Fleet Leader Interview with Carol Wildeman of Hamilton Street Railway
Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) transports over 21 million passengers throughout the city of Hamilton, Ontario each year and their 217 vehicles serve over 3,000 bus stops. Recently, HSR implemented ITS technology to streamline operations and comply with an Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) mandate requiring transit agencies to announce every bus stop on every route. Mentor Engineering is proud to have their technology chosen to help keep public transit accessible to all transit riders. Carol Wildeman, Senior Project Management for HSR talked to us about their technology implementation experience.
1. It seems that as a transit agency you really value technology and invest in it. Why is having a good, responsive transportation system so important to your city?
In days gone by, we have been at the forefront of technology, and we were one of the first transit agencies in Canada to have an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. Our previous systems were getting a little elderly so we were at the point where we had to reinvest in our existing system. We found over the years we could reduce a lot of our costs with technology. By adding ITS technology we now have a much bigger focus on the kind of information we can provide to our customers.
2. What features of the ITS system are your dispatchers most excited about?
One of the things they want to do is send our operational notices via text message. Currently, they write them out and post them on the board in the garage, but the problem is that not all of our drivers come into the garage so they never see them. This way, we’ll be able to send our notices out in real-time using text messaging so everyone will be able to read them.
3. What has been the impact of adding a voice annunciator to your transit system?
Certainly, the public likes it. With this technology in place we were able to go to the Ontario Human Rights Commission and say that we have a system, and this is how it works to announce every bus stop. We were able to give a report of how often each driver was on task. We were able to demonstrate to the OHRC that our system is up and it’s working.
4. How much resistance to the system was there from the drivers?
When the system went in the drivers by and large were all for it. They felt that this was being put in to help them, and without it they would be required to announce all the stops themselves. The fact that we made the investment to put in a system that would automatically announce all the bus stops, our drivers really saw this as a benefit to them.
5. What does the future hold for your organization?
I would say that our customers are looking for more information that is easier to access. We’ve been looking at adding wayside signs for our terminals. Customers are going to want real-time information from our IVR system and our website in an easy-to-handle format.
In the News: TriMet Debuts Open Trip Planner
Though it’s still in the beta phase, Portland’s TriMet Open Trip Planner represents a large step forward for transit passengers who want to use the internet to plan a trip across the city. The planner lets travelers select a starting or ending date and time and then enter the parameters of their trip, which can include:
- Quickest Trip / Safest Trip / Fewest Transfers
- Maximum Walk (incrementally from a tenth of a mile to 30 miles)
- Wheelchair accessibility (Yes / No)
- Travel by Transit / Bus and Train / Bus Only / Train Only / Walk Only / Bicycle Only / Bicycle and Transit
In addition, the Open Trip Planner also reads information from the U.S. Geological Survey Data Set and can tell travelers the ascent/descent of their planned trip, a feature that will be particularly handy for cyclists.
But perhaps the best feature of all is that Trimet’s new trip planner is completely open source, meaning that agencies from around the world will be able to use it, and keep improving it, for free. And 3rd party developers will be able to use it for developing any type of smartphone app they can think up.
To read BikePortland.org’s article on the announcement of the trip planner, click here.
The TriMet Open Trip Planner test site (still in beta) can be found here.
Fleet Tracking Unquestionably Beneficial for Operators
An article on Field Technologies Online.com discusses the many ways fleet tracking can improve the bottom line for fleet operators. The article begins by discussing how fleet tracking makes drivers more accountable for costly behavior, such as unnecessarily idling, speeding, and performing personal errands on company time and with company resources.
From there, author Brian Albright discusses how companies needing a fleet management solution must know in advance what functionalities they wish their installed system to have, instead of simply seeing what is available on the market.
Albright then details how the most successful fleet implementations involve a cross-section of the entire company weighing in on what the system is needed to provide. Billing, accounting, drivers, driver safety, maintenance, management, dispatch and customer service should all be present when examining possible wireless solutions to ensure the solution provides the functionality they need.
Finally, Albright discusses how there are many hidden ROIs within a wireless solution: for example, more efficient vehicle management from computer-aided dispatch could prevent hiring a new worker and purchasing a new truck. Electronic record-keeping also makes the company much stronger to withstand a federal audit should the situation arise.
To read the entire article about how field tracking improves business operations for fleet operators, click here.
Mentor’s demo on the hidden and unnecessary cost produced by wasteful idling can be viewed here.
Fleet Leader Interview with Lori Hembree of Mountain Mobility
Mountain Mobility has provided paratransit services to the residents of Buncombe County since 1989. Completing more than 500 trips per day with 42 vehicles, Mountain Mobility began using their Paratransit ITS System in January 2010. Lori Hembree, Director at Mountain Mobility, discusses the benefits ITS has brought to her agency.
