GM Memo No. 07-277 - AC Transit

BRIEFING MEMO
AC TRANSIT DISTRICT GM Memo No. 07-277
Board of Directors
Executive Summary Meeting Date: November 14, 2007
Committees:
Planning Committee
External Affairs Committee
Board of Directors
Finance Committee
Operations Committee
Financing Corporation
SUBJECT: Report on Status of SATCOM System
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Information Only Briefing Item Recommended Motion
Consider receiving report on Status of SATCOM system.
Fiscal Impact: None as a result of this report. The District spent approximately $16-
million to procure the SATCOM system.
Background/Discussion:
In the mid-1990’s, when faced with the need to replace its radio system on all of its
buses, the District selected Orbital Sciences Corporation to deliver not only a
replacement of the radio system, but also a Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) and
Automated Vehicle Locator System (AVL).
Orbital, located in Maryland, was established in 1982, building satellite launch systems.
In 1990, they founded a spin-off division called Orbital Transportation Management
BOARD ACTION: Approved as Recommended [ ] Other [ ]
Approved with Modification(s) [ ]
[To be filled in by District Secretary after Board/Committee Meeting]
The above order was passed on
___________________, 2007.
Linda Nemeroff, District Secretary
By

GM Memo No. 07-277
Subject: Report on Status of SATCOM system
Date: November 14, 2007
Page 2 of 6
Systems. Using their expertise in Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology, they
developed tracking systems for public transportation systems. AC Transit was one of
the early clients for this technology, and called its system SATCOM, short for Satellite
Communications.
The system that the District purchased from Orbital is designed to provide:
a radio system
emergency alarm function, in case of emergencies
real time vehicle location information
two-way messaging
computerized incident reporting forms
vehicle status for route and schedule adherence
historical data
automatic vehicle announcements
automatic passenger counting
Status of Major Features
Radio Functions: The District first began using SATCOM in 2000. The first function
that was used was the radio system, which has three levels of communication with
Central Dispatch (CD) based on the urgency of the call.
For routine business, an operator pushes the “Request to Talk” button, and alerts CD
that he/she wishes to speak to them. For situations involving danger, or the threat of
danger, operators are instructed to push the Priority Request-to-Talk (PRTT) button.
When that button is pressed, CD is alerted that there is something of a serious nature
occurring, and that the operator needs to speak to a dispatcher immediately.
In emergency situations, defined as whenever the operator believes his/her life or the
lives of people on the bus are threatened, operators are trained to activate the
Emergency Alarm (EA) system, one of the most critical functions of the new radio
system. When the system is activated, one-way communication is established so that
CD can monitor the situation on the bus. A GPS system on the bus allows CD staff to
determine the bus location and dispatch appropriate emergency personnel. When the
threat is over, operators are trained to notify CD and advise them of the status of the
situation. The EA feature is used in emergency situations only, and is critical to
improving safety for our operators and customers alike.
Computerized Incident Reporting – The District uses the incident reporting features of
the SATCOM system on a regular basis. At CD, the dispatchers enter information on:

GM Memo No. 07-277
Subject: Report on Status of SATCOM system
Date: November 14, 2007
Page 3 of 6
incidents and accidents
security-related events
outlates, service cancellations, and delays of service
detours
extra service
roadcalls
This information is used by the relevant District departments to track information they
need. For years, the Maintenance Department relies heavily on the roadcall
information, and uses it to monitor miles between roadcalls at each division and Districtwide,
as well as to monitor trends in the type of roadcalls.
Route and Schedule Adherence Information: The District’s scheduling information from
the HASTUS scheduling system is linked to the SATCOM system to provide information
on route and schedule adherence. In fact, the District and Orbital had a cost-sharing
agreement to procure the HASTUS system, because the previous scheduling system
was not compatible with the Orbital system. The schedule and route adherence
information is used on a real-time basis at Central Dispatch, and historical information
is used to develop more accurate schedules for routes. The District’s consultant, TMD,
used the SATCOM data extensively in developing new schedules for many routes in the
past few years that better matched actual running times. In most cases, this has
resulted in adding time to schedules that consistently ran late. This data has proven to
be an invaluable tool in developing better schedules.
Advanced Functions and Applications to Other Systems: The Orbital system is at the
core of other functions and systems that will further enhance system reliability and
efficiency, as well as customer services. Already, the District has implemented
Automatic Vehicle Announcements (AVA) on the 1, 1R, 72, 72R, and 51 lines. Two
new routes will be added soon: the 57 and 40 lines. After that, the District will continue
rolling out the AVA on the remainder of the trunk routes, followed by the rest of the
lines. These automatic announcements free up the operators from having to orally
announce the stops and are also beneficial to the customers. Additional funding was
budgeted over the next two years to roll out AVA on all of the District’s routes.
The Orbital data is also used currently with the NextBus system to predict bus arrivals.
A detailed report on the status of the NextBus system will be provided to the Operations
Committee next month, as will a report on the potential use of Orbital Automatic
Passenger Counters.
Challenges of the System: Although the District is successfully using the SATCOM
radio function and other high priority functions of the Orbital system, staff realizes that
the District is not using the system to its highest potential. One example of the
challenges that the District faces with the system has to do with operator log-ons. To

