Benefits of AVL/CAD from Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) Joint deployment of scheduling software and Automatic Vehicle Location/Mobile Data Terminals (AVL/MDT) increased ridership and quality of service for two rural transit providers. December 2010 Poinciana, Florida, United States The Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (LYNX) and the Polk County Transit System (PCTS) serve the rural community of Poinciana, Florida with fixed-route and paratransit services. They were awarded a grant from the FTA for an operational test in 2002 with the purpose of evaluating the benefits of applying ITS technologies to reduce costs and duplicate trips in the area. The ITS technologies implemented were mobile data terminals (MDT) and automatic vehicle location (AVL) devices on 10 paratransit vehicles for each agency. Additionally, the use of common automated scheduling, reservation and dispatch software by both agencies allowed for interoperability between the two systems. Data were collected from both LYNX and PCTS for the period prior to the FTA Operational Test. The project was evaluated from April 2007 to January 2008. Additionally, post-project data was collected to test system benefits that were not immediately accrued. Data related to passengers per trip, trip times, trip distances, and trip cost were collected for each of the study periods. Interviews were also conducted with staff at the offices of the two paratransit services, as well as the drivers, during the post-project period to see if there had been changes in workload, efficiency and customer satisfaction as a result of the new changes. During the project period, the demand for paratransit services increased for both agencies, up over 25 percent for both LYNX and PCTS, with over 12,000 more reserved trips in the post-project period than in the pre-project period. Ninety-five percent of paratransit users surveyed said they used the same amount of service that they had a year ago, with five percent increasing their use of the service. This indicates that much of the growth in the demand for paratransit reserved trips was the result of new customers. Even with the increased number of trips, both agencies were able to maintain an on-time performance level for 90 percent of trips. AVL technology allowed customer relations representatives to give potential riders current vehicle location information and allowed them to check the validity of complaints by using historical data. During the post-project period, service opportunities for the residents of the Poinciana, Florida area increased as LYNX added four additional paratransit vehicles, due to increased ridership. During the project period, LYNX also implemented a flex-route service, the Pick Up Line, that serves as a feeder service to the Route 26 fixed-route service. The Pick Up Line saw ridership continue to increase in the post-project period. Overall, the project area saw an increase in transit use per capita by nearly 2 to 8.5 percent. Mixed results were seen in the area of cost reduction with the larger LYNX system seeing cost reductions. However, PCTS saw cost increases, both at the per passenger and per vehicle hour levels.
Overtime hours for drivers reduced and no staff increase necessary to handle over 10 percent increase in transit ridership over six years. May 2010 Reno, Nevada, United States Beginning in 2000, the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Washoe County, Nevada, began planning for ITS implementation into their regional transit services. They set goals that aligned with the U.S. DOT's six goal areas for ITS projects and applied for funding for their project through the FTA. By 2007, RTC had completed the installation, testing and acceptance of the ITS components. This report is an evaluation of RTC transit ITS. It covers both planned and deployed components of their system, evaluating how well the system works to meet their initial goals and describing the functionality of the various components of the system. The report also includes lessons learned by RTC as they progressed through the procurement, deployment and operation processes in order to be a resource for other agencies contemplating similar ITS investments. RTC deployed automatic vehicle location (AVL), remote engine diagnostics (RED), computer-aided dispatch software (CAD), and automatic passenger counters (APC) in their vehicles. They also installed, but have not activated traffic signal priority (TSP) components. The RTC looked at data points over a six year period, from FY2002 to FY2008 in order to evaluate how the ITS technologies may have affected ridership and uses of the systems by customers, staff and administration. A large pre-implementation window was used for analysis because RTC ACCESS (the paratransit service) began using scheduling software in 2005, ahead of the rest of the system and the same time scale was wanted for the analysis of both fixed-route and paratransit services. Each of the six U.S. DOT goal areas were assigned measures to evaluate RTC's progress in that goal area. Fixed-route service saw a 10.8 percent increase in ridership between FY2002 and FY2008 and paratransit service saw a 5.1 percent increase. The number of "no-show" passengers for paratransit services decreased 45 percent between 2002 and 2008, likely because of better scheduling and real-time vehicle information that can be obtained by the passengers by calling customer service. Even though there have been increases in the number of riders on both services, staff sizes have not had to increase in order to provide services to the additional riders. There was only a nine percent increase between 2002 and 2007 in the cost per passenger trip mile even though the paratransit system saw a 23 percent increase in operating costs per passengers. The RTC believes that this is likely due to more efficient scheduling by the software. Overtime hours of drivers have also been reduced since implementing scheduling software and AVL/MDT technologies on the buses. Now dispatchers can communicate more easily with drivers to get extra shifts assigned and they have to do less ad hoc route scheduling.