1. Has the system changed how dispatchers interact with drivers?
Our dispatchers have become more proactive in monitoring driver schedules. They can monitor all the drivers and see whether they are running on-time, early or behind. With this information, they are able to move trips between vehicles without verbal communication or pencil and paper. Also, we can more easily accommodate customers who are early or miss their pick-up. This has helped us improve customer service and keep our on-time performance at an appropriate level.
2. Has the system affected your same-day scheduling procedures?
We didn’t change any of our policies in terms of on-the-fly schedule changes but we are able to accommodate people that are ready early. For example, customers that had a scheduled pick-up but the doctor finished with them two hours ahead of time. We’re much more able to accommodate them and provide a fairly accurate time for when they can expect the van to arrive. It also arrives more quickly than it did before we had the technology. So from that perspective, customer service has improved dramatically.
3. Have you seen changes in the office and bus work environments?
We’ve definitely cut back on radio communication, which has been a great improvement. Even drivers who thought they would dislike it, turned out to really like the technology. They like getting rid of the paper and not having to write everything down. They also like all the information they are able to access by touching the screen, and having turn-by-turn directions when needed.
Since we’re not using paper anymore, there’s been a lot less stress trying to verify trips and our validation process. We also have a lot more information to provide customer agencies that call to ask a question about a no-show. For example, we’ve had situations where an agency has called and said, “this person said they were waiting but the bus never came to pick them up.” We can now go and play back the route. We have the geographic location and the time stamps of all the vehicles so we can assure passengers the van was there and that it waited the required amount of time.
4. Has the system affected your fleet’s on-time performance?
We now have a more accurate reflection of what our on-time performance used to be. With paper records there were a lot of instances of drivers writing down rather suspect times. Now we now have a realistic picture of how much we’re on-time and I’m pretty happy with where it’s at.
5. At this stage in your agency’s growth, what do you think the impact of not having fleet management technology would be?
I think customers would start to notice things going backwards in terms of getting vehicles to them quickly and receiving accurate information over the phone. I think if we were to go backwards at this point we might lose our dispatchers entirely, they’d probably just walk away. Drivers can’t imagine having to go back to paper now. They really like having the computers on-board. So I think from that perspective we would see a revolt!
From the administrative side, I think people’s job stress would fly through the roof if we went back to the verification process we had prior to having the new system and having to try to deal with service issues when it was all a guessing game. I know in my job it would be hard trying to deal with a customer complaint if I couldn’t pull up that van and take a look at it live or play back its route for the day.
In the News: California transportation agency finds cost savings in mobile program
With cities and counties facing a large transportation funding shortage, California’s Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has recently introduced a text messaging program designed to save money on its communications with passengers and cut down on call center activity. The service lets passengers text a bus stop and number to the transportation agency’s call center to find out arrival times of the next three buses at that stop. This program will help OCTA cut its call center budget, which costs the agency more than $160,000 a month.
To read more about the OCTA initiative, click here.
Fleet Leader Interview with Ray Woodall of Wake Coordinated Transportation Services
Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, Wake Coordinated Transportation Services manages the contractors who provide trips throughout Wake County. The agency has been using a complete Paratransit ITS Solution since June 2009. Ray Woodall, Transportation Broker, discusses the benefits ITS has brought to his operation.
1. Have you seen a change in how dispatchers and drivers communicate?
All of the dispatchers are alive! No, actually, there’s been a very significant improvement in terms of the communication between drivers and dispatchers because with mobile computers, dispatchers can send trips directly to the vehicles. This frees up dispatchers to provide drivers with additional information they may need throughout the day. Plus it’s helped clarify addresses, names, destinations and things like that. When dispatchers repeat details over the radio it doesn’t necessarily get translated in the same way as when it’s written down on a driver manifest. With the system, drivers have the written information right in front of them on their screen. That has helped them to improve their ability to deliver services and increase their on-time performance as well.
2. Has the system affected the complaint resolution process?
It has helped some customer complaints drop, particularly with issues of being on time or late for pickups. We have seen a reduction in the number of monthly complaints that we had been receiving. If there is a complaint that is lodged because of a late pickup or drop off, we can go in and use the data from the mobile computer to tell the passenger “this is when the driver arrived” and “this is how long you were on the vehicle.” A lot of times when a complaint comes in saying, “it took me two hours to get home,” when you give them the data from the Ranger it turns out to be thirty minutes. It’s made it a lot easier to resolve those issues because it’s kind of tough to argue with the hard data. Now that customers know we can do that, it’s helped contribute to a reduction in those types of complaints.
