The MT Position

By Kevin Connor
Across the board, agencies are being challenged by the Obama Administration to achieve mission goals with less money. In January’s address to the nation, the President proposed freezing annual domestic spending for the next five years, starting this year.
As the country focuses on the economy, mobility and the environment, making the case for transit investments is paramount. By linking funding decisions to strategic goals, we can demonstrate the benefits of transit capital investments.
Prioritizing projects and gaining buy-in, however, are complex budgetary challenges. They often result in an equally complex cycle of dysfunctional decision-making and poor outcomes.
Agencies must improve collaboration and transparency for greater efficiency and effectiveness of decisions.  With process and structure, organizations with complex multi-stakeholder, multi-criteria decisions, can find a course of action and create value.
Here are five ways to improve budgeting decisions.
1.    Set the goals and objectives of the decision, and develop a decision framework before evaluating options
Avoid debate and stay focused when evaluating options. Establish a decision goal and have a collaborative discussion about the factors that should influence the decision. Then evaluate alternatives within this framework. Forcing decision makers to establish their priorities against a goal and then holding projects to that test overcomes power-driven arguments and limits arguments for pet projects.
2.    Involve an appropriately broad number of stakeholders in the decision process based on the decision framework
Asymmetric information (complementary information known by different people) is a decision risk. Develop defined key decision criteria. Then prioritize criteria and engage relevant subject matter experts on how the options perform against those criteria.  This broadens participation in critical decisions and gets the best possible information to inform the decision.
3.    Set roles for participants across/within the process, then divide and conquer
Many organizations do not know how they make a decision. Is the group making a recommendation, or are the decision makers themselves? Look at the nature of the decisions and the process of determining and weighting criteria, proposing options, and evaluating options against the criteria. Then assign those activities to the people or groups best suited to them.
4.    Understand key interdependencies among projects and consider sequencing of their start times.
Are there dependencies among projects? Do they need to be done together to realize their value, or are they competing solutions to the same problem?  Often, an activity may be funded in one area while the project’s enablers or beneficiaries are ranked lower in another.  Independent solutions to similar problems may be pursued without considering how to combine efforts to improve efficiency, project integration and knowledge sharing.  Mapping interdependencies is critical to creating a valuable pipeline without risking delay or wasted efforts against larger goals.
5.    Explore scenarios to compare and contrast possible future courses of action
There is no “one right answer” to a budget portfolio decision. All decisions are largely predictions based on forecasts and projections; there is no real way to know the single best choice.  Consider scenarios that change assumptions in the constraints, costs and value of the portfolio.  A proven process (like the Analytic Hierarchy Process, for example) can structure and aggregate information, and map the relative importance of cost, dependencies and other key criteria.
To sum up: Structure decisions, and crowd-source insights. Then review priorities as well as the data and opinions of their organizations. These steps allow agencies to focus discussion on a limited number of trade-offs and information requirements, creating the level of comfort needed to move forward.

Kevin Connor is Vice President of Decision Lens’ Solutions Group. He can be reached at kconnor@decisionlens.com.

By Dale Smith

Digital transportation signage can be a goldmine for marketers, as well as a practical source of information and a useful distraction for commuters and travelers. Whether by plane, train, bus or boat, passengers are standing in ticket lines, waiting to board, or confined to their chosen mode of transport for extended periods. Opportunities for finding the ‘dwell zones’ where people will pause to watch a video display abound.

But so do the challenges. Factors such as public safety, vibration, dust, temperature variations, display proximity to passengers, and the risk of vandalism and theft in the public space must be taken into account in choosing both the displays and the mounting hardware. Content must be tailored to longer viewing times and repeat trips. And so on.

How do you do it? In basic terms, there are five R’s to help ensure smooth takeoff for your transportation signage project.

1 – The Right display
It goes without saying that you need to match the display size to the application, but you also need a unit that can withstand the grime of a subway, the paws of thousands of bus passengers, extreme heat or cold, and other conditions not typically encountered in digital signage jobs.

