METRO TRANSIT DEPLOYS INNOVATIVE TRANSIT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - Kim Christopher

Next year Metro Transit, the Twin Cities regional public-transit provider, will deploy an innovative transit management system as part of the Orion initiative. Orion is the urban Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) deployment initiative led by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT). This new transit management system has unique capabilities that will benefit Metro Transit, its current passengers, and the new riders that convert from their private vehicle trips. The transit management system is the 3M INtegrated Fleet Operations (INFO) System. This INFO system will be deployed by the following partners: Mn/DOT, Metropolitan Council/Metro Transit, Lockheed Martin Federal Systems, and 3M. The INFO system provides a network of intelligent buses, intelligent intersections, and intelligent management systems.

Intelligent Buses – Initial deployment will be on 253 Metro Transit buses. An intelligent bus carries its schedule and route electronically, within an onboard computer. The computer receives automatic vehicle location (AVL) readings from global positioning system (GPS) satellites. The onboard computer software then compares the bus's actual location to the schedule, updates the drivers in-vehicle display, and sends a wireless data message to the transit center if the bus has deviated from its schedule or route. Metro Transit uses this real-time information from the fleet to make adjustments as required to provide on-time performance to transit passengers. Should an incident arise on the intelligent bus, an alert button allows the driver to discreetly send an electronic call for help. The notification is sent to the transit center and, using AVL, the bus location is automatically shown on a map in the dispatch center to speed response. Dispatchers can quickly dispatch the closest maintenance, supervisory, or transit police vehicles to the incident since these vehicles will also be equipped with AVL. Faster incident response increases driver and passenger safety and reduces travel disruption for passengers.

Intelligent Intersections - As part of another Metro Transit innovation, several intelligent intersections are being built in Minneapolis (see Lake & Nicollet System article). These intersections along with 100 of the intelligent buses, will be equipped with the 3M Opticom Priority Control System. If an intelligent bus falls behind schedule, the onboard computer will automatically activate the bus's Opticom emitter. The emitter sends a coded infrared signal to the traffic signal controller at upcoming intersections, requesting a green light advantage to help get the bus back on schedule. This transit priority treatment is used only when the bus is late and is secondary to any priority control requests from emergency vehicles that may be in the vicinity. This technology implementation reduces total travel time for passengers and lets them know that Metro Transit is committed to keeping their fleet on time.

Intelligent Management Systems - Back at Metro Transits dispatch center, intelligent management systems provide a constant status of the INFO system-equipped buses on a grid and on a digital map. The management system provides accurate, useful summary reports on the daily performance of all intelligent buses, highlighting areas for improvement. This information helps transit managers adjust routes as needed to increase service and improve on-time performance throughout the system.

TEAM TRANSIT INITIATIVES - by George Serumgaard>

The Team Transit freeway access initiatives in cooperation with the Mn/DOT Traffic Management Center are reducing bus rider travel times for longer distance commuters.

ROUTE-O-MATIC - is a wireless traffic sensing device that helps buses improve their on-time performance by detouring around traffic congestion. The detection units are placed on existing structures along highways or highway entrances at points where predictable congestion occurs. A driver visible acknowledgment light is lit when a threshold is reached where it is faster for a bus to take a pre-determined alternate route as opposed to stay in congestion. ROUTE-O-MATIC has been used in several locations around the Metro area. Two sites are currently re-routing buses around ramp meter queues.

The Site at Plymouth Road and I-394 has been in use for more than two years. The System at 12th and Cedar in St. Paul was initially installed about one year ago. Other systems (Co. Rd. C and Hwy. 61 Park and Ride) have been replaced with other transit advantages. Typical savings per trip will range from one minute to 10 minutes, depending on the amount of delay on the regular route.

BUS ACTUATED GATE ARM installations give Metro Transit ‘bus only’ restricted entrances to roadways. Two new installations will improve bus service in the Northeastern area of the Twin Cites. The first gate, which is completely installed and functioning, is at the ramp from southbound Highway 61 to westbound Highway 36 in Maplewood. This gate permits buses to bypass the meters at the ramp by using the frontage road (Maplewood drive) and a short driveway between the frontage road and the ramp. The gate actuated by an Amtech Smartpass RFID system, will only open for buses that are equipped with credit card sized Radio Frequency Tags. Metro Transit is in the process of installing the RF tags on every bus garaged at the Snelling Ave. facility as of this writing. The second gate is located at the intersection of Forest Ave. and Wheelock Parkway in St. Paul. This gate will allow access to the parkway from northbound Forest Avenue by buses. Actuation of the gate is accomplished by the same equipment used by the Maplewood system. The initial feasibility test gate, installed two years ago, is located at the ramp from Weaver Lake Road to eastbound I-94 in Maple Grove. This gate uses vehicle size detected by embedded loops as its actuation. The geometry of this bypass is very similar to the Highway 61-36 bypass in that it employs a short ‘driveway’ between a service road and the entrance ramp to a Highway (freeway).

