Mass Transit Bus Systems - Competencies
Macro Corporation has developed an extensive, core knowledge base designing and implementing the major subsystems found in every advanced public transit system (APTS) in the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Architecture through more than 300 related consulting assignments successfully completed or underway across the USA and Canada. We use the system engineering principles and best-practices needed to achieve the Architecture throughout a project's life cycle: from conceptual design to final commissioning. Thus, as a team comprised of fully complementary technology experts, Macro's staff can enable transit operators to achieve the improved operations efficiency, reliability, and cost-effectiveness promised when introducing proven, state-of-the-art ITS subsystems. Because of this extensive experience we have consulting for ITS projects, we are current with the state-of-the-art products and services the vendor community is capable of delivering to meet each of our client’s objectives.
Our firm provides transit and fleet owners/operators the most extensive knowledge, experience, and level of service available in the industry today. Being veteran practitioners in all phases of system engineering, quality assurance, and project management, Macro’s analysts, planners, engineers, and project leaders join to help our clients achieve a strong sense of confidence that introducing new technologies into their mission-critical operations will be accomplished with the lowest risk but highest opportunity for return. In other words, Macro’s employees are a results-oriented, full-service team, available for any variety of assignments.
Fleet operators need not place their unique project objectives at risk unnecessarily by engaging consultants who might not specialize in fleet management system, ITS platforms, and related voice and data communications infrastructures as their core business. The survey of existing systems, discovery and analysis of users’ needs, determination of radio channel requirements, evaluation and management of any FCC licensing matters, and development of alternative plans, all demand a high degree of technical background supplemented with superior management, organizational, and interpersonal communications skills. Only specialists, whose technical and professional qualifications are well established and recognized like those from Macro should perform the kinds of projects that your operation will depend upon for many years to come.
Macro has the credentials, technical expertise, and management ability to fully meet the needs of our clients. Each of our professional staff members has specialized in one or more areas of the ITS, APTS, ATMS, and telecommunications fields – all operating under one cohesive firm – such that they have become recognized as experts in the technical aspects of their respective disciplines and technologies, through both formal education and extensive practical experience. All of these staff members have already worked together closely as a team on various projects, and so can now seamlessly complement each other's talents to the ultimate benefit of our client. Accordingly, our firm and its fleet management practice staff are commercial members of the American Passenger Transport Association (APTA) and ITS America.
Our firm offers our clients the broadest, most complete practical understanding of today’s APTS technologies employed by mass transit bus and paratransit/demand responsive operators we developed by not only planning and designing for their implementation, but also helping our clients procure them and oversee their installation and acceptance testing. Our field-proven competencies in this practice area include:
- Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) – manages and controls voice and data communications between dispatchers and vehicle operators. Provides vehicle status information displayed to dispatchers in tabular format. Mobile data terminals installed in vehicles display text messages to drivers and service status to field supervisors.
- Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) – GPS receivers installed on buses and paratransit vans provide location information back to dispatchers on map displays. Allows for real-time tracking of bus schedule and route performance, paratransit van pick-ups & drop-offs, and real-time response to service disruptions (e.g. detours, traffic delays, breakdowns, etc.)
- Records Management – Secure, online access to and completion of incident report forms; historical accumulation of daily bus and paratransit service performance and quality for management and required FTA reports.
- Fixed Route Scheduling – computerized tool for preparing timetables for efficient, cost-effective, mass transit bus service where vehicles provide transportation along unchanging roadway paths or “patterns”.
- Paratransit Manifesting – qualifies eligibility for clients, and then helps paratransit operators provide efficient van service to those that have been qualified according to each clients specific pick-up, drop-off, and scheduling needs. Such systems prepare for each van driver, a daily “manifest” of pick-ups and drop-offs.
- Passenger Information – audio/visual systems that delivering real-time bus service status to bus stops, terminals, transit centers, personal mobile devices, and the Internet; Computerized trip planning using interactive telephone/voice response (IVR) and web-based tools.
- On-board Systems – centralized driver login and control over headway signs, automatic next-stop annunciators, automatic passenger counters (APCs), live video surveillance and recording equipment, and on-board computerized drivetrain and vehicle management computers.