Depending on the specific site or vehicle as well as factors like display height, you may need a ruggedized enclosure, a thicker viewing screen, a housing with security locks, or other special design features to ensure reliability.

2 – The Right mount
In addition to selecting a flat, tilt, pivot or articulating mount to fit the specific space, you need to be sure that the mounting hardware provides safety, security and durability. This is true in a terminal concourse – where a mount failure could be catastrophic – as well as for displays installed in shaking trains, turbulent planes, bumpy buses and cruise ships navigating choppy waters.

Is the mount UL listed to hold 400 percent of maximum weight capacity? Does it have built-in tamper-proof and/or safety features such as latches, locking screws and spring clips to thwart theft and hold it firmly in place? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

3 – The Right testing
In any transportation setting, digital signage systems must be thoroughly tested prior to deployment to pinpoint performance problems related to the environmental conditions or the safety challenges of hanging a 200-pound glass and steel structure in a high-traffic area.

4 – The Right location
As always, displays must be placed where they can be easily, safely and securely viewed as well as serviced, replaced and updated without difficulty. Whether you’re dealing with in-vehicle displays, wayfinding signage or video screens used to keep waiting passengers occupied at terminal gates, successful ‘screen spotting’ will help determine the effectiveness of your deployment.

5 – The Right content
While some transportation applications require nothing more than pure travel information such as flight and gate, others must provide value-added content such as a mix of news, weather, sports and marketing message, or in-depth information that enhances the tour bus experience. Variables such as having a captive audience for a longer period of time, or a commuter audience with the same daily schedule, must shape the content design.

Whatever the details, there is a lot at stake. A poor implementation can injure passengers, anger advertisers, or otherwise fall short of goals. A successful one will smoothly direct commuters and travelers, provide real-time schedule information, reduce frustration during wait times, and otherwise make for a better travel experience.

Dale Smith is managing director of Sales for Peerless Industries, a designer and manufacturer of audiovisual mounting solutions.  He can be reached by email at DSmith@peerlessmounts.com.

By Brian Stein

Already operating at a deficit, many public transportation organizations are being tasked with achieving “more with less.” Now, as they strive to improve the quality and efficiency of the services they provide, they must also balance intense budgetary pressures with surging demand for public transport options. To put this in perspective, the American Public Transit Association (APTA) reports 10.2 billion trips were taken in 2008, up from 7.7 billion in 1995 .

Against this backdrop, increasing numbers of transit authorities are turning to data analytics to provide them with critical strategic insights into passenger demand trends, scheduling, fare collection and underlying business efficiency.

Held Back by Siloed Information

Until recently, transit authorities have depended on manual methods for collecting, analyzing and reporting core information on passenger levels. With technologies and databases for each core function separately procured and individually managed, this was an inefficient, resource-intensive process.

Just as important, the lack of interoperability between these siloed databases prevented organizations from leveraging the totality of the data at their disposal to optimize decision-making.

”Connecting” the Data

To take their performance to the next level, leading organizations have focused on connecting this data, creating integrated information supply chains that can be mined for strategic insights. The key to their success lies in overlaying this “joined-up” data with predictive analytics capabilities that can optimize decisions.

The good news? Predictive analytics capabilities are now readily available and widely used. Often building on pre-existing investments in ERP systems and integration solutions, these breakthrough capabilities connect key decision makers with targeted – often real-time – data and insights that transform operational effectiveness.

Instead of using their data to answer “What happened?” predictive analytics moves decision makers to instead ask “What’s the best that can happen?”

Enabling Rapid, Fact-Based Interventions

Guesswork and anecdotal evidence become redundant. At any given time, management has instant access to detailed information on usage and performance metrics, including passenger numbers, failure rates and vehicle runtimes. Rapid fact-based interventions are a reality, with “What if?” scenarios being run at will to determine where new routes are needed or where service cutbacks make commercial sense.

The recent example of one major metropolitan transportation authority highlights the scale of benefits available. This organization was facing a substantial budget deficit that made rapid cost-reduction a priority. By using analytics, it was able to identify significant savings. This analytics-focused approach included evaluating the existing operating project pipeline and securing valuable insights into procurement processes.

