Testimonial It's 100 percent better. The fact that we are able to track where the drivers are and can collect data electronically instead of manually makes things so much better for everyone — not just the drivers but the office staff as well. We use the MDC to dispatch the closest vehicle to a specific location instead of dispatching someone who's coming from clear across town. Kim Adair, Executive Director, Paducah Area Transit System

ROI Improved Response Times Reduced Operational Costs Greater Organizational Efficiency Automated and More Accurate Data Collection

Paducah Area Transit System

Greater Efficiency Leads to Increased Ridership

Challenges

Paducah Area Transit System (PATS) provides a variety of transportation services for the city of Paducah, KY, from paratransit and taxi service to fixed-route and courier package delivery. With all the different services PATS provides, keeping track of their vehicles was a difficult task. "We're the only transit authority in the state of Kentucky that operates like this," says Kim Adair, Executive Director at PATS. "The night drivers were doing bar pick-ups and late-night service and we didn't have any control over where they were. Someone could flag them down and they could pick them up for cash and we wouldn't have any way of tracking revenues."
 

Solution

Installed in the vehicles are Mentor Ranger in-vehicle computers that connect the vehicle and the office and integrate with RouteMatch scheduling software to allow dispatchers and drivers to communicate in real-time. PATS also uses Mentor BBX, an in-vehicle telematics device, to collect a variety of data including speed and odometer reports, while BBX's Automatic Vehicle Location capabilities enable dispatchers to see the location of each vehicle.
 

Results

With the technology, PATS has improved customer service, reduced costs and become a more efficient organization. "Increased ridership is a function of our organization becoming more efficient," says Kim. "If we didn't have Mentor and RouteMatch, there's no way we could have handled the increased trips we got from the taxi service. There's no way we could have grown the way we have. Life is so much easier since we've been able to use Mentor's technology."