Forty-five percent reduction in complaints by paratransit riders, 50 percent less missed trips due to mechanical problems, and a new trip planning tool for fixed-route riders introduced as part of ITS deployment in Reno. May 2010 Reno, Nevada, United States Beginning in 2000, the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Washoe County, Nevada, began planning for ITS implementation into their regional transit services. They set goals that aligned with the U.S. DOT's six goal areas for ITS projects and applied for funding for their project through the FTA. By 2007, RTC had completed the installation, testing and acceptance of the ITS components. This report is an evaluation of RTC transit ITS. It covers both planned and deployed components of their system, evaluating how well the system works to meet their initial goals and describing the functionality of the various components of the system. The report also includes lessons learned by RTC as they progressed through the procurement, deployment and operation processes in order to be a resource for other agencies contemplating similar ITS investments. RTC deployed automatic vehicle location (AVL), remote engine diagnostics (RED), computer-aided dispatch software (CAD), and automatic passenger counters (APC) in their vehicles. They also installed, but have not activated traffic signal priority (TSP) components. The RTC looked at data points over a six year period, from FY2002 to FY2008 in order to evaluate how the ITS technologies may have affected ridership and uses of the systems by customers, staff and administration. A large pre-implementation window was used for analysis because RTC ACCESS (the paratransit service) began using scheduling software in 2005, ahead of the rest of the system and the same time scale was wanted for the analysis of both fixed-route and paratransit services. Each of the six U.S. DOT goal areas were assigned measures to evaluate RTC's progress in that goal area. RTC uses the automatic passenger counters (APC) installed on all RTC RIDE buses to get bus stop level data on passenger boardings and alightings. RTC uses this data to determine appropriate amenities for peak level loads at each stop, whether it consists of shelters, benches, or trash cans. Because of the software procured for this project, RTC was able to provide data to Google Transit as a means for providing customers with a trip planning tool through a link on their website. Real-time bus arrival/departure information can be found on computer monitors at RTC CITICENTER, which is served by 19 of RTC RIDE s routes, or by calling customer service for information about the location of their bus. As a result of better scheduling and information, customer service representatives for RTC ACCESS have seen a 45 percent decrease in the number of complaints. Remote engine diagnostics (RED) were installed on all fleet vehicles, reducing RTC missed trips due to mechanical problems by 50 percent between FY 2006 and FY2008, which left less passengers stranded at bus stops.
Automatic vehicle location (AVL) on Reno buses leads to nearly four percent increase in on-time performance for paratransit services and more comprehensive schedule adherence data to create more accurate schedules. May 2010 Reno, Nevada, United States Beginning in 2000, the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Washoe County, Nevada, began planning for ITS implementation into their regional transit services. They set goals that aligned with the U.S. DOT's six goal areas for ITS projects and applied for funding for their project through the FTA. By 2007, RTC had completed the installation, testing and acceptance of the ITS components. This report is an evaluation of RTC transit ITS. It covers both planned and deployed components of their system, evaluating how well the system works to meet their initial goals and describing the functionality of the various components of the system. The report also includes lessons learned by RTC as they progressed through the procurement, deployment and operation processes in order to be a resource for other agencies contemplating similar ITS investments. RTC deployed automatic vehicle location (AVL), remote engine diagnostics (RED), computer-aided dispatch software (CAD), and automatic passenger counters (APC) in their vehicles. They also installed, but have not activated traffic signal priority (TSP) components. The RTC looked at data points over a six year period, from FY2002 to FY2008 in order to evaluate how the ITS technologies may have affected ridership and uses of the systems by customers, staff and administration. A large pre-implementation window was used for analysis because RTC ACCESS (the paratransit service) began using scheduling software in 2005, ahead of the rest of the system and the same time scale was wanted for the analysis of both fixed-route and paratransit services. Each of the six U.S. DOT goal areas were assigned measures to evaluate RTC's progress in that goal area. The on-time performance of RTC ACCESS increased from 91.5 percent to 95.3 percent since they began using scheduling software connected with automatic vehicle location (AVL) to create manifests, plan routes and track performance of drivers. RTC RIDE now has the capability of being able to track schedule adherence throughout the entire route and on every trip which was not previously possible using only manual evaluations which were typically at end-of-route termini and not during peak periods. Although RTC RIDE has seen decreased on-time performance after using AVL to evaluate schedule adherence, they are now able to use information from the AVL to determine problematic stretches on routes and adjust schedules to better reflect reality.
