01154782

Component

Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) technology applied to public transportation has had its most significant penetration in urban areas. Use of this technology for rural transit systems has been slower due to the unique needs and challenges of rural transit providers. However, as the cost of global positioning systems (GPS) devices decreases and the geographic reach of wireless telecommunications increases, AVL is becoming accessible to smaller, rural transit systems. This paper discusses the provision of real-time bus arrival information in a rural AVL system utilizing a Level A/B GPS data regimen in the context of a case study of the Advance Transit bus system’s Blue Route in New Hampshire’s Upper Valley Region. Four criteria of AVL systems for rural transit providers are established, and the described system is evaluated against those criteria. The case study illustrates that a real-time arrival estimation algorithm can be achieved for rural transit providers with relatively low costs, minimal administrative burden on transit staff, use of broadly available software, and accuracy that is scaled to the needs of the rural user.

01147878

10-0742

English

18p

2010

Transportation Research Board 89th Annual Meeting

DVD

Figures; Maps; Photos; References (13) ; Tables (2)

Automatic vehicle location; Bus transit operations; Bus transportation; Global Positioning System; Public transit; Real time information; Rural transit; Wireless communication systems

Arrival time (Bus transit)

New Hampshire

Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2010 Paper #10-0742

TRIS, TRB

Jan 25 2010 10:21AM