In another example, a leading European rail transport organization used predictive analytics capabilities to establish its passenger branch as a profitable and preferred option for the travelling public. Needing to aggressively sell itself as a company, while still competing on price, this organization embedded analytics to provide critical insights into customer behaviors, pricing, products and services. As a result, the consistency, efficiency and flexibility of its overall service provision has significantly been boosted.

Confronting the Data Challenge

The scale of the data challenge facing public transit organizations should not be underestimated. In a 2009 Accenture survey of 600 U.K. and U.S. blue-chip companies, two-thirds of the respondents cited “getting their data in order” as an immediate priority. Around 40 percent said their current technological resources and systems highly hindered the effective use of enterprise-wide analytics.

To ensure their organizations can seize the benefits of predictive analytics, management in public transit authorities should be taking the initiative with a couple of steps. First, setting the correct “tone from the top” by demonstrating their commitment to fact-based decision making. And second, by working with IT to enable seamless interoperability between systems, as well as embedding analytics into core decision-making processes.

Technology is a vital catalyst, but organizations that succeed in this area are doing much more than buying and implementing technology. Crucially, they focus on making analytics integral to the way their people think, work and make decisions.

Also, their IT organizations play an active role in the wider business, taking the time to understand what information is needed, before delivering the analytical tools and systems required to best leverage that information to improve business outcomes. And they nurture and develop analytical talent to ensure their investments in analytics capabilities generate sustainable, long-term strategic returns.

The Power of Analytics

Advances in technology and access to cloud computing mean predictive analytics capabilities are now well within reach for public transportation organizations across the United States. Their introduction can have truly transformational results. In addition to enabling urgently needed new opportunities for revenue generation, customer-centricity and service improvements, they can be used to introduce step-changes in passenger security. In the UK, for instance, smart surveillance uses complex algorithms to detect suspicious behavior in public places, automatically reporting any suspicious incidents to surveillance operators.

With the United States’ transport infrastructure under unprecedented strain, public transport authorities must identify ways of facilitating mass transit, while driving efficiencies and responsiveness into the heart of their operations. Through the combination of data integration and analytics, these are realistic, affordable objectives.

Brian Stein is the business development lead for public transit at Accenture.

By Deeta Bernstein
When the LEED AP + Specialty credential was introduced, I was the first “legacy” LEED AP on my block to sign up. I did this in part to be the test case for my team so that I could gain insight and hopefully make their experiences easier. While my newly re-tooled credential sat waiting for further action, the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) formalized additional tools and strategies related to credential maintenance; this was one instance where delay was a good thing.
When I circled back to start recording my credential maintenance efforts, I found there was a learning curve — getting through the login process, using the reporting/tracking portal and understanding the categories that GBCI uses for prescriptive credential maintenance, all take some getting used-to. The online tutorials were helpful, and I learned much through trial and error.
Finding acceptable continuing education (CE) hours, on the other hand, has been fairly easy.  With seven months left in my initial reporting period, I am about 3/4 of the way complete. Most of my CE hours were obtained through live (mostly brown bag) presentations, most of which were free. I have not tried to submit for any LEED project experience credits yet.
Some impressions:
You will probably have to call GBCI to get started if: (1) You took the LEED AP exam before 2007, and have never updated your credentials on-line, or (2) You log-in to My Credentials and don’t see any reference to Record Type: Credentialed or LEED AP certified since (date).
I was pleasantly surprised at how much cross-over there is between continuing education presentations approved by other bodies (ie: AIA) in many areas of knowledge, and what was accepted by GBCI.
There are many opportunities for free and low-cost general CE’s; however, there are fewer LEED-specific presentations that are free or of nominal cost.
Consider creating your own spreadsheet to track and edit all of the components of each CE presentation before inputting them. Then just copy and paste into the on-line form. I did this after I lost partially developed credit information several times on the Credentialing input portal.
Finally, unless you like taking tests, there is no time like the present to enroll in credential maintenance. Once your enrollment window closes, you will have to retake the test to have the new LEED AP + Specialty credential that you can get now with no test. Chances are you already attend presentations or are doing credential maintenance for another license or certification that can be applied to your LEED AP + Specialty, so you can maintain both credentials with a minimum of extra work!

