THE MILESTONES OF MASS TRANSIT CS 410 Blue Group communicate 2Me

A Brief Overview The Problem Our Solution Evaluation Plan Four Phases o Staffing o Costs What is being provided and what is not Risks and their mitigation Funding/Budget Conclusion 2 April 9th, 2009 CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

Meet the Team April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

Overarching Problem Passenger needs are not addressed by mass transportation systems. 4 April 9th, 2009 CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

The Wait Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) routes can have passengers wait anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour in suburban areas such as Chesapeake or Virginia Beach. Source: April 9th, 2009 CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

Inclement Weather & The Chase On average there is precipitation 115 days a year in Virginia. Source: Passengers not waiting in the designated bus stop areas are often overlooked by the bus driver. 6 April 9th, 2009 CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

Heavy Passenger Loads & Bus Bunching CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009 In July, there are currently at least 55 festival events in Norfolk. Source: events/ events/ Routes like the Net in Norfolk and the Wave in Virginia Beach have buses running as close as 6 minutes apart. April 9th,

Missing the Bus Causes: Bus is Off Schedule Passenger Late Arrival to Stop Unaware of Real-time Schedules Driver Unaware of Awaiting Customers Effects: Schedule Problems Lower Passenger Appreciation Less Passengers Less Revenue 8 April 9th, 2009 CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

Regional Transit Need is Increasing CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009 Hampton Roads has a population of 1.5 million By 2025, Hampton Roads is projected for 2.5 million Annual Ridership on HRT: 18.5 million Buses in the HRT System: 343 Average bus capacity is currently only at 15% Severe congestion is expected on 1,221 lane miles in Hampton Roads in 2026 Source: April 9th,

A Proposed Solution: communicate 2Me CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009 Increase coordination of passengers and drivers by providing real time bi-directional information April 9th,

The Solution Real-time information for the driver such as:  Prioritization of stops  Number of commuters waiting at the next stop for their route Accessible and convenient to end users Reasonable cost for transportation companies 11 April 9th, 2009 CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

communicate2Me - The Solution April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

A Feasible Implementation Passengers will be provided with methods to: Allow Stop Reservations via: o Personal Computer and Web Site o Cellular Phone / Short Message Service(SMS) Texting Have notifications of changes in schedule o SMS notification service o Result: Increases Coordination between driver and passenger 13 April 9th, 2009 CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

April 9th, 2009 Benefits CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009 Passengers: Better Service More Interaction Greater Satisfaction Bus Drivers: Warning of Waiting Passengers Increased Awareness of Future Loads More Efficient Routes 14

Evaluation Plan Time o Measured against baseline project plan Cost o Measured against budget plan per phase Scope o Measured against requirements document Quality o Measured by customer and end user satisfaction April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase 0} - concept (60 days) Milestones Problem Area Development Feasibility Research Milestone Scheduling Website Development SBIR Proposals Acceptance Criteria Review Board Acceptance April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase 0} - organizational chart April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase i} - prototype (130 days) Milestones Prototype Specifications Test Plan User Manuals Proposal Prototype Construction Demonstration Acceptance Criteria Review Board Acceptance April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase i} - prototype components April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase i} - financials April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase i} - hardware requirements hardwareqty total SMS & Web Server1 $1,500 Software Development Workstation1 $2,000 Cellular Phones2 $800 overall hardware costs $4,300 April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase ii} - critical design (1 year) Milestones Web Interface Web Message Algorithm SMS Gateway Development Algorithm Development Algorithm Testing Transit Interface Interface Test Acceptance Criteria Interfaces with Google Transit Receives SMS Messages Passes Tests Connects with Transit Authority's Systems April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase ii} - organizational chart April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase ii} - major components April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase ii} - financials April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase ii} - hardware requirements hardwareqtycost Total SMS Server2$1000. $2,000 Web Server1$2000.$2,000 Algorithm Server2$2000.$4,000 SMS Service / Credits (yearly)1$36,000 overall hardware costs $44,000 April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase iii} - production & beyond Milestones Support Current Installations Improvement: Modifications to Interface Improvements to Algorithm Acceptance Criteria Market Penetration Market Acceptance Profitability April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase iii} - organizational chart April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

{phase iii} - financials April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

in the box Service to set up and maintain: o Short Messaging Service gateways o Web servers o Application servers Algorithm to communicate between end users and bus drivers April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

not in the box Buses Wireless communication between buses and Transit Center Tracking system for buses (GPS, RFID) April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

who is the customer? Initial customers: Transportation Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) Metropolitan Transportation Authorities Future customers (Phase III+) Shipping United States Postal Service (USPS) United Parcel Service (UPS) Other Services Cable Utilities April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

price point April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009 Costs: Yearly Cost to Customer: $400,000 Customer ROI: Increases fuel mileage by 3%, saving $200,000 a year Increases choice ridership, leading to more customers

April 9th, 2009 current competition CS 410 Blue Group Spring

risks & pitfalls 1.Interoperability problems 2.Latency Issues 3.Abuse of the system 4.SMS message costs 5.Phone incompatibility 6.Transit operator ignoring system 7.Down Time April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

risk mitigation Interoperability: Direct Communication with each Transit Authority's technicians Latency: Optimize Incoming SMS Processing Time Synchronize Driver Updates based on Position Abuse of the System: No way to mitigate without tracking passengers Transit Operator Ignoring System: Education Tracking of Requests to Pickups April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

budget Funding Source: Department of Transportation o SBIR – Phase 1: $100,000 o SBIR – Phase 2 : $650,000 o SBIR –Phase 3: Small Business Loan/Venture Capatilists ! ?oppId=46140&flag2006=false&mode=VIEW April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

cost to develop Phase 0: o Free Phase 1: o Hardware Resources - $4, o Personnel Resources - $14, Phase 2: o Hardware Resources - $44, o Personnel Resources - $443, Phase 3: o Hardware Resources - $37, o Personnel Resources - $286, Total - $829, April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

breaking even April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

closing statements Current Systems are One-Way: Informing the passengers, not Interacting with them. communicate 2Me promises to: Connect Passengers with Drivers, and Vice Versa Each phase is feasible in terms of: Cost Requirements Staffing let's do it! communicate 2Me April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

Any questions? April 9th, CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009