# Presentation: 015753

## Transit Management Centers:Human Factors IssuesTRB Human Factors Workshop January 7, 2001

**Volpe National Transportation Systems Center**
- Don Sussman
- Mary Stearns

**Federal Transit Administration**
**Office of Mobility Innovation**
- Advanced Public Transportation Systems Division

## Transportation Management Center

- A facility housing the operations management centers for at least two transportation modes.
-  It includes advanced technologies for various functions including highway congestion mitigation (e.g., assist in incident management), transportation information, and transit dispatching.
- Centers are also known as Traffic Control Centers, Central Control Centers, Traffic Information Centers, Transit Information Centers, Transit Control Centers and Transit Management Centers.
**NTI/FTA sponsored course, “TRANSIT ITS AWARENESS SEMINAR*”

## TMC vs. TMC

- Traffic Management Center
- Acquires and analyzes traffic data
- Provides guidance and coordination directly to the public  as well as public and private agencies to maximize traffic throughput
- Transit Management Centers
- Monitors transit system operations and traffic conditions
- Controls transit operations
- Coordinates with emergency service providers and other public and private agencies

## Traffic Management Centers

- Focus is on traffic management, a broad range of vehicle types, no direct control of individual vehicles
- Proactive responses based on analysis of a broad range of incoming data that is compared to “historical” patterns
- Communication with drivers mostly one way through broadcast (auditory or visual)
- Communication with traffic personnel only in emergency or other unusual condition
- Problem response usually accomplished through a limited choice of available solutions
- Information provided by sensors, sampling through instrumented vehicles (traffic probes), and volunteers

## Transit Management Centers

- Focus is on maintaining scheduled service for a limited range of vehicles with direct supervision of vehicles
- Two way and targeted communications with bus drivers and street supervisors
- Information shared within TMC and conducted interactively with drivers and street supervisors to accomplish *problem-solving*
- Information gathered through verbal interactions and sensors on vehicles and roadway sensors or cameras
- Requirements for communications with police and traffic personnel as needed rather than routine
- Most transit systems have existing TMC that have to be retrofitted or replaced rather than designed from scratch

## Transit Management Center Requirements

- TMC staff must
- Support intermittent and scheduled services
- Understand the capabilities of a variety of equipment (buses, light rail)
- Guide drivers who are often new to the route and equipment
- Remotely diagnose complex systems (lifts, fare boxes, air conditioning)
- Interact with
- supervisors, bus drivers, support personnel, public safety personnel, members of unions, contractor employees, and sometimes customers
- a variety of service providers

## Other Transit Considerations

- Because transit provides a “linking” service, it is a creature of its environment
- Constraints include schedules, stops, and interfaces with other modes, and weather
- Enabling services include parking management, fare collection procedures, accessibility, terminal surveillance, real time schedule access

## Denver RTD  an Illustrative Example

- Initial Goals:
- Better (more efficient) fleet management
- Improved security
- Better emergency management
- Better passenger service

## Denver RTD System Description

- Real time vehicle location displayed on Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) Computer using differential GPS
- TMC incoming data
- AVL Screen for bus location, Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) screen for driver initiated voice communication
- TMC outgoing data
- CAD or directly initiated voice and canned text
- Targeted, narrow cast, or broad cast

## Denver RTD System Description

- Street supervisors equipped with voice and laptop based real time information
- Communication using 9 microwave channels (2 data, 7 voice) with pre-coded text message capability
- Security based on “silent alarm”
- Automatic archiving of operations information

## Denver RTD Data/Information Flow

## Lead Dispatcher

- Denver RTD Dispatch Center

- I-25 CC TV
- Denver RTD Dispatch Center

## CAD / AVL Dispatch Console Denver RTD Dispatch Center

## Accurate accessible real-time vehicle location information resulted in improved  
Fleet distribution
Deployment of support vehicles
Management of connecting service, “connection protection” 
Transit management data collection
Collected in real time and automatically archived supports administrative as well as traffic needs
Message storage capabilities
Reduced driver distraction in high workload environments e.g. heavy traffic
*This project was the subject of two multiyear evaluations sponsored by the 
  FTA the results are summarized in the following slides

- Fleet distribution
- Deployment of support vehicles
- Management of connecting service, “connection protection”
- Transit management data collection
- Collected in real time and automatically archived supports administrative as well as traffic needs
- Message storage capabilities
- Reduced driver distraction in high workload environments e.g. heavy traffic
****This project was the subject of two multiyear evaluations sponsored by the *
*  **FTA the results are summarized in the following slides*

**Lessons Learned**Fleet Efficiency *

**Notes:**
RTD provides public transportation for a metropolitan area that has a population of 2.3 million, encompasses forty-four municipalities, and covers 2,400 square miles. RTD operates the 12th largest transit bus fleet in the United States, as well as a light-rail line. 

