Cost-Cutting Measure

Osborn says the industry is starting to see more utilization of RFID technology. “A bus comes in; there is an RF tag that has different readings, whether it is the speed or the distance it drove that day. That data is now transmitted automatically to the computer.”

Schnepp explains, “These RFID tags are real cheap now, they are pennies on the dollar. They sit here and emit ‘I’m signal box 456. I was built on this day. Here is a component list of what I have in me.’ Very basic information, but really good information.”

Making this software and technology more accessible to mid- and small-sized systems was also mentioned as an important focus for the future. Miller mentions one solution that has happened in other industries, “There is so much to know and there is so much to learn, having that offered as a service is something that they can subcontract out or outsource. That is hopefully a trend that I think will happen.”

All of the directions the technology is headed, it is towards making it easier to use, more affordable and to provide better information. Miller sums it up, “Our goal is to really make that easier for them and not harder.”