New iPhone apps provide bus arrival and departure times to commuters

If you’ve ever taken a bus, you know the feeling of uncertainty over when your bus will come. You may have also felt the frustration of seeing your bus pull away, just as you arrive at the stop. Without access to accurate bus arrival and departure times, planning your commute can be a challenge.

Two Avego Futurefleet customers, BlueGo in South Lake Tahoe and TARTA in Toledo, Ohio, now offer their riders a quick and easy way to plan trips with confidence.

Avego created free iPhone apps for BlueGo and TARTA customers that provide reliable schedule information on bus services.

Users can find bus stop locations and route information on maps, check bus schedules, create a list of favorite stops for quick reference, and get directions from their current location to a selected stop.

Since launching the apps, many BlueGo and TARTA customers have relied on Futurefleet RTPI to take control of their commutes.

To see the apps in action, download them free from the iTunes Store.

Download TARTA app

Download BlueGo app

Eligible recipients include states, cities, MPOs, local and tribal governments, as well as multi-jurisdiction and multi-state partnerships. Grants may not be less $10 million ($1 million for rural areas) and the maximum grant size is $200 million. A 20% non-Federal match is required

The previous two rounds of the TIGER grant program provided $2.1 billion to 126 transportation projects in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Applications are due sometime this fall. Additional details on the grant program are expected to be announced soon.

TIGER III grants can be used to purchase Avego’s Futurefleet™ system for buses, our Vanpool Management System, or to implement Avego Real-time Ridesharing projects.

If you have any questions about the TIGER III grants or other funding opportunities please contact Jason Conley, Avego’s Director of Government Relations, at 202-318-0108.

More information on the USDOT’s TIGER grants

Notice of Funding Availability

Any transit agency in the United States that wishes to upgrade their systems to Futurefleet™ is now eligible for a new Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding opportunity.  On June 27, the FTA issued a Notice of Funding Availability for $175 million in livability grants to help communities develop better transit options.

At least $150 million in Section 5309 Bus and Bus Facilities funds are available for projects that support the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Livability Initiative. Real-time Passenger Information systems like Avego Futurefleet™ are an eligible use of this funding.

Proposals must be submitted by July 29, 2011, and will require a 20% non-Federal match. Priority will be given to projects that fulfill the livability principles that serve as the foundation for the DOT-HUD-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

For more information about this grant opportunity, or if you have questions about other funding opportunities for purchasing Avego products, please contact Jason Conley, Avego’s Director of Government Relations at (202) 318-0108.

Notice of Funding Availability

More info on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities

More on Avego Futurefleet™

Since 1971, the Toledo Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) has provided reliable and timely bus services to the Toledo metropolitan area. Today, TARTA operates 250 buses across 34 bus routes, serving nine communities while carrying almost 5 million passengers each year.

TARTA recently selected Avego to provide its popular TARTA Tracker services, which deliver schedule information to riders via SMS and web departure boards.

The TARTA Tracker By Text service sends riders estimated bus stop times for a selected stop directly to their mobile device. Riders simply text TARTA [stop ID] to 41411. For example, to find out what TARTA routes are scheduled to depart from Westfield Franklin Park, riders simply text tarta 11 to 41411. Stop IDs are conveniently posted at bus stops, and a full list of stop IDs is available to riders on the TARTA website.

The TARTA Tracker Viewer is an online departure board that shows riders the next buses departing from any stop they select.

Avego originally provided the SMS and web departure board services as part of a three-month Futurefleet pilot in 2010. TARTA quickly saw a high adoption rate of the new services, with several hundred riders regularly using the SMS service within the first month.

Stephen Atkinson, TARTA Marketing Director, said, “Futurefleet’s SMS and web departure boards services are a convenient, easy way for our riders to get schedule information. We’re committed to provide these valuable services to our customers on an ongoing basis.”

Contact Paul Steinberg in Avego’s Silicon Valley office to find out more about implementing Futurefleet in your transport fleet.

Avego's iPhone app

Taking place at the Canadian Embassy, Disruptathon features 6-8 companies talking about their disruptive innovations for an audience of 75-100 people. It will be a mix of techies, policy experts, government, and wireless carriers.

Avego’s presentation will include a video demonstration of Avego’s award-winning Shared Transport technology, which uses iPhone and web technology to essentially enable drivers to turn their car into a bus.

Drivers are matched with riders along their way in real time and Avego automatically manages an electronic micropayment transaction at the end of the journey.The system also enables real-time passenger information and includes a comprehensive range of safety features.

If you are interested in attending the event to get a first-hand look at how leading innovations from the U.S. and Canada are helping society reduce energy consumption while building sustainable new businesses, you can get tickets here.

Avego has been chosen by the Irish government to provide hardware for more than 20 private bus operators who wish to participate in the country’s first integrated ticketing system. When complete, the system will enable commuters to avail of pay-as-you-go charging with re-usable smart cards on public buses, trains, light rail and now private bus and coach services.