Deeta Bernstein, LEED AP is a senior project manager at Cotter Consulting Inc. Trained as an architect, Bernstein has extensive project management experience.

Bernstein received her master’s degree in architecture from the University of Wisconsin, where her master’s project focused on sustainable design.  She holds a Bachelor’s degree in biological basis of behavior from the University of Pennsylvania.

By Gerry Mooney

There’s no shortage of data when it comes to transportation. Mountains of it are being generated by buses and trains, cars, roads, sensors, parking meters, signals – you name it.

Add in the constraints of the system and the realities of your infrastructure and it can seem like a never-ending race to keep the trains and buses running on time or the traffic running smoothly.

Advanced technologies are already making transportation smarter – from algorithms that can help predict when and where traffic will occur before it’s a problem to software that can help determine when to take a train care out of service for maintenance before an issue develops.

But what does the future hold?

A glimpse can be seen this week in what’s sure to be a battle for the ages. An IBM computing system named Watson is taking on two of the greatest champions – Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter – on one of America’s most popular quiz shows “Jeopardy!.”

It’s about more than winning a game. Watson represents a huge leap forward for how we can manage and make sense of massive amounts of information. With the ability to analyze the meaning and context of human language and quickly process information to suggest answers to questions posed in natural language, it has the potential applications in many fields including transportation.

Watson-like capabilities can help transportation operators make more informed decisions, in real-time, faster than traffic on a good day. Perhaps the technology could even enable commuters to ask – what’s the best way to get from point A to point B?

Snow, ice, rain. Inclement weather means that travel patterns can be vastly different than on a normal day. The peak period of capacity can quickly shift – typically busy roads are empty or a quiet subway is now packed. A system with Watson’s capabilities could help an operator quickly determine the right amount of train cars, how to manage traffic flow or recommend the best way to alter the bus or commuter rail schedule to handle the quickly changing travel patterns.

You get off the bus and see the train heading out of the station. It’s happened to all of us. The ability to seamlessly coordinate inter-modal transportation is a tough balance between schedules, the number of potential passengers and more. Watson-like capabilities could help operators see patterns in the traffic and real-time information based on current passenger demand to ask things like: “What happens if we delay this train for a minute or two because the bus that most of our passengers use to get to this station is running late and the next train isn’t for 20 minutes?”

Even as commuters, we experience information overload. Today we can look through publically available transit schedules, where road work is happening, real-time updates from traffic sites, travel providers and search engines. On top of that, any number of social media tools like Facebook, Twitter or Roadify can report on how traffic is at a moment in time. A Watson-like technology could be integrated with all of these streams of structured and unstructured data and into the transportation network, connected to road sensors, predictive analytics systems, public transit and more. This could inform a commuter’s decision on what route to take or what the best connection would be to make given what train or bus will arrive next.

In a traffic command center, Watson could help transit operations ask “am I missing something?” Outside factors – like a sporting event, a parade or a demonstration – can also impact what decisions are made to manage traffic, but often aren’t known far in advance and might not be in the models typically used. Operators could query how these might affect their different options like signal or speed limit changes, lane closures or the effect of metering and dynamic pricing in correlation with the data they are already tracking. This additional information could help them make more informed decisions on how to avoid congestion.

Could we better connect public transit with air travel, railroads, cars, etc. for a more seamless journey? Perhaps a Watson-like system could help us sort through and then refine what the best option might be when faced with a multitude of options for transit modes, a variety of connections, the different scenarios involving departure and arrival time and a variety of other criteria.

The possibilities are endless. It will be exciting to see what comes next no matter who ends up in the Winner’s Circle.

Gerry Mooney is the general manager, Global Government & Education, at IBM.

