Explore Live NextBus Implementation
We now have more than 50 North American transit systems using real-time reporting on 100s of routes. Please begin with a virtual visit to the new NextBus installation at MIT in Cambridge, MA--and from there to all of our live installations. Click here to begin your exploration.
Dec
17
3rd Largest Transit System in North America Selects NextBus
Filed Under AVL Systems, Feature Stories, Municipal Transit, Real-time Passenger Information Systems, Transportation Trends | Leave a Comment
Toronto Transit Commission $5.2 Million Pilot Program Adds Leading Edge Real-time Passenger Information
The Toronto Transit Commission(TTC) announced the launch of its next vehicle arrival notification system on December 15, 2008.
The TTC moves 465 million people every year – about 1.6 million riders every weekday. The TTC is the third largest public transit system in North America servicing some 4.5 million people in the Greater Toronto Area, with a network of subways, streetcars, buses, and a specialized service, Wheel-Trans, for people who require accessible transportation. The TTC is committed to meeting the growing needs of the region with subway and light rail expansion, carrying an additional 175 million riders by 2021.
Pilot Project to Serve 510 Spadina Streetcar Route Beginning in 2009
TTC Chair, Adam Giambrone, launched the pilot project at the Spadina Station streetcar platform. Customers will be able to find out when their next bus or streetcar will arrive by information display on screens in subway stations or at select TTC stops.
The pilot project will begin with the 510 Spadina route. Display screens are installed at Spadina and Union Stations. Additional screens will be installed at additional subway stations and select on-street stops in concert with the City of Toronto’s Street Furniture Program.
The TTC will be implementing many other new features to improve and enhance customer communications and the TTC experience. One of the most anticipated features in the works is the web-based trip planning application. Scheduled to be online this summer, it will give TTC users a self-serve means of planning their transit trips using routing information, timing points and walking distances.
Work to allow customers to be able to use SMS Text for information about next vehicle arrival information on all TTC surface routes begins in 2009. The final project roll-out will include a unique identifier for each vehicle stop to allow patrons to obtain specific stop information via wireless technologies (i.e. Internet and/or SMS text messaging).
NextBus Technology Will Enable Numerous Rider Benefits
- The next vehicle arrival pilot project is designed to improve and enhance customer communications and the TTC experience.
- TTC customers will be able to find out when their next bus or streetcar will arrive, either by flat screen monitors in subway stations or through LED screens at select TTC stops.
- Customers will receive real-time, reliable and relevant information about when the next vehicle is due to arrive.
- The system uses Global Positioning System software. All streetcars will be retrofitted with this prior to the end of 2008. The retrofit for buses will commence in 2009.
- Work to allow customers to be able to use SMS Text for information about next vehicle arrival information on all TTC surface routes begins in 2009. The final project roll-out will include a unique identifier for each vehicle stop to allow customers to obtain specific stop information via wireless technologies (i.e. Internet, Smart Phones, and/or SMS text messaging).
Dec
17
Your Riders Will Save a Bundle on Public Transit
Filed Under Feature Stories, Municipal Transit, Research, Transit Trends, Transportation Trends | Leave a Comment
And, They Can Prove it to Themselves!
Riders can save enough to pay for their annual food budget–and then some!
Figures from APTA and a helpful calculator prove that public transit is still a bargain even with a late 2008 drop in fuel prices.
Even though the price of gas has continued to drop public transportation riders still enjoy a significant economic savings. A person can achieve an average annual savings of $8,416 per year by taking public transportation instead of driving, based on today’s gas prices and the average unreserved parking rate, according to the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) “Transit Savings Report.” The report is a monthly analysis that shows the average annual savings represents almost a third more than the average amount a household pays for food in a year, according to the Food Institute ($6,111).
Public Transit K.O.’s Cars with Killer Cost Savings According to APTA
| City | Monthly Savings | Annual Savings |
| New York | $1,041 | $12,492 |
| Boston | $1,033 | $12,396 |
| San Francisco | $948 | $11,376 |
| Chicago | $865 | $10,380 |
| Philadelphia | $860 | $10,320 |
| Honolulu | $846 | $10,152 |
| Seattle | $844 | $10,128 |
| Washington, DC | $794 | $9,528 |
| Minneapolis | $758 | $9,096 |
Your citizens can calculate their own savings with this great tool.
To get a more precise idea of how much money commuter would save by swapping their car for your bus or rail system, click on this link to the PublicTransit.org Calculator. The image to the left shows a San Francisco Bay area commute with gas at $2/gallon. In this hypothetical scenario, the commuter saves $5645/year vs. traveling by car. Even this commuter decides to go from a 2 car to a single car household, another $11,000 in savings ensue.
Dec
15
Dramatic Cost Reduction in Northeast Florida Paratransit System In Spite of Rider Increase
Filed Under AVL Systems, Feature Stories, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Municipal Transit, Paratransit, Success Stories, Transit Management Challenges | Leave a Comment
Intelligent Transportation System Delivers Tangible ROI
Research conducted by Battelle in Northeast Florida for the U.S. DOT illustrated how an ITS delivered significant operational savings across four contiguous counties.
The Northeast Florida Rural Transit ITS project was a demonstration of successful technology deployment in four rural transit Community Transportation Coordinator (CTC) agencies: St. Johns County, Putnam County, Marion County, and Flagler County. Each contiguous county had a rural population with large urban medical facilities located outside its designated service areas.
The following immediate priorities were the basis for implementing an ITS system with the NextBus type capabilities:
- Improve scheduling operations by creating tighter driver assignments and reducing the workload associated with daily scheduling, call intake, and driver-manifest creation.
- Synchronize dispatch and scheduling operations to reduce the dispatcher’s workload by providing better information to the dispatcher.
- Improve workforce management including driver assignments.
- Improve vehicle maintenance strategies
The project’s most profound effects were related to productivity, through more effective scheduling, dispatching, and fleet control. Overall, staff time requirements decreased. Productivity improvements that were experienced in St. Johns County by implementing scheduling software include:
- Reducing office staff from 9 full time equivalents (FTEs) to 4.5 FTEs, resulting in a savings of $58,000 per year.
- A decrease in staff time from four full-time operators to two despite the increase of calls from 150 per day to 300 per day.
Click here to access to full report: Northeast Florida Rural Transit Intelligent Transit System.
Dec
1
Representative Transit Technology ROI Case Study: Ajax Hotel and Resort Shuttle
Filed Under Best Practices, Real-time Passenger Information Systems, Success Stories, Transit Management Challenges | Leave a Comment
An $80,000 Real-time Passenger Information System Delivers More Value than a New Mini-Bus
Because you can quantify the return on smart transit technology investments, you can be confident in the value of adding real-time passenger information technology. You can make a simple, but accurate comparison to the purchase of new buses just as in our case study. And, you can keep your passengers happy without breaking the bank.
A representative case in point
Business at the Ajax Hotel and Resort is booming! The resort typically attracts several thousand daily customers, and a new addition to the resort complex allows Ajax to accommodate 3,000 overnight guests. Most of these guests travel by private automobile to the resort so that the resort has had to increase parking capacity by constructing satellite parking lots.