In rural Pennsylvania, demand-response service vehicles experienced a nine percent increase in overall on-time performance and over five percent decrease in non-revenue miles traveled. 08/31/2009 Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, McKean, and Potter Counties, Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania, United States The Area Transportation Authority of North Central Pennsylvania (ATA) provides fixed-route and demand-response service to a mostly rural six-county area covering 5,000 square miles with a population of about 290,000. The ATA operates 133 routes, including fixed-route and demand-response, and serves about 372,000 passenger trips every year. The ITS implementation studied occurred as part of FY2001 federal earmark ITS funding. Because of the earmark funding, ATA was able to implement data and voice radio, mobile data computers (MDC), automatic vehicle location (AVL), and computer-aided reservation, scheduling and dispatch (CARSD) components. Other components such as reorganized maintenance management and financial systems were implemented as part of this funding, which may have led to improvements that cannot be separated from those benefits gained from ITS improvements alone. The authors utilized pre-deployment and post-deployment data in order to determine system improvements as a result of the implementation of ITS technologies. attributed to ITS technologies have been highlighted below. Surveys were also conducted with customer study groups for the demand-response service and with driver, staff, and administration. Utilization of scheduling software has reduced non-revenue vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by demand service vehicles by 5.6 percent to 18 percent of VMT putting ATA below the national average of 24 percent for similar, mostly rural agencies. AVL data shows that on-time pick-ups improved nine percent and are now over 80 percent. The scheduling software has yet to be fully utilized and performance is likely to improve as ATA implements "batch scheduling." Reservationists also reported that the scheduling software has reduced the amount of time spent on each reservation phone call. The implementation of AVL /MDC technologies provided many benefits to the ATA, especially because they were able to reach agreements with five of the six counties they serve to improve their radio coverage. Using AVL/MDC allows dispatchers to schedule more same-day trips than was previously possible. It also decreased the amount of time spent by dispatchers on radio communication by 28 percent due to text messages being sent to drivers on the MDC rather than repeating instructions over radio. Drivers use the MDC to conduct pre-trip inspections, which are uploaded to the maintenance department daily. This is a task that used to be a two week process when paper forms were used. The maintenance department attributes the 69 percent decrease of in-service breakdowns to the use of MDCs for pre-trip inspections. When breakdowns and crashes do occur, the AVL technology allows the dispatcher to know the exact location of the vehicle and send the necessary resources to deal with the problem. Surveys indicated that passengers had high levels of satisfaction with the ATA service prior to ITS implementation and the addition of ITS technology left the level of customer satisfaction largely unchanged. Staff and administration were satisfied with the improvements to their work flows due to the help of the CARSD software. This was also helped by the administrative changes as well.
Implementation of ITS with AVL, real-time passenger information, and electronic fare media in a midsized transit system resulted in a minimum 3.9:1 benefit/cost ratio. July 2009 San Luis Obispo; California; United States California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) embarked on a research project in the late 1990s to determine if the deployment of Advanced Public Transit Systems (APTS) would be economically feasible for small and middle sized transit agencies in California. The first Efficient Deployment of an Advanced Public Transit Systems (EDAPTS) ITS project was tested, installed and began operation in 2001 at San Luis Obispo (SLO) Transit. Real-time passenger information on solar powered signs at select bus stops, Web-based resources for passengers, Automated Vehicle Locator (AVL) installations on buses, and electronic fare media were deployed in order to determine the economic feasibility of the installation and operation of similar systems for other small and middle sized agencies. This study estimated the value of various benefits for the system based on rider surveys which evaluated each rider s willingness to pay (WTP) for various services, such as real-time arrival information, if those services were no longer free. The average WTP per service was then multiplied by the number of appropriate service units to calculate the annual total of benefit received by riders. On-board observations were also used to evaluate service performance and passenger boarding times to evaluate any benefits accrued as a result of better on time performance or faster boarding times. Interviews were also conducted with Transit bus drivers and administrators to learn more about intangible benefits received by the drivers and Transit as a whole. An average time savings of 2.9 seconds per boarding resulted from adding electronic fare payment (EFP) for California Polytechnic, Pomona (Cal Poly) students, who make up three-quarters of the riders on the SLO Transit buses. The average time savings per trip per passenger was approximately 40 seconds due to EFP. Based on an estimate of $4.56 per hour as the value of passenger time, this time savings created a benefit for riders worth $44,351 per year. The willingness of passengers to pay $0.25 for real-time, accurate information about their bus resulted in $98,477 worth of benefit from having more reliable information about the bus services and being able to plan accordingly. As part of the EDAPTS program, SLO Transit installed eight solar powered signs that provide real-time information about bus arrivals to nearly half of their riders. Drivers also believed they benefit from the AVL technology by having better information, which helps them stay on schedule and avoid penalties. They also perceived benefits stemming from safety upgrades such as "panic buttons" which were not yet active at the time of the study. The authors concluded that the minimum benefit/cost ratio of 3.9:1 provided strong evidence to conclude that APTS should be commercialized for use by both small and middle sized transit agencies. Table: Summary of Quantified Benefits (without Consumer Surplus) Benefit Components Quantified Benefit Units Beneficiary Quantified benefits of electronic fare collection $44,351 $ per year Passengers Quantified benefits of increased schedule reliability $2,873 $ per year Drivers Quantified benefits of having real-time information signs $98,477 $ per year Passengers Quantified increase in fare revenue due to Real-Time Information $36,765 $ per year SLO Transit Quantified benefits due to avoided parking costs $1,468 $ per year Community