By Denise MacDonell
Wouldn’t it be great to watch real news, sports and live programming while on your commute to and from work? Never having to miss an episode of your favorite show or footage of the latest sporting, world or local news event happening in your community right now?  Well now it is possible.

In the Spring of 2009, Harris Corporation, in partnership with WRAL in Raleigh, N.C.,  and LG Electronics, launched the first over-the-air broadcast of mobile DTV to the general public broadcasting to a fleet of 20 public transit buses in the city. Using Harris Corporation’s MPH system to simulcast WRAL’s live channel,  and mobile DTV receivers and Harris Infocaster Digital Signage systems installed on the buses, the live mobile broadcast, mobile digital signage solution was airing in Raleigh.
On the buses, Harris Infocaster Digital Signage systems were broadcasting the live WRAL feed to two LG flat screen TVs, surrounded by other, monetizable content, such as sponsored Dopplar weather data, news tickers, public safety announcements and other local advertising. All of the content that surrounded the live broadcast was updated in real-time using a cellular data network.
This mobile DTV and digital signage deployment enables the city of Raleigh to provide an engaging and unique service to its passengers, a new vehicle for displaying public safety alerts as needed, while also providing a new source of content monetization and local advertising that did not exist in the past.
Learn more about this exciting new Digital Signage implementation at the Digital Signage Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center. I will be hosting a Lunch and Learn Session from 11:30 – 12:30 on February 23  titled “Transportation: Buses, Taxis and Trains — Putting Digital Signs in a Mobile Environment.”

Denise MacDonell is the general manager, Digital Signage, for Harris Corp.

By Larry Mays

It’s no surprise that since 9/11 the federal government has spent far more money defending airports against terrorist attacks than has been spent protecting subway and rail systems. According to a recent report by the marketing research firm, Frost & Sullivan, the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration have spent approximately $20 billion on aviation security, compared to roughly $960 million on mass transit security over the nine years since the attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.

This is despite a major disparity in the number of passengers selecting their mode of transportation. Roughly 700 million passengers travel through U.S. airports annually. Compare that to the more than 4 billion trips taken on subway and rail systems.

There are continual debates about stricter screening methods at airport security checkpoints. While in the meantime, subway and rail passengers face virtually no screening at all. This has left the nation’s 3,200 stations and more than 20,000 miles of track far less secure than airports and even many key government buildings.

Terrorists are taking note and beginning to target rail-based systems. Since 9/11, six terrorist plots targeting U.S. subway and rail systems have been exposed. Over the past five years, 22 nations have experienced terrorist attacks on rail-based transportation systems. During that time more people were killed, wounded or taken hostage on mass transit systems than on aircraft or in airports.

It may be that the best way to ensure mass transit passenger safety would be to institute a screening program similar to what’s in place at airports. However, you have to wonder how many passengers would put up with a 20- to 30-minute delay before boarding a subway or train car. This ease-of-access is what attracts travelers to regional rail and metro transit systems, so any efforts at establishing airport-type screening might do more harm than good.

Yet the very nature of mass transit systems — a large number of passengers, high infrastructure costs and locations in major cities or tourist destinations — will keep them atop many terrorists’ lists for an attack.

So where do we go from here?

Certainly additional funding for mass transit security would help. The Frost & Sullivan report said more money will likely be spent for that purpose over the next five years. That‘s a start..

Random screening of passengers and their carry-on items has been tried in several major metropolitan areas. Continuing that practice would help. Other programs, such as having bomb-sniffing canines sweep rail cars, are a good idea as well.

But we are still faced with the fact that most of the mass transit systems are owned and operated by local governments. The vast majority lack the security expertise that the federal government supplies to airports through the Transportation Safety Administration. That lack of know-how has left some local agencies so puzzled that they either fail to spend grant funds or use them in ways that are largely ineffective. So here are a few ideas that I think might help remedy the situation.

First let’s work at the federal level to set up standards, even templates, for local agencies to follow. We need to let them know which technologies and other low-tech and manpower solutions give the best bang for the buck. We need to be fairly detailed here. Local agencies need to know what types of cameras work best in outdoor or underground settings. They need to know where cameras should be placed, along with how and when they are to be monitored and recorded.

