As described in Friday’s INSIDEINFO, six vehicles equipped
with a new radio and Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) pulled out of Merlo into
revenue service. The purpose of this pilot is to test the system in
revenue service to find and correct any issues reported by operators and
dispatchers prior to full fleet installation.
This pilot signifies the beginning of a new era that will improve
service to our customers and communication with operators. The
replacement of our current—and very outdated system -- will give
Dispatchers the ability to see the whole system at a glance and to make
quick adjustments to our service. Operators will have better screens to
view, no more data cards to keep track of, improved voice quality and
quicker response time from supervisors to concerns they are having on
the road. Maintenance should see fewer road calls with improved
monitoring of bus performance resulting in better detection and
reporting of failures. The result will be higher quality service and
more satisfied customers.
There are three phases to having the system fully functional. Phase 1
includes this pilot and any fixes that may be needed. Phase 2, in
January 2013, includes completion of fleet installation. In Phase 3 new
ticket printers – with clearer and easier to reach tickets and
transfers will be installed and functional in June 2013. Also, there
will be a parallel process for LIFT and the non-revenue and light rail
fleet once the fixed route fleet installation is complete.
The benefits we will see with this new system are vast. Over the
next several months you will continue to hear about our progress.
And will there be performance tracking of this to ensure that the $30 million spent will result in all of the improvements outlined - and if not, there will be heads rolling (up to and including McFarlane)?
ReplyDeleteOh, wait, this is TriMet. Failure to meet performance expectations is a "success". Nobody got fired for WES.