Tag: ITS

  • How Long Does It Take to Deploy a New CAD/AVL System?

    In the past, deploying a new Computer-Aided Dispatch/Automatic Vehicle Location (CAD/AVL) system could take many months or even years. Today, however, modern technologies and advanced implementation techniques have dramatically shortened deployment times, allowing for faster and more efficient system installations.

  • 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…

  • Pre-plan your RFP evaluation

    Tools to help your RFP to set realistic expectations and deliver a focused review. Over our history, ETA has submitted hundreds of proposals for mass transit technology RFPs. We’ve won some, we’ve lost some, and we’ve seen RFPs pulled without warning. Win, lose, or draw our practice is to reach out to transit agencies and…

  • Are you ready to erase paper inspections?

    One of the more popular feature requests we receive for our SPOT™ ITS platform is digital pre-and post-trip inspection, also known as driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIR). It certainly seems that transit operators are eager to transition from manual or paper processes to connected digital logging and report solutions. Historically trip inspection involves four things:…

  • Are your RFPs getting you the responses you want?

    The RFP creation and evaluation process can be troublesome, but if a logical approach and sound strategies inform the type of responses you seek, then it need not be such a cumbersome effort.

  • The sky is the limit with a cloud-hosted ITS.

    By Matt SchroederDirector of Marketing, ETAs

  • Next-generation route management expands options for efficiency.

    By Matt Schroeder Director of Marketing, ETAs As a marketer, I’m constantly exposed to new and interesting facts. Did you know that a transit agency on average spends between two and six months researching new routes? Or how about this one: 44 percent of dispatchers spend at least 30 minutes inputting route changes into the…

  • 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 ETAs 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 your riders…