What types and amount of lighting are required? Can fencing and even landscaping provide valuable barriers? Is there a reasonable place for metal detectors in a security plan? How about bollards and blast curtains, airborne explosive sensing devices? How can you best make use of limited numbers of transit police officers? What other aspects of a plan should be considered? These are all questions requiring answers.

Secondly, don’t provide security grant money to transit districts without seeing a plan for how it will be used. If local agencies have read the government standards and templates, they should have some concrete ideas for spending the money. If there is no adequate plan in place, give the money to another agency that is prepared to move forward. We have to find a faster way to get good security projects funded and started.

And that leads to my last suggestion. Since many agencies turn to security system integrators to help develop a plan, let’s provide them with a list of approved integrators. To be on the list an integrator must show experience and expertise in designing, installing and maintaining mass transit security systems. Maybe we even offer a certification that designates which integrators are best qualified for which projects. This certification would provide indemnification similar to the SAFETY Act Certification. Integrators should be rewarded for innovations that consider new untried security breaches, with the goal to stay ahead of the terrorists and to try to out think their next move.

These ideas are a start toward making the most of the limited government funding available for securing our subway and rail systems. While more money for securing these systems would be good, we have to make sure we are stretching those dollars already available.

Larry Mays is group director for transportation and logistics for ADT Security Services. He brings 31 years of transportation information management experience, helping to develop strategic network-based solutions for companies such as Unisys and Pan American World Airways. Mays can be contacted at lmays@adt.com.

by Ron Anderson

The Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) runs a circulator route called “Molly the Trolley” through the downtown area seven days a week and to the Fort Worth Stockyards on Saturdays.  For this service, we use year 2000 Chance trolleys. Since implementation of this service, it has become more and more popular with the locals as well as visitors to the city. This vehicle is no longer produced, so it became apparent that we needed to augment this fleet in order to maintain the service our customers have become accustomed to.

We took two transit vehicles out of the bus fleet and converted them to a trolley “look-alike.” We decided on two 30’ buses that were soon to be removed from service because of age. Since the “Molly” duty cycle is significantly less strenuous than a transit cycle, we decided that it was economically feasible to supplement our trolley fleet without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for new vehicles.

Augmenting the trolley fleet also will be helpful to cover the extended service, longer hours and the addition of a Cultural District route that the trolleys will operate during Fort Worth Super Week, Jan. 28 – Feb. 6, when North Texas hosts the big game.

The bus-to-trolley conversion process began by stripping and painting the vehicles green to match the existing fleet. This was fairly inexpensive since we already had most of the materials on hand. We decided to use Japanese mahogany rather than Philippine mahogany, because it was cheaper and we could purchase it from a vendor just down the street. An added bonus was the awesome appearance of the grain in the wood after applying the stain and sealer.

The interior was given a facelift by adding wood slats to the existing seat frames to appear like traditional trolley seats. Some additional slats were added to other areas to enhance the interior appearance. Of course no trolley would be the same without a bell which was left over from a trolley that we had previously done away with. Our body shop also designed and fabricated a replica cow catcher for the front to provide the traditional trolley look.

Since all of our vehicles run on compressed natural gas, the tanks are mounted on top. This provided us the opportunity to design windows to simulate a cupola, which is also necessary to present the trolley look.

This was a fun project as well as one that met the needs of our customers. The personnel in our body shop were able to expand their creative talents to come up with ways of making this transformation take place whenever they weren’t required to work on day-to-day requirements.

To see some of the steps to this process, click here.

Ron Anderson is the maintenance director for the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T).

By Richard Lebovitz

In May 2010, more than a million daily commuters traveling the Toronto Transit system were entertained by a unique art exhibition titled “What’s The Hype?” on Toronto-based Onestop’s network of digital screens on Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway platforms. It was an official public installation for the CONTACT photography festival, and the only venue to feature a “digital” art exhibit, said the company.

