Public Transit Technologies

Overview

The main ITS applications to transit are Transit Technologies, Personalized Public Transit, and Public Travel Security.

Transit Technologies include:

• Automatic Vehicle Location - used for scheduling and tracking on-time performance, providing information about delays to travelers, making operational changes when vehicles become delayed or disabled, and responding to emergencies.
• Electronic Fare Payment - provide transit users with electronic fare cards that allow for seamless, cashless travel across multi-modal and multi-provider transportation networks.
• Traveler Information - provides static and real-time information to travelers about transit delays, traffic reports, and incidents.
• Transit Security - uses alarms and surveillance cameras to protect riders from criminal activity on transit vehicles and at transit stations/stops.
• Traffic Signal Priority - real or fixed-time control strategies that grant buses priority at signalized intersections.
• Precision Docking - a variety of systems designed to enable a transit vehicle to align itself in exactly the same position at a station every time.
• Computer-Aided Dispatch - integrates transit operations by giving transit dispatchers and supervisors decision support tools to manage the operating environment.

Personalized Public Transit/Computer Aided Dispatch

Used in circumstances in which conventional, fixed-route transit is not feasible, personalized public transit takes the following forms:

• Taxis
• Dial-a-Ride Services
• Buses that operate on a fixed schedule but allow small deviations from the route
• Personal rapid transit-small vehicles operating on a fixed guideway

Automated vehicle location and computer aided dispatch can make these conventional methods of transportation more efficient by increasing utilization and reducing dead-heading. Computer aided dispatch is widely used by taxi companies. It is also being used by dial-a-ride services for elderly and disabled people in San Jose, Antioch, Bakersfield, and San Diego, California; and in Madison Co., IL. Bus systems in Friedrichschafen, Germany; Prince William County, in Northern Virginia: and Portland, Oregon allow route deviation.

Findings

• For most taxi companies computer-aided-dispatch reduces both staffing requirements and pickup time.
• Many, but not all, dial-a-ride services that have utilized computer aided dispatch have reduced costs without reducing service.
• Costs for computer aided dispatch systems for dial-a-ride services have ranged from $25,000 to $1,000,000.

Public Travel Security

The risk of being involved in a crime incident is at least twice as great in a transit system as in a private vehicle. The most frequent crimes that occur in transit stations, at transit stops, or on board transit vehicles are disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, graffiti/vandalism, vagrancy, objects thrown at transit vehicles, fare evasion, theft, and simple assault and battery.Technologies used for transit security include:

• Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV)
• Call boxes/Emergency Phones
• Alarms
• Automated Ticketing Systems
• Automated Vehicle Location Systems

Closed circuit television surveillance is used by Washington Metro, Miami MDTA, and San Francisco Muni. The VTA in Santa Clara County, California has public phone access to 911. The green, red, and blue lines of Los Angeles MTA have passenger communications systems onboard. Toronto GO Transit has alarms in all stations and passenger assist alarms on all trains. Automated ticketing protects employees from robbery and automated vehicle location systems allow police or other security personal to quickly locate a bus when a crime occurs.

Findings

• Closed circuit television is an effective but very expensive strategy.