From the left: Jerry Mullins, Chief Executive, CTTC Ireland (representative body for the Commercial Bus Operators); Nicholas Leone, Integrated Ticketing System Project Manager, CBO Project; Richard Bryce, Executive Vice President, Avego; Frank Allen, Chief Executive, RPA

“We are delighted that Avego’s technology will be used to extend the convenience and efficiency of integrated ticketing to private bus and coach operators,” said Tim Gaston, ITS Project Director with the RPA. ”Avego’s advanced ticketing and reporting capabilities will enable these operators to enhance their operational performance and offer simplified fare payment options to their customers.”

Not only does Avego’s technology make it easier for passengers to pay for their journeys and transfer to other services, but it also helps operators to improve on-schedule performance, increase patronage and riderships numbers, reduce boarding times and eliminate fraud.

“As a hosted solution, Futurefleet uniquely provides the flexibility, scalability and convenience required to meet the diverse technical and commercial needs of private bus and coach operators,” said Avego’s Managing Director, Sean O’Sullivan. “The award of this significant contract demonstrates again the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of Avego’s systems.”

Avego’s range of ticketing hardware will enable a secure integrated ticketing solution that is fully interoperable with public transport services. The on-board hardware includes a new Avego Ticketing Mobile Data Terminal (MDT), with integrated printer and barcode reader, as well as several mobile ticketing and smart card units.

To learn more Futurefleet’s comprehensive in-vehicle services capabilities, please contact us today!

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Avego’s Managing Director, Sean O’Sullivan, will be participating in the special conference “Thinking Outside the Bus: New Approaches to Commuter Transportation” on Tuesday May 25th. Mr. O’Sullivan will be a panelist for an afternoon session entitled “The Goldilocks Approach to Technology: How Much is Just Right?”

CTAA EXPO 2010

Please also stop by Avego’s booth( #130) during the trade fair on Tuesday evening and Wednesday to learn how our Futurefleet technology can enable powerful real-time capabilities for your agency at a fraction of the cost previously available to the industry and be operational in weeks, not months.

We will also be hosting multiple demonstrations of our end-to-end vanpool management system, which is currently being rolled out by VPSI, the world’s largest vanpool service provider, and our Shared Transport iPhone application, which enables on-demand real-time ridesharing.

The first 100 visitors to our booth will receive a FREE Avego iPhone accessory pack!

Please remember to give yourself time to visit Avego at booth #130 and learn how your agency can provide riders with real time information for less than $2 per day.

As the leading voice for the use of smart technology to address America’s transportation challenges, the ITS America Smart Solution Spotlight award highlights the best and most innovative use of intelligent transportation systems to address national and regional transportation challenges.

“This concept of providing real-time on-demand commuting services could play a major role in increasing interest and participation in carpooling,” said Scott Belcher, President and CEO of ITS America. “The use of intelligent transportation technology will help create a new, on demand transportation system using wasted seat capacity in cars that are already on the road. If successful, this could result in significant improvements in traffic efficiency and the environment.”

ITS America

While most people understand the benefits and efficiency of carpooling, it is typically not flexible or convenient enough to meet the demands and busy lives of today’s commuters. Avego Shared Transport uses ITS technology to make carpooling more flexible, reliable and convenient by providing a marketplace for drivers to offer their empty seats to other people in real time.

This on-demand, real-time ridesharing system, which is now available as a free iPhone application, essentially incentivizes drivers to run their car as a bus, saving money by accepting ride requests from riders along their route.

A major upgrade of the iPhone application will soon be released.

You can read the official press release here.

One of the real-time departure boards at the event.

Just a few days before the event, the hot topic on Twitter was how attendees could get to WhereCamp without Driving. Avego took up the challenge and in just 3 days put together a soup to nuts deployment of a shuttle service with reliable real-time passenger information (RTPI) capabilities.

Using Avego’s GPS-enabled mobile data terminal installed inside 2 vans, which were very kindly provided by VPSI, the service ran between the Google campus, Caltrain in Mountain View and the San Jose Convention Center.

Real-time departure boards were set-up at the event, so the 300 attendees could know exactly when the next shuttle would arrive.

The great success of the service demonstrates the positive effect that RTPI can have on ridership numbers, and further highlights the speed and ease of deployment of Avego’s hosted real-time information and management systems.

Wherecamp, “a community-led grassroots conference for geo enthusiasts, developers, artists, and theorists”, has grown from a small group of people three years ago to over three hundred participants in 2010.

Avego would like to thank VPSI for providing the vans on such short notice and everyone who used the service during Wherecamp.

One of two vans kindly supplied by VPSI.

Avego is pleased to introduce the new Avego mini Mobile Data Terminal (MDT), which provides transport operators with powerful GPS-enabled real-time capabilities in a sleek and compact design.

The Avego mini MDT

Combining modern user-centered design with an internal GPS antenna and comprehensive complement of connectivity options, the mini MDT is an ideal solution for driving Avego’s advanced real-time passenger information, AVL and reporting capabilities.

The mini MDT’s 5” TFT LCD screen enables a razor-sharp color display, with durable touchscreen technology for providing drivers with a simple, reliable and user-friendly interface.

A range of convenient mounting options are available, so that the stylish and compact mini MDT can be easily, securely and rapidly installed in a wide range of transport vehicles.

Learn more about how the mini MDT can improve the efficiency of your operations by contacting the Avego sales team today.

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