In September, those same 270 screens in 50 subways stations were home for the 4th annual Toronto Urban Film Festival (TUFF).

Then, in October, the screens promoted an online voting game called Mayor Munch that Onestop construed to have fun with the upcoming Toronto municipal election while also encouraging stronger voter participation.

Of course, there are more common and more universal applications of digital signage content in mass transit than the innovative applications above. Among them, Onestop cites the following:

• Display of real-time vehicle arrival and departure information
• Emergency alerts and content over-ride for timely notification
• Promote loyalty programs, new services and other messages
• Infotainment (news, sports, weather and other entertaining content)
• Revenue creation through advertising and content programs

Such is the variety of content that makes digital signage an integral part of the fabric of public transportation today and that will continue to drive its application, whether at a bus stop or in a subway station, inside or outside a bus or inside a subway train.

In a comprehensive study of digital place-based media viewership, Arbitron estimates that about 138 million U.S. residents aged 12 or older visit public transportation venues or use public transportation every month. Furthermore, the research firm estimates that approximately 20 million of those people indicated that they viewed a digital place-based video screen during that same time period.

As a result, one can expect transportation to represent a major sector for digital place-based advertising, and it is, ranking No. 3 out of 16 vertical markets in three of the past five quarters, according to the Digital Signage Expo Quarterly Business Barometer. Not surprisingly, transportation ranked equally high among digital signage growth sectors, appearing among the top five in four of the past five quarters.

While the sheer number of people has always made public transportation attractive to advertisers wanting to reach a certain demographic, digital signage plays a much greater role in mass transit than delivering advertising, though advertising continues to play a prominent role in underwriting the cost of deploying and operating a digital signage system. Digital signage may take the form of self-service ticketing and information kiosks, directional signage and real-time schedule displays. It also may display news, weather, time and provide a variety of entertaining or otherwise engaging content, as the above examples illustrate.

Moreover, as technology evolves, the ways in which relevant content is delivered to the screens also will evolve. A case in point is Destination Shuttle Service (DSS) at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Passengers riding DSS airport shuttle buses, which provide transportation for more than 2.5 million people annually both to and from LAX and the surrounding hotels, may appreciate the information provided on the digital signage inside the buses without realizing the extent to which it’s tailored to their distinct needs, much less the technology that populates the screens with contextually relevant information. Quite simply, departing passengers get one type of information; arriving passengers get another.

In reality, however, it’s not quite so simple. Using Omnivex Moxie software and Microsoft Windows 7 location-based services, GPS coordinates are sent via cellular network to the Omnivex server in real time indicating the current location of the bus. Omnivex GPSLink is used to combine this information with intelligent rules to determine the most appropriate content to display based on the current location.

Another recent example of advanced technology applied to public transportation is the deployment of mobile digital TV based on the emerging ATSC Mobile DTV standard, which allows broadcasters to allocate a portion of their digital channel capacity to reach viewers outside the home.

A new venture involving the City of Raleigh, N.C., WRAL and the CBC (Capitol Broadcasting Co.) New Media Group delivers real-time digital television and interactive data to Capital Area Transit (CAT) buses. CAT bus passengers are able to view WRAL’s local and syndicated programming throughout the day. Additionally, the screens offer CAT passengers city news, real-time schedules, route-specific updates and other useful information on the digital screens strategically placed inside the buses.

The number of technology providers contributing to the success of the deployment underscores the complexity and sophistication of such an operation. LG Electronics Inc. is providing mobile DTV receivers, flat screen monitors and project development and support; Harris Corp. is providing mobile transmission equipment, the digital signage systems and development and support services. In addition, Microspace Communications Corp. is providing wireless networking and digital signage system management, and Digital Recorders Inc. (DRI) is providing integration of the communications systems on the CAT buses.

Yet another technological development that will inevitably grow in importance is the integration of mobile applications with digital signage in mass transit. For example, digital signage software developer Visix’s support of TransLōc’s Transit Visualization System (TVS) means that its AxisTV digital signage software now allows colleges and universities to display transit information in concert with other digital signage content such as announcements, weather, news and alerts.

