Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 Regional Coordination: A Multi-Agency Computer Assisted Scheduling and Automatic Vehicle Location Deployment 18 th National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Omaha, Nebraska

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 Project Location Minnesota Public Transit StructureMinnesota Public Transit Structure 7-County Metro Area7-County Metro Area Everywhere elseEverywhere else Growing “metroplex”Growing “metroplex” Collar countiesCollar counties

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 Wisconsin Canada North Dakota South Dakota Iowa

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 Mn/DOT ITS History More than 15+ years’ experience with transit ITS deploymentsMore than 15+ years’ experience with transit ITS deployments Partnerships with other agenciesPartnerships with other agencies Communications evolutionCommunications evolution Technology evolutionTechnology evolution

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 Project History Metropolitan Council approached by Dept. of Human ServicesMetropolitan Council approached by Dept. of Human Services Mn/DOT-funded projects invited as participantsMn/DOT-funded projects invited as participants

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 Our Transit ITS History (1991) Smart DARTS(1991) Smart DARTS (1994) ARTIC(1994) ARTIC (1998) 3-system Trapeze-Lite Deployment(1998) 3-system Trapeze-Lite Deployment (1999-present) Various individual projects(1999-present) Various individual projects (2003) Paul Bunyan AVL-MDT(2003) Paul Bunyan AVL-MDT

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 What We Learned Communications infrastructure is different for each projectCommunications infrastructure is different for each project Need a “local champion” at each project siteNeed a “local champion” at each project site Scheduling algorithms and report writing are entirely separate products!Scheduling algorithms and report writing are entirely separate products!

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 What We’ll Do Differently CommunicationsCommunications Web-based interface (Explorer or Firefox)Web-based interface (Explorer or Firefox) Real-time mobile data transmission and automatic vehicle location using existing cellular technology (e.g. Blackberry, I Phone)Real-time mobile data transmission and automatic vehicle location using existing cellular technology (e.g. Blackberry, I Phone)

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 What We’ll Do Differently Expectations have changed over the last 10 yearsExpectations have changed over the last 10 years “Test” organizations are fully engaged in the project“Test” organizations are fully engaged in the project

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 What We’ll Do Differently Scheduling and reporting are treated as two separate productsScheduling and reporting are treated as two separate products

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 Multiple Agency Scheduling Customized data entry screensCustomized data entry screens “Trust relationship” from read only to full access“Trust relationship” from read only to full access View and change trips scheduled by another agencyView and change trips scheduled by another agency

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 Constituent Access End users may check on status of existing ridesEnd users may check on status of existing rides End users may cancel ridesEnd users may cancel rides

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 Rider Information Standard info, plusStandard info, plus Unique identification numberUnique identification number Eligibility by serviceEligibility by service Multiple funding sources, etc.Multiple funding sources, etc. Access based on the trust relationshipAccess based on the trust relationship

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008Scheduling Batch and single insert schedulingBatch and single insert scheduling Multi-Modal schedulingMulti-Modal scheduling User defined parametersUser defined parameters Unique for each partnerUnique for each partner ReoptimizationReoptimization Suggest solutions that may include mixing with fixed routeSuggest solutions that may include mixing with fixed route

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 Reporting Built on a relational databaseBuilt on a relational database Common reports availableCommon reports available User must be able to access database using commercially available report writerUser must be able to access database using commercially available report writer Customize for specific DHS needsCustomize for specific DHS needs

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Transit – October 20, 2008 Contact Us: Sarah Brodt Lenz, Program Administrator Mn/DOT Office of Transit ( ) Andrew Krueger, Customer Services Manager Metro Mobility Service Center (651)