Real-Time Passenger Information (RTPI) for an efficient Public Transportation System in Los Angeles
In Los Angeles like many urban areas, transit users often ask the common questions of, “What bus do I need to get on?” “When is the bus coming?” and “Where is the bus right now?” Public transportation service is an essential need for many residents in the city. In order to provide better service and attract more riders, transit service must not only maintain low cost in fares but also have reliable travel time.
As most urban cities face challenges in travel time reliability, this article introduces a well-developed Real-Time Passenger Information (RTPI) system will provide transit riders with a more convenient service. RTPI is up-to-date information on departure and arrival times, as well as service disruptions to help passengers plan more efficient trips. RTPI predicts times based on Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) data, incorporating historic averages and schedule deviations. Then, the information is accessible to users through different interfaces such as websites, texts, electronic signs at bus stops, and smartphone applications. This information improves the riders’ experience through providing current schedule information, which includes time of departure and arrival, location of bus and train, and service exceptions including detours and delays.
Real-Time Passenger Information Delivery Process
Open data & Crowd sourcing
Open and shared data is becoming essential in creating a more efficient system. As the city receives passenger ridership data, sharing the data through an application programming interface (API) will allow the service to talk to other services.
Passive and Active Crowd sourcing: Through using both passive and active crowd sourcing to a device or interface, data will be collected and processed. With the data collected, the system will be able to provide real-time passenger information, ultimately improving the transportation network efficiency. In addition, crowdsourcing could also be a way to collect feedback about improved experiences. However, the need to bridge the digital divide throughout the city must be addressed and solved, which is discussed further in the long-term plan.
Allowing both open and shared data and crowd sourcing will create an accurate platform that users can use. Furthermore, in the future, buses could potentially be dynamically routed based on congestion and demand.
Outsource to 3rd party multi-modal trip planning application
The County of Los Angeles has 88 cities and multiple transit agencies throughout the different cities. For this reason, rather than relying on one specific vendor to provide an app, website, or single solution, Los Angeles should have an open approach to allow and support a 3rd party multi-modal trip planning application. Applications like Transit and City Mapper are examples of a 3rd party multi modal trip planning application. There are few reasons that this approach will be beneficial to a city like Los Angeles. There are multiple transit agencies and services including Amtrak, Metro Rail, Metrolink, Metro Bus and Los Angeles Dash Bus. If each agency has its own app or vendor, users will find it inconvenient to download or view the real-time information on different sources. Multi modal trip planner will provide the end user’s with a more convenient experience. Whether the user is taking the train or bus, the system will include all types of modes and predicted time to complete a trip. Standardization is possible with this approach because RTPI will be under one standard system instead of using providing data to users in different formats. For example, General Transit Feed Specification is one format that lets public transit agencies publish their data and developers write applications using the data. Google maps is a popular example of an app utilizing General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS).
Metrics that Assess Effect of Real-Time Transit Information
· Metric 1: Ridership: Is there an increase in ridership after providing the RTPI service? Do people use it as part of their trip planning process?
· Metric 2: Wait time: Do people wait less at the stations now that they know when the bus or train is arriving?
· Metric 3: Fare revenue: What is the new fare box recovery ratio? Is there an increase in fare revenue due to increase in ridership?
· Metric 4: Rider Satisfaction: Are riders happy with their transit experiences?
Next Steps in Real-Time Information Technology
Short-term Plan (1–2 years)
o A Plan for Marketing: Marking and educating riders will be essential. As more people use the application and sources, the more accurate and supported the system will be through open data and crowdsourcing. Using the application should make it convenient and memorable for the riders. Maximizing riders use and positive experience through this application is crucial. Then, the application will increase Return On Investment (ROI) on real-time Passenger Information investment, which will bring better services to the users at the end.
Long-term Plan (3–5 years)
o A Plan for Communities: Ensuring that this policy and technological development is serving the various demographics and socio-economic groups. At all time, including an equity element to address the “opportunity gap” between choice riders and riders using it as a social service in Los Angeles County and how this transportation technology will assist in bringing that gap.
o A Plan to Manage: Although it is just an online platform that will be developed, addressing the transportation core of operations, safety and security is important. Operation of on-time performance is crucial for reliable transit service. Using the given data, safety and security of not only the server but the riders can improve as well.
o A Plan to Serve: Identifying and coordinating multiple planning and programming activities impacting Equity, Economy and the Environment through this technological development will be essential to serve the wide population of Los Angeles.
o A Plan to Build: Although this is not an infrastructure project, technology always changes and improves, therefore having priorities, project delivery and preparing for innovation is essential in implementing this policy.
o A Plan to Fund: Determine and prioritize the investment needed for the entire plan including resources and costs. The city should also put priorities where funding gaps are anticipated, such as station display machines. Because many transit users in Los Angeles do not have mobile devices, having real-time information display screens is essential to deliver information in an equitable method. To implement the system at all stations across the city, a program where people or community groups adopt a stop to provide on-site real-time arrival information could be helpful.
There is a high potential for RTPI in many cities worldwide. Widening use of smartphone, high urbanization rates, and rapid evolution of technologies are factors that support the need for RTPI. Although open data and standards are not easy to provide immediately, transit agencies can begin with venturing into what is possible through utilizing the current and future technology. Access to real-time information is a great benefit to people and cities, and will improve the efficiency and quality of the public transportation system in Los Angeles.