The TransLōc TVS is a next-generation passenger information system that not only shows riders the real-time location of any given bus on campus but also shows that vehicle moving online. TVS info can be displayed on signage or accessed via the Web and mobile devices, creating a three-pronged digital information strategy.

Richard Lebovitz is editorial director for the Digital Signage Expo, with responsibilities for the educational program at DSE 2011, taking place February 22-25 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. To contact him, email: mailto:rlebovitz@exponation.net.

Being a bus driver has always been a dream of mine. Having the opportunity to meet new people and visit new areas of the United States was something I always wanted to do. In my many years of operating motorcoaches, I have learned a great deal about operating a motorcoach safely to keep myself, my passengers and others driving on the road safe.

The life of a Greyhound motorcoach operator is something my fellow drivers and I take great pride in. The safety standards set by the company is something we all take very seriously. Each of us understands how important safety is in our career.

Greyhound drivers go through extensive training to establish safe driving skills. Drivers starting with the company are required to complete 160 hours of behind-the-wheel and classroom training before they are qualified to drive for the company, and they must continue that training throughout the remainder of their employment. This amount of training far exceeds the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s suggested industry standard of 90 hours of safety training for motorcoach operators. By training each driver on safe and defensive driving techniques, Greyhound is working to promote safety and responsibility throughout the company and the industry.

In addition to my current role as a motorcoach operator for Greyhound, I am also a master trainer at our Jacksonville, Fla., location. I meet new, optimistic driver trainees on a regular basis and work to help mold them into safe, responsible drivers.

Safety is the most important element of being a successful motorcoach operator. Everything we are taught is for a reason and these skills help us keep our passengers – and ourselves — safe.

The Top 10 most important tips I go by and make sure to teach my trainees are:

1. Always make sure you get proper rest. You must be alert at all times when operating your vehicle. Having a good amount of sleep is the first step to safe driving.
2. Properly pre-check your coach to identify any potential hazards or safety concerns prior to your travel.
3. Never rush yourself while driving; always take your time when traveling.
4. Properly adjust your mirrors before operating your coach. Scan your mirrors every five to eight seconds.
5. Always know where your vehicle is in relationship to surrounding traffic.
6. Drive six seconds behind the vehicle in front of you and 15 seconds ahead of your coach at all times. Adjust accordingly when driving in adverse weather conditions. This allows you to be prepared for any hazards or dangers you may need to quickly avoid while driving.
7. Constantly check all aspects of your vehicle when traveling in adverse weather conditions. This includes your speed, how the bus is handling in the weather and whether or not continuing the trip is the safest option for you and your passengers.
8. Try to make minimal lane changes when possible. Review your route prior to your departure for more efficient travel. If you must switch lanes, always let your turn signal blink at least three times to let other motorists be aware of your intentions.
9. When approaching an intersection, make sure the area is clear. Look left and then right at least two times before moving forward.
10. Never use your cell phone while operating your vehicle. The safety and security of you and those driving with you should be your main focus. Distractions such as talking on your phone or texting while driving is anything but safe.

The safety and security of the passengers I transport is one of my core values. As a Greyhound driver, I utilize these tips every time I operate my coach and I encourage Greyhound’s future drivers to follow these tips as well. When you focus on safety in your work and personal lives, you make those around you that much safer. Thanks to my safety training, I have been able to stay in a career I love and provide a good life for my family. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

With more than 50 consecutive years of safety excellence and having driven an estimated 4.5 million miles with Greyhound, I have learned a lot about myself as a driver, as well as common traits or characteristics of other drivers I share the road with. I take great pride in these accomplishments, but I understand I could not have achieved them without putting safety first in my career. I understand the importance of safety and hope that every motorcoach driver makes safety their first priority, for our passengers, ourselves and others on the road.

Emory Hysell has logged more than 50 years of driving with no incidents! He’s at the top of the list of some 300 ESD (Exceptionally Safe Driver) Greyhound drivers. Hysell is based in Jacksonville, Fla., and is also a driver instructor