Regional Transportation District (RTD) acquired a CAD/AVL system that became fully operational in 1996. The CAD/AVL system added radio channels and covert alarms in buses, located vehicles in real time, and monitored schedule adherence
Dispatchers spend more time communicating about a greater variety of topics. The RTD dispatchers receive and transmit more calls as well as trace transit operations occurring both in real time and retrospectively.  Having information, accurate in place and time, meant that the dispatchers could provide accurate information about on-street operations.
RTD initially expected that accurate representation of transit operations would reduce the number of street supervisors. Because the street supervisors access to real-time information from mobile data terminals (MDT) in their vehicles, they have assumed more duties.
As part of the CAD/AVL, the dispatchers acquired new equipment with enhanced capabilities. CAD/AVL added radio channels to alleviate the congested communication, displayed real-time vehicle location and schedule performance, and increased safety through accurate location of emergencies.  Dispatchers also gained the capability to communicate directly with buses from other divisions, to receive and respond to covert emergency calls from buses, to “playback” past route performance of a particular bus, and to show the locations of buses out of service, for example, during snowstorms.
RTD’s dispatchers use dual computer screens (the CAD and AVL screens) that are located side-by-side. The CAD screen is the control center because it lists the radio calls by priority. The dispatchers see vehicles’ location on a scalable map on the AVL screen. Dispatchers access response options using “pull-down” menus and can select the desired level of detail to display on the AVL screen. 
The street supervisors use laptop computers, Mobile Display Terminals (MDT), while they patrol their sector in a supervisor vehicle.  They check out a MDT at the start of their shift and use it to access real time operating information. The MDTs are multitasking and have a windows operating system. The MDT has function keys for frequently used commands. The MDT design does not require street supervisors to recall data-entry commands because they can scroll through them. 
RTD installed transit control heads (TCH) in every bus. Bus drivers use the TCH as their primary communication interface with the CAD/AVL system and the dispatchers. Bus drivers initiate communication with the Dispatch Center by selecting one of the precoded buttons to push.

## Lessons LearnedSecurity

- Improved coordination with police through the use of accurate real time location data
- There was an initial reduction in perceived security due to use of “silent alarm” and pre-programmed communication lockout
- During the period of the project Passenger assaults decreased 33%

## Lessons Learned Passenger Service 

- AVL allowed the system to respond quickly to unusual service demands
- Operated “load and go” shuttles by real time location monitoring
- Handled increased (doubled) call volume in snow emergencies
- Accomplished rapid reassignments during incidents and accidents
- AVL provided passengers with information that was authoritative, uniform and shared.
- E.g. GPS based system time

## Lessons LearnedEmergency Management

- Distributed information- resulting in a better informed field staff, that can marshal more internal resources to deal with emergencies
- Better coordination with rescue, law enforcement, and fire services resulting in quicker, more effective rescue services

## Lessons LearnedSystem Effectiveness

- Over the five years of the project
- Early bus arrivals deceased 12%
- Late arrivals decreased 21%
- Customer complaints deceased 26%

- Define critical prior elements / functional requirements.
- Establish a concept of operations
- Use cognitive task analysis to identify critical tasks.
- Identify the organizational elements and their internal formal and informal communication processes.
- Develop operational scenarios and talk them through with staff.
- Balance designer inputs with staff inputs
- Prototype the system for evaluation before committing to a full build.
**Learn from the experience of other systems**

**To Successfully Manage the Introduction of New Technology, **

## All Management Centers Issues:

- Upgrades are often technology driven
- Design to employees’ / maintainers’ needs and qualifications
- “Technology push, feature creep”
- Balance integration and modularity
- Avoid outdated technology but stay away from the”bleeding edge”
- Technology will continue to develop
- “Keep the best replace the rest”
- What is the value added?
- Anticipate unanticipated “local” application  problems
- Buy the source code
- Beware COTS

## Coordination Issues Transit and Traffic Management centers

- Map conventions differ
- Highway maps isomorphic
- Transit maps symbolic, nodes
- Message propagation
- broadcast vs. narrowcast v.s. one to one
- Inter-vehicle communication
- Inter-system communication
- Both must deal with different frequencies patchy coverage, dead zones

## Transit andTraffic Management Centers

- Employee Issues
- Recognize the need to train, expect to find
- heterogeneous skills
- varying educations
- multiple employers
- Assess how long it will take to learn, and what assistance will be required, to use new feature
- You will need to “train more than you think”

## HF Considerations in All TMCs Work Environments

- TMC staff works as a team,
- They should be able to scan the other work stations and communicate verbally with each other
- Lighting / Sound
- “There will always be paperwork”
- Avoid “subdued” lighting
- Allow for personal preference for lighting
- Sound levels should be user adjustable
- Consider worker schedules
- Long shifts are common
- Conveniences must be near at hand
- Allow space for retention of some legacy systems

## HF Considerations in All TMCs Interfaces

- No display is too big
- AVL screens must display high levels of detail
- Pull down menus should not block important information
- System should have de-cluttering  modes
- Color sets should be established through research rather than operator choice
- Field personnel want same picture as Management Center even though their displays will have lesser capabilities
- No system is too fast
- The lag in displaying new information is very disruptive
- Limit the number of input devices

## Specific HF Issues in Transit Management Systems

- System integration
- Provide redundant auditory cues for critical signals
- Displayed information (particularly calls) should be transferable between consoles
- End-to-end confirmation of message receipt is required
- Provide a convenient way of correcting data entries

## Specific HF Issues in Transit Management Systems

- Training
- Assume workers will have a wide range of skills, particularly computer skills
- Assume that critical learning will take place through formal or informal apprenticeship and OJT

## Integration questions

- Given multiple types of management centers
- Traffic Control Centers, Central Control Centers, Traffic Information Centers, Transit Information Centers, Transit Control Centers and Transit Management Centers, and Emergency Response Centers, how should they be integrated?
- How do we focus on the trip as opposed to the transit segment?
- How do we integrate traffic management, lane priority, parking lots, airports, sports events?
- What should the model be?
- Is there a model?
- How do we introduce a new technology?
- How do we incorporate the benefits of new technology and retain equipage flexibility?