Total Benefits Excluding Consumer Surplus $183,934 $ per year All Beneficiaries Table: Benefit/Cost Ratio Summary (with 7% Discount Rate) 5-Year Term 7-Year Term 10-Year Term Units Constituent Including Consumer Surplus Total of All Benefits $226,581 $226,581 $226,581 $ per year All beneficiaries Total Costs $46,954 $38,488 $32,222 $ annualized transit agency Benefit to Cost Ratio 4.8 5.9 7.0 Excluding Consumer Surplus Total of All Benefits $183,934 $183,934 $183,934 $ per year All beneficiaries Total Costs $46,954 $38,488 $32,222 $ annualized transit agency Benefit to Cost Ratio 3.9 4.8 5.7 Note: Consumer surplus associated with any service is quantified by the authors as the difference between the price passengers are willing to pay and the actual price charged for that service by SLO Transit.
Increasing integration between AVL systems, components, and interfaces has improved the ability of transit agencies to collect data on location and schedule adherence; support operational control, service restoration, and planning activities. 2008 Nationwide, United States; Rochester, Pennsylvania, United States; King County, Washington, United States; Portland, Oregon, United States; Columbus, Ohio, United States This research documented the current state-of-practice of fixed-route and demand responsive automatic vehicle location (AVL) systems. A literature review was conducted and the results of on-line surveys and case study telephone interviews were evaluated to collect information on the characteristics of implemented bus AVL systems, and examine agency experiences during the design, procurement, implementation, and integration of these systems. Using an on-line survey software tool, questionnaires were distributed to 107 different transit agencies in the United States and Internationally. Thirty-two (32) agencies responded to the survey. Researchers consolidated participant responses to each of the survey questions and highlighted important findings documenting benefits, costs, and lessons learned. Follow-up case study telephone interviews were conducted to obtain additional details on selected systems. Experienced staff (1 to 2 persons) from each from each of the following agencies provided comments. The selected agencies provided for a broad range of diversity in terms of geographic location, fleet size, systems integrator, and AVL system functionality. Beaver County Transit Authority (BCTA) in Rochester, Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh region) King County Metro in Seattle, Washington Triangle Transit Authority in Raleigh Durham, North Carolina Valley Metro in Phoenix, Arizona FINDINGS Although the basic system architecture of bus AVL systems has not changed much over the past 10 years, the degree of functionality and reliability of these systems has increased remarkably. With increased integration between components, systems, and interfaces, current bus AVL systems have more options and functionality associated with the core location tracking function. The core function generally includes the central software used for operations management and the onboard GPS, computers, and communications equipment required for real-time location of feet vehicles. Additional functional options can include schedule adherence monitoring, onboard mobile data terminals, managed voice communications, security monitoring, text messaging, dead reckoning devices, next stop announcements, monitoring of vehicle mechanical status, automatic passenger counting, and support a wide array of real-time transit traveler information systems. Technologies commonly cited as effective included those that collect data on location and schedule adherence, and support operational control, service restoration, and planning activities. Overall, the benefits data cited were anecdotal in nature. In follow-up telephone interviews with the BCTA which supports AVL on 32 vehicles the following benefits were noted: Dispatchers have an improved ability to easily know where fleet vehicles are at all times. Customer service staff informs callers of the current location for their bus, and use the playback feature to investigate the validity of complaints. Planners use the data on actual running times and dwell times to justify changes that have made schedules more realistic and effective. The transfer center arrival prediction dynamic message sings (DMS) are popular with customers, in particular during the area s harsh winters; these DMSs are located within the transfer center interiors and thus provide information while allowing passengers to wait inside. In follow-up telephone interview with the King County Metro which operates the ACCESS paratransit service on approximately 290 vehicles, the following benefits were noted: Adding mobile data terminal (MDT) units to the exiting AVL system enabled manifests to be downloaded and updated, trip events completion data to be monitored in real time, and text messaging to be made available between operators and dispatch. ACCESS management indicated that after the MDT features were activated, productivity increased from about 1.6 to about 1.7 passengers per vehicle hour. A large portion of the increase was attributed to the addition of MDT units. The following summary information, excerpted from the report, summarized the benefits of bus AVL applied to fixed-route and paratransit operations.
