Thursday, February 04, 1999
New radio system to streamline Metro
BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Metro and Access riders can expect better safety and on-time service in coming months and years.
The bus service this morning is dumping the 25-year-old radio system it has used to communicate with bus drivers for a new, $7 million system.
New technology will let dispatchers look at a screen and pinpoint a bus' location to within about 40 feet by using global positioning satellite (GPS) technology. It will also link dispatchers and bus drivers through on-board computers and a higher-powered radio system.
“We're improving safety for drivers and passengers,” said Greg Lind, sector manager of the radio control center.
For example, if there's a medical emergency on a bus, a dispatcher will be able to look at a computer screen and immediately dispatch help.
Also, dispatchers will be able to look at a screen and spot whether a bus is on time. Under the old system, bus drivers had to call the dispatch center and report they were running late before dispatchers could start working on the problem.
“The passengers will see an improvement in time because we can visually see them (the buses) and start working on the problem right away,” Mr. Lind said.
Tracking route times on Metro's 400 buses and the 41 Access buses for passengers with disabilities will also improve on-time performance be cause Metro dispatchers will be able to see whether a bus is hitting particular traffic problems every day, Metro spokeswoman Sallie Hilvers said.
Other benefits of the system, being paid for through federal grants and local money:
• Longer radio range that puts all buses on the same radio system.
• Technology to pinpoint the exact location of Access buses to let passengers know more accurately how long it will take for them to be picked up. Passengers are given a window of time during which they are supposed to be picked up.
• Dispatchers can send messages to computer screens on the buses and get information to all drivers quickly.
• Bus drivers can send messages to the dispatch center, and the most critical problems can be handled first.
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