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Maryland Transit Administration

Improving Mobility Through Centralized Service Management

Snapshot

Type of Operation: paratransit service
Trapeze Products Used: demand response scheduling and dispatch system, coordinated transportation module, interface to mobile computing
On-Time Performance Spring 2003: 76%
On-Time Performance Spring 2005: 92%
Trips per Month Spring 2003: 38,000
Trips per Month Spring 2005: 52,000
Reduction in Complaints per Month: 37%

Background

Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) provides safe, convenient and affordable alternatives to traveling by automobile to millions of people in central Maryland each year. In addition to local bus, subway, light rail, commuter bus and train services, MTA operates Mobility, a shared ride, demand response service that provides ADA paratransit transport to eligible seniors and people with disabilities.

Business Challenges

In 2003 Mobility faced a number of challenges that required immediate attention and creative solutions. One of the most pressing issues was the need to improve the reliability and punctuality of the service. On-time performance had reached an unacceptable low; only 76 percent of scheduled trips were arriving within the scheduled window of time.

Partly because of the poor on-time performance, the number of complaints MTA was receiving each month was troublingly high—several hundred per month. According to John Smolenski, Director of Mobility, who joined Mobility in January 2004 to help resolve the challenges, “We were failing in our mandate to provide a convenient and reliable alternative to regular public transit, and the public was losing faith in the system.”

To compound the problems, MTA was facing a number of lawsuits, including a class action lawsuit from Mobility users. As well, an investigation was underway by the Federal Transportation Association (FTA) in conjunction with the Department of Justice. An audit performed by the FTA in 2002 indicated that the service was deficient in 54 separate areas. The transit authority was concerned that, because of these issues, the FTA would begin withholding funding.

Objectives

Faced with an obvious need to reform the system, the MTA developed a number of specific objectives. First, the on-time rate would have to improve substantially—above 90 percent—without compromising safety standards. MTA also sought to reduce considerably passenger complaints, which currently numbered in the hundreds.

In addition to being able to schedule trips more accurately, MTA wanted to schedule them more efficiently. The agency foresaw a growing demand for paratransit services in the future, and resources that would not necessarily be able to keep up with demand.

According to Mr. Smolenski, another goal was to streamline daily operations in the control center. “Going into a day of service, we could have as many as 200 unscheduled trips. We typically accommodated those trips through same-day cancellations or no-shows. We wanted to reduce the number of unscheduled trips to enable dispatchers to focus on other issues and to produce better, more efficient schedules.”

Lastly, MTA sought to improve the overall safety and security of the service In part this could be achieved by tracking the exact location of vehicles at all times and keeping in touch with vehicle operators through radio and data communication.

Solution

In the second half of 2003, the MTA began working on new service delivery model for Mobility, and switched over in January 2004. The new mode of operation involved a new, centralized control center and a fleet of vehicles dedicated to Mobility clients.

MTA released an emergency bid, which resulted in the agency contracting with two service providers. Additional staff were hired, and the agency purchased 98 new vehicles. Within the new model, MTA provides all vehicles and equipment in addition to scheduling and dispatching all trips. The service providers perform approximately 80 percent of the scheduled trips, while the MTA is responsible for the remaining 20 percent.

Technology is critical to the solution and has contributed importantly to its success.

The MTA has been a long-time user of the Trapeze PASS system, migrating from the DOS to Windows application in 2001. In addition to using Trapeze in the call center and scheduling department, Mobility now uses PASS in the centralized control center to dispatch all trips. In order to meet their on-time performance and security objectives, the MTA equipped all vehicles in the fleet with both GPS hardware and mobile data terminals (MDTs).

MTA is also using ‘smartcards,’ though not yet for electronic faring. The cards enable MTA to track the location of clients at all times and to know precisely when pick ups and drop offs have occurred.

Mobility operates on a coordinated transportation model; the various service providers connect securely to the centralized scheduling system via a Citrix connection. To ensure that the providers only have access to their work for the day, the MTA has implemented the Trapeze PASS-CT module, which ensures that the different providers cannot access trips that are not assigned to them.

Training also contributed importantly to the success of the solution. The training provided by Trapeze helped smooth what might have been a rough transition, with many new players, new technology, and existing employees and providers who might have been resistant to change.

Results

The new control center was turned on in July of 2004, and by the spring of 2005 the situation had greatly changed. The on-time performance rate had increased from 76 to 92 percent, while the volume of trips per month had increased from 38,000 to more than 52,000.

Mobility has also seen a 37 percent drop in the number of complaints in the same six-month period. The agency is receiving compliments as well for its prompt, courteous and accommodating service.

“Trapeze has been a major contributor to turning around our operation,” Mr. Smolenski enthuses, “People are coming back to paratransit in Maryland, and that is exactly what we set out to do.”
As a result of the Trapeze back office system and the in-vehicle technology, dispatching the service has become much more efficient. There are now only a few unscheduled trips to deal with on a daily basis instead of hundreds.

With the old, voice-based system, a dispatcher might be able to manage 25 to 30 routes. Productivity has more than doubled because of the new control center software and the mobile data communication capabilities. One controller can dispatch all work for an entire provider—or anywhere from 50 to 80 routes.

The Trapeze system also arms MTA with better, more complete information about the day-to-day operation of the paratransit service. The integration of mobile data communication and vehicle location data with the scheduling and dispatch system makes it easier to keep track of what is happening on the street. It also makes it easier to investigate issues after the fact; when a problem arises, MTA can easily identify who operated the vehicle and when and where the situation occurred.

Future Plans

Plans are in place to upgrade the agency’s mobile computing solution, installing Windows CE devices with integrated GPS across the entire fleet and upgrading the communication network.

Mobility users will soon have more convenient options for planning and managing their trips. A web-based solution is being implemented that allows clients to book, confirm and cancel trips on the Internet, and securely access and change some of their personal information.

There are also plans to implement an automated telephone system that uses interactive voice response technology to enable clients to manage their travel and receive automatic call-back reminders for upcoming trips.

MTA is also looking at using Trapeze to coordinate the Mobility service with demand response programs run by locally operated transportation services (LOTS) throughout the State of Maryland. By extending the Trapeze system and providing a state-wide, integrated solution for scheduling and dispatch, MTA could get close to realizing a dream of seamless transportation service across the state.

Bottom Line

The solution Trapeze and its technology partners implemented for Mobility is delivering the value it promised by improving on-time performance, increasing customer satisfaction, accommodating growth and improving the overall quality of service.