SYNCHRO LIGHT is another product to address the need to get buses through ramp meter more quickly. The idea behind Synchro Light is to reduce the cycle length of the metering lights when the bus is near or on the ramp. Unlike Synchro Lights predecessor, Speed Light, the preemption of the meter rates begins before the bus arrives on the ramp. The goal of speed light was to increase the number of meter cycles per minute and get the bus onto the freeway, along with the cars on the ramp in front of the bus. The goal of Synchro Light is to reduce the number of cars in the meter queue before the bus arrives on the ramp. The preemption is actually controlled by a clock that starts the preemption at scheduled times each day. Synchro Light has been tested at several ramps in the Metro Area. There is one permanent implementation at this time at Highway 77 and Killebrew Drive in Bloomington. This site drops the meter rate by 2 steps starting 8 minutes before each bus is scheduled to pass the meters. The effect of this is to reduce the number of vehicles in a meter queue by up to 50%. Five other sites will be implemented this fall with an expected total of 14 sites in operation within the next year. The Traffic Management Center is in the process of evaluating the effect that each Synchro Light System has on mainline traffic as they are implemented.

HIAWATHA AVENUE TRANSITWAY - Dennis Eyler

A transit way along the Hiawatha Avenue (T.H. 55) corridor is being planned between downtown Minneapolis and the Twin Cities International Airport. The preliminary design phase is almost complete. This facility will consist of a separate, two lane, bi-directional roadway built alongside Hiawatha Avenue. Initially being constructed for bus operations, the design concepts will allow for eventual conversion to a light rail transit (LRT) line. There will be nine stations along the route starting at the Metro dome and ending at the airport terminal. The key ITS related features of this proposed facility under consideration for use are:

1) The complex traffic signal phasing that will be needed to operate the traffic signals where the Transit way crosses intersecting streets adjacent to Hiawatha Avenue intersections. These traffic signals will:

• Utilize 12 phase, traffic actuated controllers,
• Have both left and right turning movements controlled by arrows for traffic to cross the Transit way,
• Have special bus prioritization features including coordinated signal timing plans which will allow bus travel at up to 50 miles per hour while providing coordinated flow on Hiawatha at 35 miles per hour in both directions,
• Have special "wide intersection" clearance timing features,
• Have special pedestrian phases which will maximize opportunities for "Walk" time, and
• Allow the individual signal systems to vary their phase sequence to facilitate coordinated bus movements for each arterial timing plan required for Hiawatha Avenue.

2) The bus drivers will also be provided dynamic advisory speed signs to aid them in driving the proper speed to stay in the coordinated flow and to also stay on schedule.

3) The buses will be detected, have their routes identified and have their arrival times predicted and displayed at the stations kiosks.

LAKE & NICOLLET ITS SYSTEM - Bruce Boje

The City of Minneapolis is implementing a bus priority signal system at twenty nine signalized intersections. The project includes twenty locations on Lake Street between Bryant Avenue and 21^st Avenue and nine locations on Nicollet Avenue between 15^th Street and 31^st Street. Westwood Professional Services, Inc., under contract to the City of Minneapolis, has prepared contract documents for the installation of modifications to the traffic signals and for the development of the bus-priority signal settings. Modifications were made to the City’s T2000C traffic control system software to add bus priority operation. As part of this project, Metro Transit will equip all wheelchair accessible buses from our Snelling and Nicollet garages with Opticom emitters. Seventy-five new 3M emitters will be purchased for Metro Transit as part of this project. The remaining emitters necessary to have full deployment of the wheelchair accessible buses will be transferred from buses used for the Mn/DOT Travelink project. This effort is the first of four ISTEA CMAQ grant applications to specifically deal with the enhanced operation of transit vehicles to reduce congestion along major transit routes in the City. This project can help minimize overall passenger delay; make bus travel more efficient to attract more riders resulting in reduced auto traffic; make bus arrival times more uniform; and reduce the number of buses required to serve a route.

ITS MINNESOTA LUNCHEON NETWORKING – Art Leahy featured speaker

Mr. Arthur Leahy is the featured speaker at our next networking opportunity,  December 3, 11:30 at the St. Paul Sheraton Midway.  Mr. Leahy became Metro Transit’s senior executive on March 17, 1997.  Art is general manager of a system that provides of 84% of all transit trips in the state of Minnesota.  Metro Transit carries 62 million passengers annually on 890 buses, providing service on 109 routes in 7 counties and 189 cities.

For the previous eight years, he had directed bus and rail service operations in Los Angeles. In his role with Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Leahy managed the work of 8,500 employees, providing 350 million rides each year to customers in the Los Angeles area. While in Los Angeles, Leahy led three very successful rail starts and the maintenance of transit service during serious emergencies, including civil disturbances and earthquakes. Art began his transit career as a bus operator in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from California State University at Los Angeles and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.