Communication System Upgrade for Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Increased Data Transmission Frequency by 75 Percent, Leading to More Reliable Real-time Data.
The Replacement and Upgrade of Radio and Vehicle Locating System in More Than 500 Transit Vehicles in Cleveland Revealed Productivity Benefits.
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Final Report
Summary Information
Public transit vehicles operated by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) are equipped with radios and computers to ensure communication to each operator along with vehicle location. As RTA's radio system was last updated in 2001, it was no longer supported by most vendors and many components could not be purchased/replaced, creating major safety issues for RTA.
Using funding granted through the Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) Program, RTA replaced and upgraded their communication and CAD/AVL system over a 14- month period (July 2019 – September 2020) to provide safe and reliable radio communication while enhancing technology for riders.
METHODOLOGY
The communications system upgrades outlined in this study included radio replacement within the transit vehicles, on-board computer equipment installation, and the utilization of Multi-Agency Radio Communication System (MARCS) and cellular service to transmit data to transit vehicles. Prior to installing any equipment on vehicles, RTA upgraded infrastructure, trained team members on new equipment, programmed routers and radios, and ensured proper vehicle designs. With more than 500 vehicles, more than 70 pallets of equipment were inventoried, stored, transported, programmed, tagged, and staged for installation.
FINDINGS
- Results showed that the communication system upgrade outlined in this study ensured more than 90 percent accurate real-time transit information.
- The upgraded communication system improved the data transmission frequency by 75 percent, reducing the interval between data transmissions from 60 seconds to 15 seconds.
- After the upgrade, RTA also experienced an 86 percent reduction in “no audio” defects (resulting from dead zones) in its communications system.
