The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA), the public transport operator for New York State capital Albany, is to implement a new Intelligent Transportation Management System (ITMS) across its entire fixed-route fleet, as part of a major upgrade to its operations.
With the long-term goal of increasing citywide ridership and taking vehicles off the road, CDTA has re-appointed the German ITS provider for public transportation, Init, to provide the overhaul. The partnership between CDTA and Init initially began in 2005, with a then state-of-the-art fleet management and real-time passenger information (RTPI) system.
The new contract will modernize CDTA’s existing fleet management system to a cloud-hosted system, upgrade the automatic passenger counting system, and deploy real-time passenger infotainment displays on board and at various stop locations.
CDTA currently delivers services to more than 800,000 people who live and work in the region, transporting more than 55,000 customers each weekday. CDTA customers will now have their choice of real-time information channels; a mobile app; a user-friendly website; wayside and onboard signage; and an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. The contract also includes onboard wi-fi for passengers to further enhance the travel experience.
As part of the project, Init will also supply a remote dispatching tablet application for field supervisors, and new software upgrades for dispatchers and operators. They will enjoy a redesigned user experience for communications, managing operations, executing various service restoration measures and more. The intuitive design will minimize training and increase usage.
The project also includes business intelligence tools to convert the operational data, such as on-time performance, passenger miles, and real-time communications, into actionable information. The dashboards and data visualization tools will display the current status of metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) for the agency’s decision makers. To ensure a successful implementation of the technology, Init will provide extensive operational consulting to CDTA, which will begin with benchmarking during the design, continue with assessments during deployment, and carry on after system acceptance into the warranty.
Init will use the results to report to CDTA to keep the system usage aligned with the agency’s goals and objectives. Due to the ongoing partnership with Init, CDTA is uniquely able to transition to the new system without interruption. Throughout the entire migration process, normal operations will be maintained, further enhancing passenger convenience.
Thomas Guggisberg, CDTA’s director of information technology, commented, “We are committed to growing our Navigator brand with Init as our partner, by providing a groundbreaking transit technology innovation platform designed to meet the needs of our customers for many years to come.”