3. Have you seen any changes in the office and bus work environments since you started using the system?
The stress level has gone down considerably. Radio traffic has decreased in terms of providing additions or changes to the schedule but we have been able to use the radio to provide other types of information to drivers, such as daily safety messages and more general information about traffic or construction issues. Dispatchers have been able to use the radios to provide that type of information instead of devoting so much radio time to modifications and schedule changes. It’s been a win-win on both sides, with the mobile computers and the use of the radio.
4. Has the data entry process been affected?
The time we spend on data entry has absolutely lessened. When I used to go into the scheduling application I would have to go back at least 7-10 days to pull up verified data. Now I can go in and the services that were done, for example, on Monday, are available for me to review on Tuesday because they’ve already been verified. We’ve been able to have the verification clerk assume other duties because the automatic data entry has simplified the process for her.
5. Has the system affected your fleet’s on-time performance?
We’ve seen a significant increase. We have an on-time performance requirement in our contracts with our vendors. In order to meet the requirements of the contract, they have to be at a performance level, for example, of 92% for the month. We’ve seen that go up on average 2 to 4 points per month. The only time that we see any issues with that is when they first bring new hires on board. The percentage will drop slightly for a couple of weeks, but it starts climbing right back up again. We’ve had some great success as far as on-time performance goes.
6. Where have you seen the most changes in your operation?
The greatest change that we have seen is the improvements in the ways that the drivers, schedulers, and dispatchers are doing the scheduling. With dispatch being able to do on-the-fly changes it’s certainly helped keep the schedules more in-line with using vehicles as efficiently as possible, which in turn improves on-time performance. There’s also been an improvement in the quality of data we’ve been able to get back from the vehicles with the mobile computers.
View Mentor’s Paratransit ITS solution
In the News: Deciphering Wireless Data Prices
Even though real-time access to information anytime and anywhere is considered one of the most important productivity enhancements available, the reality of the situation is that any enterprise is restricted by what they can spend on wireless data services. Mobile Enterprise Magazine has outlined 8 steps that will help you make sense of choosing the right wireless data plan for your enterprise business.
1. Wireless broadband pricing for business customers depends on the number of devices, the types of services you want, and how good you are at telling the wireless carrier what you need.
2. Take into account your organization’s data usage on a per-user basis to determine what your averages will be. Field workers will need more data than business executives, for instance.
3. Look for a monthly per-user contract, or a bucket of data that can be used by everyone in the company, depending on which option results in the best pricing.
4. Ask for a price reduction guarantee, so that when data price points drop, as all wireless pricing does, you will automatically get the reduction.
5. Some carriers are offering a new way to purchase data: they’ll sell 24 hours of data services for about $12. It’s a good way to buy for your organization’s occasional travelers.
6. Ask about becoming a customer without a one-year or two-year contract. If you have a large enough company and the carrier really wants your business you’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish.
7. Buy toward the end of the quarter, when the network operators’ sales forces are scrambling for new net adds that can be reported at the end of that quarter.
8. The bottom line: your organization should end up paying less for your enterprise data than the carrier’s advertised consumer pricing.
To read the entire article by Mobile Enterprise Magazine, click here.
Public Transit a Life Saver?
This blog post, courtesy of The Transit Pass, argues for the role of public transit in reducing the number of automobile accidents in the United States. The author points out that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) accounted for 37,261 motor vehicle fatalities in 2008. Compared to this figure, public transit options such as train, bus and light rail provide a safer way to travel overall. The article also argues that the cost of human life should be a bigger issue when considering infrastructure costs. Read the entire article for a different perspective on the advantages of public transit.
Paratransit ITS: How to Increase Efficiency and Improve Customer Service with Technology
Are you trying to find ways to improve your agency’s on-time performance, streamline operations and increase customer satisfaction? With shrinking budgets and a growing need for paratransit service, it can seem like a daunting task.
Check out this free webinar and learn how ITS technology can be used to manage your day-to-day challenges while improving customer service and increasing efficiency. In the webinar, our Transit Project Manager will demonstrate real-life examples of how you can save time, improve on-time performance, make easy on-the-fly schedule changes, and reduce operating costs.
Lizards vs Transit ITS: Dealing with the Unexpected
Fixed-route transit ITS solutions were created to help transit agencies deal with the unexpected, including everything from sick employees to traffic jams. A thorough solution should keep your agency running smoothly and efficiently, no matter the reason.
To that end, we’ve created a demo that shows how the various functionalities of an ITS solution can keep an agency on track in one of the most outrageous situations we could imagine: an attack by a group of giant lizards. They’ve invaded the town of Quietville and are making life rather challenging for the local transit agency and its passengers.
While this is obviously a touch on the fanciful side, if a mob of oversized reptiles bent on chaos can’t disrupt the Quietville transit agency, what can? Check out the demo and see who wins.
