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Transit Discussion in real-time.

Part II: Marketing transit on the cheap.

Posted on April 11, 2018
By Matt Schroeder
Part II: Marketing transit on the cheap.
We're continuing our look at what local public transit agencies can do to market the technological investments they've made in their operations. If you haven't done so yet, take a few minutes to Read part 1: Changing the perception about public transit to get some background information about the challenges public transit operations face when…
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Part 1: Marketing transit on the cheap.

Posted on April 4, 2018
By Matt Schroeder
Part 1: Marketing transit on the cheap.
Is it a fair assumption to say that public transit has a perception problem? When we poll riders and non-riders alike, adjectives like dirty, slow, uncomfortable, inefficient, and unsafe appear with regularity. A look into pop-culture reflects the industry much the same way; dirty taxis, buses that belch smoke, trains that are loud and crusted…
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Bridge the revenue gap with on-board infotainment systems

Posted on September 30, 2017
By Matt Schroeder
Bridge the revenue gap with on-board infotainment systems
Public transit is ready for some screen time. Advancements in mobile data delivery has opened a substantial opportunity for transit agencies to improve the overall transit experience, attract riders, and create a new revenue stream to help supplement operations, improve service to core constituents, and support area business. It’s no secret that revenue and funding…
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3 tips to build a right-sized transit tech spec.

Posted on August 30, 2017
By Matt Schroeder
3 tips to build a right-sized transit tech spec.

See if this sounds like you…

You work at a transit agency, and you wear a lot of hats. And not only are you overworked, but your staff is too. Most days, success is defined by just keeping your buses moving smoothly. You desperately need an upgrade to your Intelligent Transit System (or perhaps you just NEED an ITS), and after years of lobbying and cajoling your agency’s administrators you finally have both the approval and funding needed to begin the procurement process.

But there’s a catch (there’s always a catch) … YOU must be the one to write the RFP.

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Forget text-to-speech for your on-board announcements, pre-recorded audio is better.

Posted on July 26, 2017
By Matt Schroeder
Forget text-to-speech for your on-board announcements, pre-recorded audio is better.
Turn up the volume on pre-recorded audio. By John Maglio, President ETA Transit Systems Full disclosure: I’ve always disliked text-to-speech (TTS). It’s a wholly impersonal means of conveying critical information to passengers. From the sanitary, robotic pronunciation to the complete lack of support for local multi-lingual dialects. TTS is a poor way to connect with…
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Has your transit agency embraced digital communications?

Posted on June 13, 2017
By lltetamain
Has your transit agency embraced digital communications?
You know that shiny new Intelligent Transit System (ITS) your agency just invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to deploy? Well, odds are, you’ve only scratched the surface of one the most powerful and impactful features—its digital communication capabilities. We're talking automatic voice announcements, automatic stop announcements, and passenger information display system—the whole shebang. Digital…
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Don’t get your buses in a bunch.

Posted on March 22, 2017
By ETA Transit
Don’t get your buses in a bunch.
Modern transit agencies are continually challenged to improve the efficiency of their operations. It is often a challenging balancing act to minimize passenger wait times while maintaining an efficient passenger load. If vehicles run too closely together, passenger wait times and the efficiency of passenger loads will suffer. (This is when a bus tracker or…
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