Mobile Data Terminals (2007)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

The evolution of MDTs has been driven by private businesses depending on the efficient provision of goods and services and the global competitiveness of technology products serv- ing transportation suppliers. Transit ITS is a beneficiary of these larger economic forces fostering what has been variously described as “e-commerce,” “l-commerce,” and “m-commerce.” Even greater change is taking place in wire- less communications in Europe, Asia, and the United States— responding to the demands of business and consumers for faster and faster transmission speeds in the developed coun- tries of the world. These factors are largely external to the transit industry; however, their impact is felt in the technol- ogy products, particularly MDTs, being offered for sale. It became apparent early on in this synthesis study that rapid changes were taking place in the MDT marketplace that required thorough review at the beginning of the study. Many of these bellwether changes were taking place outside of the traditional transit and public transit experience and outside of the United States; however, they could affect transit technol- ogy in the near future. Also, the MDTs available in the global marketplace were widely diverse in capability and charac- teristics. The degree of specificity required to analyze these offerings was beyond a reasonable expectation of knowledge or experience at the small and mid-sized transit properties. Furthermore, the specifications offered by MDT manufac- turers and ITS suppliers varied greatly, making it difficult to compare and contrast products. In response, this synthesis committed to creating a detailed database of MDT products and capabilities as a part of the survey design process. With this approach, if the survey respondent could identify the MDT (from a drop down list of model names or by identify- ing a picture of the product from a line-up), the database could be referenced (using relational database queries) for a full technical description. The objective was to improve the quality of the data product from this synthesis study and to enhance future research by industry technical staff, consul- tants, or university staff using these data. Recognizing that the evolution of MDT technology and wireless communications was going to accelerate, particular efforts were made to implement popular and easy-to-use database management software and web services so that the baseline efforts established by this synthesis of practice could be efficiently and effectively updated and accessed by the transit industry in the future. Very reliable queries by size of urbanized area, mode of transport, size of fleet, and many 6 other attributes can be devised to address issues of the best technological fit for a particular MDT deployment. It may also provide the transit industry with an instant user group by MDT manufacturer, MDT model, and ITS supplier. This approach may exceed the typical synthesis of practice; however, the foundation review required by this synthesis provided the opportunity to set up continued research in this very significant but difficult area of transit technology. MOBILE DATA TERMINAL SURVEY DATABASE DESIGN A relational database was designed to provide for the stor- age, retrieval, and manipulation of data collected for this MDT synthesis using Microsoft Access 2003. The flow chart, “Mobile Data Terminal Relational Database Struc- ture,” can be found in Appendix A1, Section A1-4, and can be downloaded from www.e-transit.org (GeoGraphic Labo- ratory Internet Mapping Application Projects—MDT-ITS RDBMS4.pdf). There are six data tables within the relational database described here: • An MDT manufacturer contacts table providing mail- ing addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail, website, and related contact information. • An ITS supplier contacts table providing mailing addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail, website, and related contact information. • An MDT specifications table providing information on specific MDT makes and models including description (dimensions, weight, enclosure material), computer processor (type, speed, operating system), display (type of display, resolution, color quality), input devices, interfaces, memory features (base, expansion), GPS characteristics, communications (public and private networks), power supply information, and operating environment. • An ITS product and services database with general descriptions of the product or service provided by the vendor. • A transit agency contact table derived from the pub- lished 2003 FTA NTD and updated with January 2006 NTD records for this study. • A transit agency survey table(s) including responses from the long form and short form of the on-line survey for this synthesis study (imported from survey software in .XML format). CHAPTER TWO SURVEY DESIGN

7MS Access 2003 was used to perform relational database functionality: design of database tables, creation of input forms, creation of Structured Query Language (SQL) queries, and creation of standard reports. It is important to note that this information is all that was known to the consultant at the time this synthesis was prepared; any omission is uninten- tional. In addition, TCRP and its sponsoring organizations do not endorse specific products and services. MOBILE DATA TERMINAL MANUFACTURERS CONTACTS DATABASE The development of the MDT manufacturers contact data- base came from the personal experience of the consultant over the past decade, the personal experience of the synthe- sis topic panel, a review of trade periodicals at the Massa- chusetts State Transportation Library, use of several on-line search engines, and attendance at four international trans- portation research and technology conferences that occurred during the course of this project. On-line searches went beyond the traditional transit technology applications to address fleet management in other industries with similar data collection requirements of transit and paratransit ser- vices. Because some MDT vendors and ITS suppliers were no longer in operation and new vendors were entering the marketplace, a write-in capability included in the on-line sur- vey provided additional opportunities to populate this data table. A list of the MDT contact information gathered for this synthesis study can be found at www.e-transit.org. Periodi- cally, and at the conclusion of this synthesis, the MDT data- base will be updated. MOBILE DATA TERMINAL MODEL (SPECIFICATIONS) DATABASE The heart of this synthesis is the MDT specifications table, which lists the features of the MDT by manufacturer’s model number based on manufacturer-provided informa- tion. Some manufacturers had detailed specifications available for download on their websites; others had specifications available in handouts at the aforementioned conferences. For the purposes of this study, several features were considered critical for comparison of MDT technology deployment in fixed-route and paratransit services now and in the future: • Processing power (chip manufacturer, processing speed). • Operating system (OS): mass market OS, open systems, proprietary OS, etc. • Display: type and quality of display of MDT by mode may be significant over time. • Interfaces: type, number, and variety may be significant in averting early obsolescence. • Memory: base and expandability are lessons learned from the deployment of laptops into society that extend the life of a computing product in the field. • GPS is changing with more channels providing faster locational fixes. Assisted-GPS for cell phones and vari- ations of differential-GPS provide better geographic accuracy and, in some cases, dramatic improvements in time-to-first-fix that can be helpful in paratransit operations. • Communications, as mentioned previously, is changing so rapidly that the web and periodical literature proved the only way to keep up with the changes. The situation is made more difficult by the marketing of competing national cell phone providers who can create confusion with their use of terminology (e.g., “broadband access” from cell phones vs. outdoor WiFi systems). However, it became clear that any review of an MDT model had to address the issue of its built-in communications capa- bility. The MDT database (and the survey) attempted to address communications from legacy systems, evolving systems, and systems about to be deployed—as they were found in the current marketplace evidenced by manufacturer specifications. The contents of the MDT specifications used at the time of this survey are described in an Adobe .pdf file and can be found at www.e-transit.org. The file will be periodically updated and will be available for download. MOBILE DATA TERMINAL IMAGE FILE In developing the MDT database, it became clear that MDT manufacturers approach the naming of their products in a wide variety of ways; some are very straightforward, others show the influence of creative marketing. As an aid to survey takers who may not know the nomenclature, but who do know what the MDT looks like, a picture file (jpeg images) was developed with the synthesis database number and the manu- facturers MDT model number. The intent was to build some ease of use into the survey without losing the accuracy of the model identification. As was noted in the previous section, the MDT specifications add a significant dimension to the analy- sis of technology deployment in the industry without adding an overwhelming requirement for technical information for the transit industry respondent. The image files were down- loaded from manufacturer’s websites and vary in image qual- ity. The image file “proof sheet” used in this synthesis study can be found at www.e-transit.org. INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM SUPPLIER CONTACT DATABASE In a manner similar to the development of the MDT manu- facturers’ database, an effort was made to include a wide rep- resentation of ITS suppliers from North America, Europe,

