Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Edmonton to Get Smart Buses Next Spring

Trapeze Group on August 30 announced that it has been selected to provide the City of Edmonton Transit System (ETS) with a new comprehensive intelligent transportation system to help them better manage their fixed-route bus service and provide travelers with real time transit information.

Guided by the City Vision and The Way We Move (the Transportation Master Plan), ETS has developed a three-year business plan that focuses on improving the quality of life for Edmonton citizens by making improvements to the public transit system. The Trapeze intelligent transportation solution was selected to help address ETS’s objective for a fully integrated, progressive, easy-to-use, public transit system that supports economic development and helps improve the quality of life in Edmonton.

ETS Director and Project Co-sponsor Lorna Stewart noted, “The Trapeze solution offers Edmonton strong functionality with excellent customer information tools and back office features to help manage the transit service in real-time.  This project builds on a track record of successful technology deployments between Edmonton Transit and Trapeze, most notably the end to end system used in Edmonton’s disabled transit service.”

Computer-aided dispatch and automatic vehicle location (CAD/AVL) from Trapeze Group along with Trapeze’s real time traveler information solutions, enables ETS to provide riders with critical traveler pre-trip information such as real-time arrival and departure information at bus stops, on the Web and on their mobile devices as well on-trip information such as next stop announcements on the bus.

For dispatchers the Trapeze CAD/AVL system means they can monitor and manage the fleet in real time helping to ensure on-time performance and providing the ability to respond to service disruptions more quickly for greater efficiencies. Via an onboard monitoring solution, further vehicle and driver analysis is collected and reviewed for potential improvements on vehicle performance.

For bus operators the Trapeze onboard mobile data terminals (MDT) makes logging into the vehicle system easy with single sign-on capabilities connected to all the in-vehicle systems including third-party equipment.

ETS provides service to a population of more than 812,000 residents across 700 square kilometers with more than 205 regular routes and nearly 400,000 daily boardings. The agency’s mission is to provide customer-focused, safe, reliable and affordable public transit services that link people and places.

Source: GAATES