This video highlights the great new features of the Purchase Area Regional Transit’s (PART) groundbreaking Travel Management Coordination Center (TMCC) in Western Kentucky. PART is a cooperative effort between four transit providers in Western Kentucky: Paducah Area Transit System, Easter Seals West Kentucky, Fulton County Transit Authority and Murray-Calloway Transit Authority. They have implemented an ITS solution to more efficiently manage the transportation and information needs of those living in the Purchase Area region of Western Kentucky.
The four transit agencies are connected through a centralized computer network which increases dispatching efficiency. Using Computer Assisted Scheduling and Dispatching (CASD) and Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL), dispatchers can keep track of all trips and vehicles. AVL constantly sends every vehicle’s precise location to the central dispatching computer network so that PART dispatchers always know the nearest vehicle to a caller.
The centralized computer network communicates with all the vehicles of the four transportation providers through in-vehicle mobile computers. The in-vehicle units keep drivers aware of all pick-ups and drop-offs, and dispatchers can send messages directly to the driver’s in-vehicle computer if there are changes to their schedule.
Customers will be able to access the TMCC by phone or via the PART website to make or modify travel plans. Customers will be able to receive information not only for transportation, but for health and human services and general governmental and educational information as well. For more information about PART, and their exciting new project, click here to visit their website.
Is excessive radio traffic affecting efficiency and productivity levels in your paratransit agency? A paratransit ITS solution allows dispatchers to communicate instantly with drivers using text messaging. Dispatchers can also keep tabs on all vehicles and unplanned situations, updating drivers’ in-vehicle manifests immediately to ensure customers are picked up on time. Hank and Jan are back to show you how paratransit ITS technology can make driver/dispatch communication more efficient, and managing unplanned events a breeze. Click here to watch Hank and Jan in action
If you manage a paratransit fleet, you know how difficult it is keeping up with ever-changing customer requirements, streamlining driver responsibilities, and conquering the chaos in the dispatch office. Time-consuming manual data entry adds to these challenges. Fortunately, there is technology out there to make your job much easier. A paratransit ITS solution automates repetitive processes, eliminates manual data entry so you can make better use of staff resources, and helps improve on-time performance. Hank and Jan, of Number 1 Transit, demonstrate how paratransit ITS technology makes everyday tasks and challenges a lot simpler to manage, and with fewer headaches. Click here to watch this short, entertaining demo.
Because of the large volume of calls WMATA’s MetroAccess Paratransit receives every day, management wanted an automated scheduling system to improve the efficiency of the call center. Real-time, accurate fleet data was also needed to effectively measure the performance of the fleet. And MetroAccess was also looking for technology that would improve system productivity with instant driver-dispatcher communication.
To improve their operations WMATA choose to implement a Paratransit ITS solution. Christian Kent, Director of MetroAccess, says: “The immediate benefit of the system is that we know exactly where our vehicles are and can examine this data either in real time or after the fact. This increases our credibility with the customer and makes it possible for us to give quick and accurate information on trip status, or to facilitate the investigation of a customer service complaint. For example, if a customer tells us that a driver didn’t show up at the scheduled pickup time, we can review the AVL data and confirm. With this objective data, we can respond to the customer’s concerns with greater certainty.”
We’re pleased to announce that our webinar ‘7 Steps to a Successful Paratransit ITS Implementation’ is now available on-demand. This webinar gives you an overview of the steps involved in a successful ITS implementation process as well as tips and suggestions to help make the process run smoothly. You’ll also learn best practices on change management and how to prepare your staff for the new technology in order to secure acceptance.
Here’s a short demo that provides a first-hand look at in-vehicle navigation, how it works and looks, and the advantages it can bring to a fleet-based business. This is paratransit-specific but applies to any operation where drivers have multiple pickups or job sites to go to during the work day. In-vehicle navigation helps drivers take the most direct and efficient routes to their destinations. By eliminating paper maps and frantic calls to dispatch for directions, drivers save fuel and arrive at jobs on-time.
A blog for those of us who live and work in fleet management. Topics include engine diagnostics, driver safety, mobile workforce management, CAD/AVL, vehicle maintenance, truck distribution, global computing, work order management, and field services.
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