden button, covert microphone etc. INIT provides the mentioned equipment ready to operate in both service modes. ENDNOTES 1. M. Friedrich, H. Prungel, open.p - An Open Database for Public Transit Operators and Agencies, Published in German Language in V & T Verkehr und Technik, October 2000, available in English language on 5