8and Asia. Trade publications, on-line searches, and the four previously mentioned international conferences were used to identify suppliers and collect current contact information to populate the ITS supplier contact database. A periodically updated list of the contact information for ITS suppliers used in this synthesis study can be found as an Adobe .pdf file on the project website www.e-transit.org. INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM PRODUCT AND SERVICES DATABASE Although it was important to keep the narrow focus of the synthesis to MDT functionality and associated communica- tions capability, it could not be completely separated from the ITS context at the transit property or the ITS vendor that supplied and installed the MDT on the transit vehicles. Fur- thermore, it was very possible that the survey respondent did not know who manufactured the MDT, but did know who provided the overall transit ITS system. As information was collected for the MDT database effort, it was also collected on ITS suppliers. A global search was attempted using inter- national trade publications, international conferences, and the World Wide Web. As was found in collecting specific data on MDT products, published information on ITS products and services varies considerably depending on the marketing resources of the vendor. More importantly, descriptions of the products and services in transit ITS was market-driven, not science-driven. It was beyond the scope of this MDT synthesis to separate fact from fiction in ITS vendor publications. However, a generic classification scheme was created for the various products that the survey respondent could select from a pull-down menu. This ITS product/services database is available as an Adobe .pdf file and available for download at website www.e-transit.org. NATIONAL TRANSIT DATABASE CONTACTS DATABASE At the outset of this synthesis effort, it was assumed that there was a relatively small number of transit properties deploying MDTs, and that developing the survey universe would be a straightforward task. Although this may have been true, it also became apparent that the MDT deployment in the transit industry could have much more significance as a marker of the spread of transit technology deployment over time. Thus, establishing a valid and reliable baseline for lon- gitudinal studies became an important consideration of this process. The NTD transit agency contact list, published by FTA, established a baseline of every transit operator receiv- ing federal transit operating assistance. The transit agency database for this synthesis was developed using the latest published NTD database (2003) available in Excel.xls format and Adobe .pdf. In transit, some agencies consolidate, new agencies are formed, and (although rare) some agencies cease to exist. The annual NTD survey accurately monitors these changes in the transit operators in urban areas. The primary key field for all database tables relating to transit agencies in this synthesis MDT database is the FTA primary key for transit agencies reporting to the NTD (Trs_ID). This is the linking field between the MDT rela- tional database and the FTA NTD relational database. NATIONAL TRANSIT DATABASE RELATIONSHIPS AND PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT The structural relationship between the MDT relational data- base and the relational database created by products from the NTD can be seen in the figure, “2004 National Transit Data- base Relational Database Management System,” in the Appendix A1, Section A1-5. Tables taken directly from FTA downloads are imported into this Microsoft Access 2003 relational database providing tables entitled “Agency_Info,” “Service” (modified to provide only rows of annual totals), and “Operating_Expenses.” Using the linking field, Trs_ID, data on technology deployment can be directly related to transit agency performance by year and by mode. Over time, transit agency personnel can relatively easily document return on investment and increase in ridership from the deployment of transit technology. MOBILE DATA TERMINAL SURVEY RESULTS AND NATIONAL TRANSIT DATABASE TABLES AS TOOLS FOR PEER GROUP TECHNOLOGY IMPACT ANALYSIS NTD has been used as a tool for peer group analysis for more than two decades. Combining the MDT survey with the NTD reporting process also provides the capability for grouping interested transit agency peers by mode, size of area, fleet size, and expenditures into peer groups to assess the impact of different technology deployments. In this way, some mis- takes or misapplications of technology in one peer group may be avoided by others in the group. In some cases, the statis- tics may speak for themselves. In others, the transit agency professional can easily contact colleagues from the database contacts table. In the community of geographic information system (GIS) users, free and spirited communication among users is encouraged by GIS suppliers and has greatly assisted in a world-wide deployment of a difficult-to-use and sophis- ticated tool in transit planning and operations. A similar phe- nomenon could be encouraged in the transit industry around the issue of deploying mobile data collection equipment in transit and paratransit vehicles.