| Use the
performance information you didn't know
you had
A 3M Opticom™
Transit Signal Priority (TSP) system (or
similar technology) may be collecting valuable
data for you every day. Are you making the
most of it? By collecting this data and
processing it through Gray Hill's BusSpeak™
software, you can generate valuable information
that can help your agency optimize its scheduling,
serve riders better, and save money.
What will BusSpeak™
do for my transit agency?
Just ask Pierce Transit,
who were the recipients of the inaugural
installation of BusSpeak™. The agency's
evaluation of the effects of the system
on its operations are summarized in this
PDF document. The short version —
because of schedule adjustments based on
BusSpeak™ information, Pierce Transit
will save about $960,000 in the next year
alone. While the whole thing is a good read,
the section pertaining specifically to BusSpeak™
starts on page 10. For other resources discussing
and evaluating BusSpeak, please see here.
You can try out a demo
of BusSpeak™ here.
Essentially, BusSpeak™
will allow you to streamline operations
and cut costs by doing the following:
Provide valuable performance
information you couldn't get elsewhere:
BusSpeak™ gives
you accurate, reliable information about
the movement of your transit vehicles over
time. Rather than approximating, relying
on anecdotal information, or just plain
guessing, you can know with precision and
certainty when each bus gets to each stop,
how long a given bus took to complete a
given route, and other relevant information.
Correlate information
with HASTUS or other schedule databases,
so you can assess on-time performance by
comparing actual route times with scheduled
runs:
BusSpeak™ integrates
fully with HASTUS route scheduling software,
allowing you to automate comparisons of
actual with scheduled times for any run
at any time. Even if you don't have HASTUS
or similar software, you can make comparisons
quickly and easily using BusSpeak™'s
reporting features and your own schedules.
Allow you to visualize
information in ways you can use:
BusSpeak™ gives
you numerous ways to aggregate and look
at your data, allowing you to have a better
understanding of trends and to make better
decisions. The system can provide:
- Print-formatted reports
- Tables
- Charts
- Maps
Depending on the type
of visualization you choose, you can get
your data in a variety of formats, including
text file, MS Access, MS Excel, dBase, .csv,
XML, PDF, and other formats.
BusSpeak™ uses
powerful ESRI® mapping technologies
to provide GIS maps on your desktop or via
the web; no additional hardware or software
is required.
Give you only the information
you want, when you want it:
BusSpeak™ gives
you flexibility concerning what reports
you receive and when you receive them. You
can access standardized information, or
customize reports to provide the exact data
you want to see. Then, you can get the desired
information on demand, or instruct the system
to provide it for you on a daily, weekly,
or monthly basis.
Put transit vehicle information
in the palm of your hand:
Bus assignment and
field supervisors can carry BusSpeak™
data in their PDA's using an add-on module
for handheld devices.
How does BusSpeak™
work?
BusSpeak™ uses
data collected from Opticom™ readers
stationed throughout your routes, refines
that data from an unintelligible mass to
a core of usable information, and then allows
you to use that information as shown above.
This process can be summarized in two steps:
1. Refining the raw data
— determining which bus was where
at what time:
The Opticom™
system was created as a means to provide
signal priority to emergency, transit and
other equipped vehicles. Opticom™
was not created to collect data on individual
routes or buses. This fact becomes relevant
the moment you try to figure out which route
or which run is actually causing a signal
call at a given time. It's a complex problem.
And the layers of complexity just keep piling
on:
- Opticom™ emitters have no off switch.
So, any deadheading, extra or other bus
polls every emitter it passes - adding to
your data soup.
- The Opticom™ system is an optical
system which can acquire a signal from an
approaching bus multiple times on approach
due to uneven road surfaces, corners, wind,
and other traffic.
- The emitters turn off automatically when
the driver opens the door. So near-side
stops almost guarantee that a bus will provide
multiple signals to the Opticom™ reader.
- Opticom™ signals can bounce off
reflective surfaces like glass buildings
or street signs, registering a signal on
the wrong reader.
So, which read is the
correct one? How can you identify which
buses are the right ones for that particular
route? BusSpeak™ includes algorithms
to filter out extraneous traffic, multiple
hits, refracted polling and other factors.
What's left is the time a given bus on a
given run of a given route polls the Opticom™
system and achieves signal priority.
2. Putting the refined
data to work — from data points to
decision-making tools:
Having determined which
bus was where at what time, BusSpeak™
then uses algorithms which organize this
data into representations of actual runs.
These actual runs provide
valuable information in themselves; but
the system makes them even more powerful
by allowing automated comparisons with the
"ideal" runs in your HASTUS scheduling
database. On-time performance for any route
or any stop at any time can be assessed
with a few clicks of a mouse.
Finally, BusSpeak™
provides an easy-to-use, intuitive user
interface, allowing you to access its powerful
functionality painlessly, whether you're
a computer wizard or a complete technophobe. |