GM Memo No. 07-277
Subject: Report on Status of SATCOM system
Date: November 14, 2007
Page 4 of 6
fully use the system, operators must log-on when they begin to operate the bus. For a
variety of reasons, the District still has not achieved the rate of operator log-ons
necessary to reach the maximum utility of the system.
In March 2007 a complete system hardware and software refresh was accomplished.
This refresh enabled the CAD/AVL functions to be far more stable along with faster
refresh screens and much better system response times. Besides the performance
enhancements, the refreshed system means that staff can focus on specific efforts to
collect and report on the vast amount of data collected by the system.
One of the biggest challenges also is one of the system’s strengths: the system has
District-wide applications that impact the Maintenance, Planning, Transportation,
Security, Risk, Safety, and Information Systems Departments. As such, it has the
potential to improve functions District-wide, but also requires new ways of doing
business. For nearly two years, District staff from the above departments has been
meeting twice a month to share information and try to solve problems that inhibit the
use of the system to its full potential. Through this effort it has become very clear that
the District needs to devote more resources to making the system work more
effectively. It is equally clear that the District needs to commit staff resources
representing the various departments, each of whom has expertise in their own area
who can work as a team with a larger, system-wide goal in mind.
To that end, effective November 5, 2007, the District has formed an inter-Departmental
Systems Task Force with six team members representing key departments. The team
members were selected because, in addition to being “technical” experts in their area,
they are enthusiastic about taking a fresh approach, and using a team approach to
solve problems and logjams related to Operations Technology. The task force
members include: a Senior Transportation Planner, Transportation Planner/AVA
coordinator, Transportation Planner/NextBus Coordinator, Transportation Supervisor/
Central Dispatcher, Electronic Technician, and IS Project Manager. The group has
begun meeting and drafting long-term and short-term goals.
An Executive Committee composed of the Deputy General Manager, Service
Development, Chief Maintenance Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and Chief
Transportation Officer will meet weekly with the Task Force to set priorities and commit
necessary resources. At this point it is anticipated that the Task Force will remain in
operation for approximately six months, at which time the scope and progress of their
work will be re-evaluated.

GM Memo No. 07-277
Subject: Report on Status of SATCOM system
Date: November 14, 2007
Page 5 of 6
Prior Relevant Board Actions/Policies:
Memo No. Date Description
96-236 9/11/96 RFP - Transit Communication system (SATCOM
2000): Automatic Vehicle Locator System
97-281 9/10/97 SATCOM Contract Award
99-050 2/24/99 Discussion and consideration of issues related to the
SATCOM 2000 project and providing the riding public
with bus arrival information
99-059 3/10/99 Discussion and consideration of issues
related to the Satcom 2000 project and providing the
riding public with bus arrival information
99-062 3/10/99 General Manager to seek two additional radio
frequencies to support the current radio system and
SATCOM 2000 Project
99-185 7/30/99 Operations: SATCOM Quarterly Report
00-315A 11/2/00 Report on SATCOM
01-262 9/6/01 Update on SATCOM CAD/AVL
02-086a 3/21/02 Contract Changes to SATCOM CAD/AVL
02-267 10/17 SATCOM Project Update
03-087 3/20/03 In-depth report on SATCOM and on-time performance
issues
Attachments:
None

GM Memo No. 07-277
Subject: Report on Status of SATCOM system
Date: November 14, 2007
Page 6 of 6
Approved by:
Prepared by:
Rick Fernandez, General Manager
Kathleen Kelly, Chief Transportation Officer
Blake Pelletier, Chief Technology Officer
Nancy Skowbo, Deputy General Manager for Service
Development
Joe DeProspero, Chief Maintenance Officer
Date Prepared: November 6, 2007