Fixed-route Operations AVL software provides improved situational awareness and additional voice communications management capabilities for dispatchers, expanding the size of the fleet that can be handled by each dispatcher. Schedule adherence feedback to dispatch, operators, and supervisors helps to maximize on-time performance and reliability. Dispatchers and supervisors can be proactive in addressing operational issues, including more timely and effective reaction to service disruptions. Text messaging can improve dispatch efficiency and provide clearer messages in distributing information to operators. Covert alarm monitoring supports the ability of operators to quickly inform dispatch about an onboard emergency and for dispatch to immediately know the vehicle location to send assistance. Single point for operator login to all onboard equipment reduces the potential for inaccurate login, maximizing the accuracy of schedule adherence, head signs, and farebox data. Automated next stop announcements provide consistent announcements for passengers, reduce operator workload so they can focus on safe vehicle operation, and help address the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Automatic passenger counter equipment allows for the cost-effective collection of comprehensive passenger boarding and alighting data with consistent reliability, relative to the use of human ride checkers. The system can provide real-time next bus predictions to customers both pretrip and enroute, which can help increase ridership by reducing customer anxiety, enhancing perceived reliability, and generally presenting a more "modern" image (in particular among "choice" riders). More comprehensive historical data collection and incident reporting allows more effective and detailed analysis (e.g., for Planning to use historical schedule adherence data to develop schedule adjustments). Paratransit Operations Electronic manifests and trip completion data reduce operator workload and provide more accurate and consistent data. Real-time fleet location data further improve the ability of scheduling software to enhance vehicle productivity and accomplish meets with fixed-route service. Onboard navigation assistance aids operators in keeping on schedule with their manifests, in particular with newer operators who are less familiar with local streets. For the TriMet AVL system (Portland, Oregon): Improved availability of real-time information for dispatchers could reduce running times by an average of 1.45 min/trip and reduce average passenger waiting time at the stop by 0.11 min. Depending on the assumptions regarding reduced wait times and reduced wait time uncertainty, the number of annual transit trips with Transit Tracker information by means of the Internet needed for positive net benefits could range from approximately 200,000 to 900,000. For the COTA AVL system (Columbus, Ohio), with changes in dispatcher workflow the observed overall effect was of saving nearly three hours in the time required for daily work. It was projected that a fleet size increase of up to 10 percent could be accommodated with the current complement of dispatchers. For the Delaware First State AVL system, roughly $2.3 million in annual benefits were estimated as reasonably attributed to the implementation of the system.
Transit operators and dispatchers for the South Lake Tahoe Coordinated Transit System (CTS) are generally satisfied with the new system deployed and feel that it can provide good capabilities for future service expansion. 4/14/2006 South Lake Tahoe, California, United States The South Lake Tahoe Coordinated Transit System (CTS) was implemented as a means of reducing congestion, protecting the environment and earning mitigation credits for redevelopment in the Lake Tahoe region. Through combining transit services offered by private and public sector stakeholders into one centrally dispatched operation that uses intelligent transportation system (ITS) technologies, the CTS would also improve transit efficiency and create a more visitor friendly transit system. The CTS project spans the jurisdiction of two counties in two states, as well as one city, and incorporates the private transit resources of five casinos and one ski resort, with the aim of serving the market objectives of both the public and private sectors. A U.S. DOT evaluation report summarized the findings from a system impact study that focused primarily on assessing the impacts on ridership, customer satisfaction and operating efficiency of the CTS. Interviews with shuttle drivers and dispatchers revealed that: Drivers saw the largest benefit in receiving automated trip changes through their Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs). Dispatchers saw the biggest benefits in the ability to relay real-time vehicle location information to customers and in having some kiosk trip requests automatically assigned by the CAD system. A customer survey also revealed that in general, customers appear to be as satisfied with the casino shuttle service as they were with the independent casino shuttles that operated pre-cts. Customers are generally satisfied with the operation of the service (wait time, travel time, and number of stops to pick up and drop off other passengers) as well as with the cost of the service and the trip-booking technologies. Transit operators and dispatchers felt that the new technology provided good capabilities for future service expansion but felt that the scheduling capabilities provided were less than optimal for such a small demand-responsive service (five vehicles).