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.
Feb
15
How Cities Like Chicago Can Do More with Less to Reduce Winter Woes In Spite of Shrunken Transit Budgets
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Real-time Passenger Information from NextBus Provides the Key
Chicago typifies what’s happening to municipal transit systems across the country. Cities large and small must endure drastically reduced budgets that reflect widespread tax and revenue shortfalls. Even though ridership has been increasing, the tax revenue that is also vital to supporting those transit operations has fallen dramatically as unemployment has risen in United States. Thus, Chicago’s CTA was forced to slash costs in ways that are affecting their riders at the coldest time of the year.
The CTA cuts were implemented February 2010 on 119 bus routes and seven rail lines. In addition, 41 bus routes have reduced hours of service, and nine express bus routes have been cut. CTA President Richard Rodriguez indicated that more than 1,000 employees have also been laid off.
How Real-time Passenger Information System Benefits Can Balance the Effect of Budget Reductions
- Maximize system efficiency to get the most of available people and capital assets. A myriad of problems confront transit executives as they work to achieve on-time results both consistently and cost effectively. Intelligent transportation technologies from NextBus empower executives by showing them what is working well and what is working poorly for every vehicle and every route. In addition,
easy to generate reports point the way to facilitating changes that improve on-time performance on all routes. - Make system wide scheduling highly predictable to benefit both managers and riders. An efficient transit system requires a high degree of predictability. It is extremely difficult to provide that predictability without AVL
& APC systems that provide continuous updates—and takes into consideration random factors such as vehicle breakdowns, traffic jams, and unexpected emergencies. NextBus was designed from the ground up to provide accurate arrival times across a variety of routes. - Put accurate ridership and other operations performance data to get the most from every bus and every route. Optimal transit efficiency depends not only on getting buses and trains to each stop in time, but also on the balancing of passenger loads to prevent both overcrowding and empty vehicles. Our passenger counting capabilities smooth passenger demand spikes throughout the day and reduce demand for additional vehicles during peak periods.
- Balance the high cost of fuel by minimizing mileage. Real-time passenger information enables managers to minimize the use of expensive fuel without compromising service levels. They can improve efficiencies by making a broad range of operational changes from major to minor. Thus, you can serve more passengers and more routes while keeping bus mileage to a minimum.
Jun
10
NextBus Parent Company Hits Record Q2 2009 Revenues
Filed Under Feature Stories, Grey Island Systems, NextBus, Inc., Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
US Revenues Also Increase Dramatically over Q2 2008
The parent company of NextBus, Inc., Grey Island Systems International Inc.(GIS) reports record revenue of $6.35-million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. This represented an increase of 43 percent as compared with revenue of $4.44-million in the second quarter of fiscal 2008 and represented an increase of 32 percent quarter over quarter with the first quarter of fiscal 2009 revenue of $4.80-million.
At the same time, the company posted net income of $0.282-million during the second quarter fiscal 2009, an increase of 485 percent as compared with a net income of $0.058-million for the second quarter of 2008 and a marked improvement over the first quarter of 2009 in which the company incurred a net loss of $0.264-million.
Moreover, the company improved its cash and short-term investments by $1.15-million during the quarter bringing total cash and short-term investments to $12.53-million. The company’s stated future goal is to maintain only moderate increases in operating expenses on a quarter-by-quarter basis when compared with expected revenue increases.
Among key financial highlights:
- Record Revenues of $6.35-million, up $1.91-million or 43 per cent from second quarter of fiscal 2008 and up 32 percent from the previous quarter;
- Income of $0.282-million, up from a net income of $0.058-million in second quarter of fiscal 2008 and compared with a net loss of $0.264-million in the previous quarter;
- Recurring revenues increased by 51 percent to $2.67-million for the second quarter 2009 compared to the second quarter of 2008 recurring revenues of $1.77-million;
- US revenue increased by 75 percent to $4.20-million for the second quarter 2009 from $2.40-million for the second quarter of 2008;
- Cash and short-term investments improved to $12.53-million during the quarter.
Owen Moore, President at Grey Island stated: “Our results this quarter are indicative of a company which can quickly adapt to economic uncertainty and re-focus efforts on business units which are insulated to a recessionary impact, as a result, the company illustrated significant organic growth, both year over year and quarter over quarter, through new client acquisition while limiting operating expense expansion. Further, we have a solid balance sheet with a healthy cash position that will allow us to continue to capitalize on future opportunities”.
Andrew Moore, Grey Island’s CEO added, “Factors such as increasing fuel prices, increased funding for public transit, a need for improved mobile work force accountability in government fleets will continue to drive demand for our products and services.”