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Agenda Item # 6

BOARD MEMORANDUM

Background:

VTA serves over 4,300 bus stops.   However, not all bus stops are required to be called.  All operators are given a call stop sheet in their operator pouch which lists the relevant stops that need to be called as part of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirement.  In addition, all operators are required to call specific stops when requested by a passenger. 

VTA provides extensive operational and technical training to all Coach Operators.   VTA’s training program encompasses a broad range of policies and procedures, including those which ensure compliance with the ADA, such as the requirement that operators announce bus stops along routes at major stops, transfer locations and upon request as needed. 

VTA operators are provided training and direction regarding the announcement of bus stop locations in compliance with 49 CFR 37 at section 37.167 (b) (1) which states that:

(1) The entity shall announce at least at transfer points with other fixed routes, other major intersections and destination points, and intervals along a route sufficient to permit individuals with visual impairments or other disabilities to be oriented to their location.

In 2004, VTA began the installation of a bus stop location annunciator system on its 454-bus fleet.  The system uses global positioning satellite (GPS) information technology to trigger bus stop location announcements at major bus stops or transfer locations.  As a new technology, many elements of the system must be coordinated to make the system reliable.  Since the completion of the initial installations, efforts to further improve and refine the system have been ongoing.

Discussion:

To initiate the design and implementation of an automated bus stop annunciator system, VTA engaged a team of consultants and product providers led by Orbital Transportation Management Systems (Orbital TMS) to install a GPS based Advanced Communication System (ACS) for its fleet of buses.   One of the functional components of the ACS is the ability of annunciators onboard the vehicles to announce the impending arrival at designated bus stops.   This component is an integral part of the ACS package and is also the focus of our ongoing efforts to improve system reliability.

In response to reports from customers and operators, VTA and Orbital TMS recently identified two issues that are having a negative impact on the automatic announcement system.   The first issue involves the external announcements abruptly discontinuing, which also affects the internal announcements.   The second issue causes announcements to activate prematurely, causing confusion for VTA customers.

Orbital TMS has been successful at recreating the first problem in their laboratory and plans to test a solution early this spring, with a technical solution forthcoming thereafter as soon as practical.   Work is also continuing on the second problem, but solution testing will not be scheduled until the resolution of the first problem is fully addressed.   On an interim basis, an Operations Notice was issued which provides a manual solution to address most sudden discontinuations of the automated bus stop announcements.  If this manual solution fails, operators are instructed to call stops until the system resumes normal operation.  In addition, staff has established a “test route” within each yard that can be used to verify the operation of the bus stop announcement system buses prior to pulling into service.

It is important to note that staff has had success in addressing past problems and is confident that these latest problems will be fully remedied.   As recent as the month of August 2006, staff collected data on 59 reported incidents involving bus stop annunciators.   However, over the past four months, the number of monthly reported incidents has dropped to 8.

While the problems with the ACS are being assessed and addressed, all VTA operators will continue to be reminded of the policy and obligation to announce bus stops along their routes when the automated system fails.   To ensure compliance and understanding of these requirements, training is provided via multiple avenues including:

1. Initial Recruitment Training
2. VTT annual certification training
3. Periodic Reminders
4. Operations Notices
5. Operations Control Center (OCC) text messages to remind operators
6. Field Supervisor reminders
7. Division Supervisor counseling, coaching, and discipline.

VTA remains committed to solving annunciator issues and continuing to enhance our Advanced Communications Systems to ensure automated bus stop announcements are provided reliably and accurately.   VTA continues to encourage customers to report problems they experience so that specific equipment failures can be identified and repaired quickly.

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