RouteMatch gives transit services a lift in NJ, other states

While mobile innovation has jumped light years in the consumer world, it does not always quickly cross over into niche industries. This has been the case in Transit. Historically, government-funded, cash-strapped transit agencies had few options for mobile devices within vehicles. They were required to spend $2000-$4000 to purchase a mobile data terminal for their vehicles for automated vehicle tracking and driver dispatch communications. These were expensive to buy and maintain, and often, unreliable.

RouteMatch changed that. The company liberated the industry by a) removing hardware purchase and maintenance cost with tablets and b) creating a flexible, Android-based wireless platform (RM Mobile) so the devices “double” for other safety and communications uses beyond automated vehicle location.

More than 10,000 tablets + RM Mobile solutions deployed in transit systems today.

Saving agencies time and money

Baldwin Rural Area Transportation System (BRATS) of Robertsdale, Alabama is one example of an agency using tablets with RM Mobile, and the agency has noticed a $5,000 a year cost savings.

“The tablets have been just great,” says Chandra Middleton, Assistant Director of Transportation at BRATS. “We knew that with us growing so rapidly, these would benefit our drivers tremendously. There are just a lot of pluses regarding costs and having the mapping abilities of the tablets.”

Another agency using RM Mobile to save money and time is Sussex County Division of Social Services in Newton, New Jersey.

“Previously, we were concerned that if tablet would need repair, it would require a lot of down time,” explains Carol Novrit, director of the division. “RM Mobile is affordable and offered us greater flexibility for how we work. For example we can now assign tablets to drivers. This means we can switch tablets to other vehicles any time, and we have spares for our fleet.” Install time for the tablets at the agency took less than 20 minutes per bus. RouteMatch’s mobile data solution is now in Skylands Ride’s 24 mini buses and two buses.

The tablets and mobile data features have allowed Skylands Ride to cut time from 6-7 hours per day to just minutes per day on trip verifications. Data capture is easier and they now get real-time data for rider pick-ups and drop-offs, and can playback vehicle locations for safety, managing rider complaints and driver accountability. All of this information is critical for Federal Transit Administration reporting requirements.

How RM Mobile benefits agencies & riders

With tablets + RM Mobile, transit agencies gain a mobile platform that has multiple functionalities—none of which could be done with a traditional mobile data terminal. Some of these include pre and post vehicle inspections (to record miles, tire pressure, fluid checks) for safety, electronic signature capture and alerts.

With real-time vehicle tracking, riders can be notified of the arrival of their vehicle by phone, giving them time to prepare and come to the door and helping drivers reduce idle time and improve on-time performance. When agencies are notified in advance of cancellations, it frees up seat capacity on vehicles—allowing others who need a ride to get one.

More RouteMatch success stories

RouteMatch Via Mobility driver Via Mobility in Boulder, CO, for example previously experienced more than 800 no shows and late trip cancellations per month- resulting in lost money and “empty seats on the bus.” Through notifications, made possible by tablets and RM Mobile, no shows and late cancellations were cut in half each month since implementation. The agency also uses notifications to prepare for flood and snow emergencies, and tablets to upload employee handbooks to train drivers.

Another example of how tablets can be applied for emergencies is in Gulfport, MS. Coast Transit Authority (CTA) requires emergency preparedness, due to their location in a hurricane prone zone. CTA has leveraged the RM Mobile platform to collaborate with other emergency preparedness agencies. “At risk” citizens such as seniors and the disabled can instantly be pulled up on an electronic manifest on the tablets by a driver. The driver can then go into “immediate evacuation mode” and divert his vehicle to pick up those citizens in harm’s way.

“Through the effort of Coast Transit Authority, transportation of citizens during any event is handled professionally. Timely and extreme care is given to the needs of those in need,” said Rupert Lacy, Director of Harrison County Emergency Management.

We at RouteMatch believe the tablet plus RM Mobile demonstrates how innovation can be applied to change the Transit industry. It does not take an “aha” breakthrough to do this, but rather, adaptations and iterations of the best in existing technological advancements available in the consumer world and coupling that with a deep knowledge of the nuanced ways transit agencies work. We are extremely proud about our impact on the market, and even more awed by the ingenuity and excitement that has sprung from how our clients use it every day.

Learn more about RouteMatch & RM Mobile.
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