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25 The response from the transit industry to the mobile data terminal (MDT) survey was geographically widespread and diverse in agency size. The survey indicated a magnitude of MDT deployment (more than 10,000 units reported) in both fixed-route and paratransit that was larger than anticipated. In both demand-response and motor bus modes, the functional- ity deployed and the applications reported indicate an indus- try that is using MDT technology to monitor and enhance performance on the street, provide better information to cus- tomers, and prevent fraud and abuse by contractors and staff. The use of MDT-collected data for performance measure- ment and productivity is very sophisticated. ⢠There was a range in MDT manufacturers that showed some long-term suppliers surviving in a volatile mar- ketplace, as well as new vendors entering a global mar- ketplace. There were products and services that fea- tured integration of modes and strong consumer orientation. New vendors were active in marketing and competing for transit and paratransit business at transit trade conferences. As anticipated by the synthesis topic panel, the MDTs deployed in the transit industry are found in the bus and demand-responsive modes; however, evidence indicates interest in nontraditional markets such as ferries and light rail, as well. ⢠For those survey participants who took the time to address the issues of cost, deployment problems and solutions, technology support, and acceptance of MDTs in a transit context, the responses were heartening. The transit industry has become a significant buyer of tech- nology. It is practical and effective in dealing with the inevitable problems of changing culture in the work- force. The industry is helped by the favorable economic forces of lower cost and higher value of all technology products and the increasing dissemination of technol- ogy throughout society. ⢠Responses to questions concerning communications type indicate a dominance of the traditional private radio network (conventional radio) among respondents. However, when cellular carriers are aggregated as a public data network category, their presence in the deployment of MDTs is significant. The increases in the transmission capacity of wireless broadband currently being developed as cellular carriers compete for the new smart phone customers may provide transit with a cheap and reliable infrastructure for MDT and customer information deployment. Nontraditional radio spec- trum, such as wireless local area network or WiFi (IEEE 802.11a/b/g), is also in evidence as cities strive to bridge the digital divide for their residents and savvy information technologists in the transit industry see the advantages of wireless downloads to MDTs in transit vehicles. ⢠Higher than expected global positioning system (GPS) rates were reported. In transit agencies using public data networks, this may reflect the difference between the transmission rates of first generation cellular communi- cations and current 2.5 and third generation telecom- munications infrastructure being rolled out nationwide. The higher refresh rates are particularly important for those agencies using the web to communicate the loca- tions of their vehicles and for estimated time-of-arrival predictions. The availability of assisted GPS on GPS- integrated cell phones indicates very fast time-to-first- fix, GPS refresh rates of 1â2 s, and location calculation within buildings and urban canyons. If this technology becomes widespread and deployed in transit, new and different applications for automatic vehicle location data will emergeâsuch as incident and accident recon- struction, emergency evacuation management, and other safety and security applications. ⢠Some respondents were looking to acquire real-time video as future technology. The market competitive- ness of wireless cellular companies with cable compa- nies over broadband capacity for video download may provide some future cost-effective opportunities for transit. For example, in South Korea the communica- tion infrastructure is in place that allows consumers to view television shows on their cell phones. If one can view television shows on a cell phone, there is enough bandwidth to transmit one frame per second video from an Internet camera on a bus to the operations center. The U.S. consumer will eventually decide if they want this capacity, but the technology is available. Transit should be alert to taking advantage of these emerging capabilities as a safety and security initiative. CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS
