Automated Vehicle Location Fact Sheet: Fixed Route Bus Transit

Technology Overview


Image shows real-time AVL communications using wireless network for GPS. A GPS satellite relays the position of the bus equipped with an odometer gyroscope to a communications center. The dispatch system at the communications center distributes information to other systems (shown are customer assistance, planning and scheduling, and operations analysis).
Illustration of AVL and real-time communication network.
(Source: Automatic Vehicle Location Successful Transit Applications)
Use AVL to:
  • Correct schedule deviations
  • Monitor real-time operations
  • Plan schedules and routes
  • Provide real-time traveler information
  • Enhance onboard safety

Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) systems calculate the real-time location of any vehicle equipped with a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receiver. Data are then transmitted to the transit center through radio or cellular communications and are used immediately to correct scheduling and other operational deviations. Data can also be archived and used for schedule and route planning, reporting, and performance analysis.

AVL systems span a wide range of costs and levels of sophistication. Small fixed-route bus agencies with less than 100 vehicles or on limited budgets can consider web-based, off-the-shelf systems for real-time monitoring. Comprehensive, customized integration of AVL with other systems is most appropriate for large fixed-route bus agencies.

Common Technology Combinations

Daily Operations
AVL and Communications Systems are used by fixed-route bus agencies to monitor on-time performance, reduce bus bunching, and improve adherence to schedules. AVL also enhances Transit Signal Priority (TSP) by detecting buses as they approach intersections. Since only approaching vehicles are granted priority, the impact on cross-street traffic is minimized.

Safety and Security
Many AVL systems incorporate silent alarms, which allow drivers to covertly alert transit management and police of emergency situations. The vehicle location is displayed on a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) map to facilitate incident response

Automatic Vehicle Location Fact Sheet: Fixed Route Bus Transit

Photo of cars in traffic. Photo by Reed Saxon/AP File
AVL can help transit agencies to
reroute vehicles in traffic situations.
(Photo: Reed Saxon/AP File)

Systems Planning and Fleet Management
AVL data can be combined with bus-stop and facility-inventory data and mapped on GIS. These data can also be linked to Automatic Passenger Counters (APC) to gather ridership data by location and time. Archived data are then used for assessing routes, schedules, and facility and fleet requirements.

Traveler Information
When linked to electronic traveler information infrastructure such as variable message signs, an AVL system will provide information on expected arrival times. It can also be integrated with automated stop annunciation.

Electronic Fare Payment
An AVL system will collect fare information by location and can trigger electronic fare boxes to accept different amounts across fare zones.

Maintenance
AVL can be integrated with onboard vehicle component monitoring for real-time status information.

Is this Technology Right for My Agency?



Implementation of AVL can take anywhere from 2-3 years depending on the size of the agency.

Planning

  • Develop a structured procurement plan, performance-oriented requirements, and specifications.
  • Involve staff from various departments and outside stakeholders such as contractors.
  • Visit peers at other transit agencies.

Implementation
The implementation process, from planning to the time that the system becomes operational, can take two to three years for large agencies and less than a year for small agencies. The process includes:

  • Training drivers and dispatchers.
  • Ensuring adequate staff for data analysis.
  • Providing adequate data-storage capacity.

Integration

  • Enable interoperability with existing and planned Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies. (Avoid proprietary interfaces between vehicle and dispatch-center components and look for open standards.)
  • Allow flexibility for changes in fleet size.
  • Upgrade communications system as required; test communications coverage and expect gaps in GPS coverage.

Benefits and Costs


Benefits
Some Reported Benefits
  • Use of AVL and CAD improved on-time performance by 9-23%.
  • Denver's Regional Transportation District (RTD) decreased schedule-related complaints by 26%.
  • Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) saved $40,000 per year in data-collection costs.
  • Successful AVL and CAD implementation can reduce fleet sizes by 2%-5%. Baltimore's Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) reduced its fleet size to meet the same level of service, resulting in savings of $2-3 million per year.
Other Possible Benefits
  • Decreased emergency-response time.
  • Reduced street-supervision labor.


Photo of a bus taking a left turn.
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
(MARTA) saved $40,000 a year in data collection after
the implementation of AVL systems.
Photo courtesy MARTA.
Costs
Equipment and Implementation
  • Onboard GPS cost $500-$2,000 in 2004 U.S. dollars.
  • Equipping a dispatch station ranged from $10,000 to $50,000.
  • Entire system costs, including implementation, vary widely depending on the sophistication of the system, fleet size, and customization, ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 per vehicle (median cost, $8,000 per vehicle).
Operations and Maintenance
  • Annual maintenance costs average 2% of equipment costs. Telecom service fees may be required to relay data on a cellular network.
Staff Requirements
  • Dispatchers will need anywhere from 24 hours to two weeks of training, while operators will require only a few hours.
  • A data analyst will need to be hired at an average fully loaded cost of $75,000 per year.


Some costs of implementing an AVL system will not be directly related to equipment, such as staff to analyze the data collected and telecommunications services to relay information.

Fixed Route Bus Transit Agency Deployments


Agency Name Contact Information Buses Deployment Context Success of Deployment
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) 2424 Piedmont Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30324-3311		 242 AVL and CADS deployed. High implementation costs as well as savings from operations and data collection.
Regional Transportation District (RTD) 1600 Blake Street
Denver, CO 80202
303.628.9000		 1,036 Integration with Mobile Data Terminals (MDT), CAD, remote diagnostic systems, silent alarms, and a communications upgrade. Significant implementation costs. Major improvements in on-time performance, shorter incident-response times.
Ann Arbor Transportation Authority 2700 S. Industrial Hwy.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734.973.6500		 82 Deployed in stages. Integration with CAD, MDTs, remote diagnostics, and silent alarms. Improved on-time departures but not arrivals. Initially, major errors in vehicle location data.
County of Lackawanna Transit North South Rd.
Scranton, PA 18504
570.346.2061		 32 Deployed basic AVL in about 9 months.  

Additional Resources


Historic Union Station in Denver, which serves as a transportation hub.
Denver’s historic Union Station is the transportation hub
of the city, coordinating over 1,000 buses with use of
AVL technologies. (Photo courtesy of FHWA)

Reports

Okunieff, P.E. TCRP Synthesis of Transit Practice 24: AVL Systems for Bus Transit. Transportation Research Board, National Research Council. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997.

Schweiger, C. L. TCRP Synthesis 48: Real-Time Bus Arrival Information Systems. Transportation Research Board, National Research Council. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2003.

Weatherford, Matt. Assessment of the Denver Regional Transportation District Automatic Vehicle Location System. 2000

Websites

USDOT ITS Databases