One of the USA’s leading suppliers of traffic-sensing and vehicle priority control systems has released a new vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) system that allows operators to keep transit fleets running on time and with high efficiency.
Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) has announced the availability of Opticom CVP (Connected Vehicle Platform), the company’s next-generation transit optimization system, which is built with the same powerful and precise algorithms used in Opticom hardware-centric, GPS-enabled systems.
The new platform provides software-based transit signal priority (TSP), schedule adherence, headway management, and other advanced capabilities, helping to ensure transit vehicles adhere to their published timetables. With GTT’s most advanced system to date, transit agencies have the potential to increase rider satisfaction, while dramatically reducing operating costs. The platform also adds cloud-based analytics for more control and insights. As with the company’s other transit system, CVP can provide a quick return on investment for transit agencies by reducing fuel and labor costs, and even has the potential to reduce fleet requirements.
Onboard GPS and radio-enabled units transmit the vehicle’s position using V2I technology to the Opticom CVP platform, which compares the schedule information to the vehicle’s location along the route and requests priority if the bus is late. The CVP combines industry-leading Opticom TSP with route schedule information to keep transit services on time. The CVP offers multiple interface options and allows additional applications to be added as an agency’s needs evolve. Independent studies have shown that the CVP system can: reduce delays at intersections by up to 40%, minimize fuel costs by up to 19%, reduce bus stop delays by up to 43%, and increase ridership by as much as 10%. The system will also improve headway management and route buses evenly along the route.
In addition to the software-based TSP, schedule and headway applications, the Opticom CVP allows transit managers to monitor and maintain system performance from a central location with cloud-based analytics and reporting. Transit managers can monitor such key metrics as on-time performance, and dwell time and travel time by vehicle or route. Users can also assess and maintain system performance, and provide updates to the system from anywhere with internet access using Opticom centralized management software (CMS).
In cities that are already equipped with Opticom for emergency vehicle preemption, the CVP can be easily integrated to include service to their transit fleets. The CVP is designed to support all variations of Opticom TSP, including distributed variants that use infrared and/or GPS intersection infrastructure, centralized architectures, and radio or cell-based communications, including DSRC.
“Our new Opticom CVP is a software-centric platform that, combined with new service and delivery options, is designed to offer agencies maximum flexibility with their implementation,” said GTT’s president, Doug Roberts. “Combining our industry-leading Opticom TSP with built-in active schedule and headway management capabilities, the CVP helps keep transit services on time and performing optimally, in order to minimize travel times, increase predictability and improve on-time metrics.”
