Conduent Transportation has been selected by southern California transportation agencies to operate their fleets and provide quality, on-time service under two contracts where the company will upgrade hardware and software for the management system on board buses for the San Diego Metroplitan Transit System (MTS), North County Transit District (NCTD) and parts of Orange County Transportation Authority’s (OCTA) system.
The agencies will utilize Conduent’s computer-aided dispatch/automatic vehicle location (CAD/AVL) solution to assist drivers with routing and keep buses on schedule, as well as provide real-time vehicle information on bus locations for passengers to make informed decisions. For dispatch personnel, the systems track the performance of the buses and enable effective communications with the fleet.
“These upgrades are critically important for our clients and their customers,” said John Peracchio, interim CEO of Conduent Transportation. “The newer systems will give the agencies more data and options for operations to run smoothly, leading to even more reliable and trusted service for riders.”
San Diego
In San Diego, the upgrades will be performed on 375 buses operated by MTS and another 155 buses operated by NCTD. The work will entail the first large-scale deployment of the company’s advanced Integrated Vehicle Unit (IVU)-4000 version of CAD/AVL. The IVU-4000 on-board system, coupled with key upgrades, will provide an enhanced user experience for drivers and less workload for dispatchers, so they can offer a better overall performance for passengers.
Orange County
In Orange County, Conduent will perform for OCTA key software upgrades on the CAD/AVL system, and will work with the authority to develop and pilot a first-of-its-kind bus communications capability based upon Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). This updated technology will leverage the IVU-4000 system’s enhanced capabilities, coupled with cellular communications, to allow dispatchers to more efficiently communicate with operators. The initial pilot will be conducted on 12 OCTA buses to test the functionality and reliability of the VOIP solution, with the goal of migrating the entire fleet to the new technology.
The contracts mark an extension of Conduent’s ongoing work with the two agencies.
Los Angeles Region
The company also provides fleet management solutions for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro), in addition to a range of other transportation services across the region in support of transit, public parking, tolling and safety programs.
For example, the company provides dynamic pricing software and hardware for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s L.A. Express Park™ program. The on-street parking technology enables the agency to manage curbside usage, improving access to spaces and increasing turnover, ultimately reducing congestion.
The company also helps to ease travel across Los Angeles County by modernizing the tolling system on L.A. Metro Express Lanes with the latest in automated technologies. Through a recent contract with L.A. Metro, the company’s upgrades will save drivers time via reduced congestion, while improving safety on both the I-10 and I-110 corridors.