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Case Study: MTA Long Island

Snapshot

Type of Operation: Paratransit and fixed route
Number of vehicles: 70 peak (paratransit); approx. 300 peak (fixed route)
Number of trips per day: 895
Number of calls per day: 1,200
Trapeze Products Used: PASS with IVR and MDT/AVL modules plus FX, Ops, CTM and Info for fixed route services
IT Environment: Windows NT with SQL server on 27 workstations
Number of reservationists and dispatchers: 30
Paratransit operation productivity gains: 300%
Demand response calls handled by IVR system: 30%

Business Problem

MTA Long Island Bus of Garden City, NY is part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which serves the greater New York metropolitan area. LI Bus provides fixed route and paratransit services to nearly 100 communities in Nassau, western Suffolk and eastern Queens counties.

In 1996, LI Bus paratransit was providing about 400 trips per day using a semi-manual system to manage bookings, cancellations, and dispatch and passenger information.

"While we were responsive to our customers, we needed a solution that would tell us exactly where our clients were and which vehicles could accommodate them," recalls Bob Mitchell, Senior Manager of Information Technology for LI Bus.

To address the growing demand, the agency needed scalable software for managing subscription and casual bookings, tracking cancellations and no-shows, and streamlining its dispatch and passenger information systems.

Goals

LI Bus worked diligently to become 100% compliant with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which they could largely achieve by reducing the number of denials.

The agency also needed a way to make its call center more efficient by reducing the wait time and length of its agent-attended calls.

Its final goal was to put in place a paperless dispatch system that would provide operators with up-to-the-minute information regarding passenger requests or special needs, and dispatchers with real-time updates about any delays or problems in the field.

Solution

In 1996, LI Bus selected Trapeze PASS for its Windows NT and SQL environment on 27 workstations. Trapeze was contracted to handle all project management, installation, data conversion, testing and go-live support.

As well, the agency contracted a vendor to provide its computerized voice system, which Trapeze integrated with its PASS IVR module.

Trapeze also worked with a leading mobile data terminal vendor to integrate its hardware into the paratransit software using the PASS-MON module.

Results

The PASS system was installed and running in April 1997, and since then the agency has seen its trips grow to more than 895 on an average weekday using 70 peak vehicles.

Using PASS, Long Island Bus has seen significant productivity gains in its scheduling and dispatch functions. "It used to take us ten to twelve minutes to book a passenger for a trip. Now we can do it in two to three minutes," says Mitchell.

In 1998, the mobile data terminal phase went live. Drivers now see updates to their routes immediately in their on-screen driver manifests, and dispatchers always know which vehicles are best able to handle trip requests.

In 1999, the agency launched its computerized interactive voice service, offering 24/7 customer service. Customers can confirm and cancel trips without speaking to a reservationist, and more than 30% of calls are now handled exclusively by the system, reducing call center costs.

LI Bus also uses Trapeze solutions for its fixed route operations. Trapeze FX streamlines scheduling, routing and runcutting, while the OPS product is used to manage the bidding process. INFO is used by their agent-attended call center for trip planning services.

Bottom Line

"Using the Trapeze products has increased our productivity by about 300 percent," Mitchell says. "This has reduced costs, improved service and allowed us to keep pace with the growing needs of our communities."