Category: Blog
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Beyond the Next Stop. Modern Ways to Use Onboard Infotainment Screens
For many transit agencies, onboard screens are a standard part of the rider experience. From next-stop information, route maps, and the occasional service alert, they display the info that reminds riders they are being taken care of. As someone relatively new to the transit technology space, I believe these screens have the potential to do…
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Transit Incident Management Made Simple with SPOT
Transit operations rarely go exactly as planned. Mechanical failures, farebox issues, vehicle accidents, or even a minor passenger injury can disrupt service and create stress for your entire operations team. That’s why ETA Transit built a dedicated Transit Incident Management module inside our SPOT CAD/AVL platform. This integrated solution gives agencies a smarter way to…
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How an Easy-to-Use CAD/AVL System Reduces Disruption During Transit Staff Turnover
Transit operations depend on people, from dispatchers and operators to supervisors and administrators. But when turnover hits, even the most experienced agency can struggle to keep service running smoothly. Without an easy-to-use CAD/AVL system, service disruptions, delayed responses, and training gaps become the norm. That’s why ETA Transit designed SPOT, a browser-based platform built to…
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Why Transit Agencies Are Switching Their Legacy CAD/AVL Providers
Reliability Over Legacy Vendors Transit agencies aren’t just looking for new software—they’re looking for stability, transparency, and a partner that understands the realities of running a public transportation system. Too often, legacy CAD/AVL vendors sell a product and disappear until it’s time for renewal. Agencies are left dealing with downtime, unreliable hardware, and limited visibility…
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Navigating the Transit Revolution: Part IV—A Gateway to Historical Transit Operation Data
Transit ITS Data Exchange Specification (TIDES) is a remarkable GTFS extension that delves into the realm of historical transit operation data. This repository provides data schemas and tools to support the access, management, and improvement of historical transit operations data, including vehicle operations, passenger activity, fare collection, and other similar data. TIDES bridges the gap…
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Navigating the Transit Revolution: Part III—A New Standard in Transit
Transit operators require their scheduling and operational systems to seamlessly work together. This synergy is most effectively attained through the adoption of open standards. Although GTFS has proven highly successful as an open standard, its primary purpose is to disseminate information to transit passengers, which means it lacks vital elements essential for transit providers.
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Navigating the Transit Revolution: Part II—The History of GTFS
GTFS has a rich history that reflects the evolution of public transportation data sharing. It emerged as a response to the challenges posed by fragmented and proprietary data formats, aiming to create a standardized way for transit agencies to share their information with developers and users. To provide necessary context for current and future GTFS…
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The Need for Rugged Transit-Grade Computers in Harsh Transit Environments
Introduction All-in-one tablets are unreliable and unsuitable for public transit applications. Instead, transit agencies must consider investing in transit-grade computers to record and display mission-critical information. Functioning onboard digital devices are essential to: improve operating efficiencies. automate NTD data collection. and enhance the rider experience. Though consumer-grade tablets and all-in-one Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) with…