Brownsville to get ITS
Brownsville Urban Systems officials hope a new software system will help make their fleet a more efficient mode of transportation. City buses are awaiting installation of tracking software - similar to the Global Positioning System — as part of the BUS’s Intelligent Transportation Systems. In March, Brownsville city commissioners awarded a $533,427 contract to Mentor Engineering, a Canada-based company.
City bus system to install tracking software for service improvement
By CRISELDA VALDEZ VILLARREAL
The Brownsville Herald
April 13, 2004 -
The buses will be equipped with “dispatching and scheduling software (that can be used) to track our vehicles on a computer via the automatic vehicle locators,” said BUS Transit Planner Tom Logan.
“They will give us a real-time location of units at any given time so that our dispatchers can better utilize our resources.”
Global Positioning Systems can pinpoint someone’s position at the exact place at anytime.
Another part of the BUS project includes having announcement systems to alert passengers of the upcoming stops both audibly and visually, he said.
By the end of the year, BUS officials hope to have the software and hardware installed on its 38-vehicle fleet.
There are 26 fixed-route buses and 12 para-transit vans – vans that are used to transport the disabled, that BUS operates, Logan said.\
According to Mentor’s Web site, it “designs and manufactures wireless data and Automatic Vehicle Location or (AVL) GPS solutions for the mobile workforce.” The cost includes payment for the hardware, software, installation and training.
Alex Lorio, a grant writer for the city, said that Mentor is assembling the computers that will be installed in the city’s fleet.
The city should receive the equipment within the next two months and Mentor workers will do the installation.
While the installation of the equipment should take no more than four hours, the training process on how to use it will be extensive, Lorio said.
Part of the training will include meeting the American with disabilities guidelines that pertain to city transportation.
The GPS will help dispatchers to find not only the shortest bus route but also an available driver to operate the buses specifically used to transport the disabled. It will also be able to locate the nearest para-transit van.
“This helps us to become a much more efficient transportation system,” Lorio said. “That’s the main goal.”