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 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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Dualway

Dualway, based in Dublin, Ireland, is Avego’s latest customer, having selected Futurefleet^TM as the on-board ticket sales and fleet management solution for its award-winning transport and tourism services.

With 25 GPS-enabled Futurefleet Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) installed on their sightseeing, day tour and local scheduled services, Dualway can now easily manage ticket pricing and access real-time reports online for any of their vehicles. Drivers are also provided with advanced ticket sales management capabilities, as well as real-time schedule adherence notifications for ensuring on-time performance.

“Having been in operation since 1979, we know that we must constantly strive to improve the efficiency of the services we provide,” said Linda McConn, Marketing Director at Dualway. “Avego’s Futurefleet has rapidly become a very effective tool for us to streamline our ticket sales and reporting, and to easily provide more flexible ticket pricing for our customers.”

The rapid in-vehicle MDT ticketing system enables drivers to improve customer satisfaction with faster loading times. And using Futurefleet’s intuitive web interface, operators can quickly and easily add or modify routes, schedules and ticket pricing from anywhere with an Internet connection and have those updates immediately reflected on the Futurefleet MDT. Operators can also track vehicles in real time and access comprehensive reporting on tickets sold and on-schedule performance.

“The lifeblood of any transport operator is their daily passenger throughput,” said Sean O’Sullivan, Avego’s Managing Director. “Avego’s analytics allow transport operators to see where and when the thousands of people who are using their buses daily purchase their tickets, and the flow of their transport services throughout a city or country, in real time. Legacy ticketing systems and standalone AVL systems cannot provide the intelligence or convenience of the end-to-end Futurefleet system. We are delighted to have Dualway upgrade their systems to Futurefleet.”

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President Obama

The DOT requested budget, which can be viewed in full here includes “High-Priority Performance Goals” for the coming year(s).

Additionally, the 2011 budget includes $4 billion to create a National Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Fund to invest in projects of regional or national significance. This marks an important departure from the Federal Government’s traditional way of spending on infrastructure through grants to specific States and localities. The Fund will allocate resources based on demonstrable merit and analytical measures of performance. It will provide planning, feasibility, and analytical capacity to help sponsors identify high-value projects from around the country and then carefully select the most worthwhile projects.

To learn more about securing federal funding for real-time passenger information implementations of Futurefleet, or for a Shared Transport pilot, please contact Avego’s Director of Government Relations, Jason Conley.

However, Orange County in Los Angeles already has a wildly successful BRT system that was launched in 2004. In conjunction with the local rail system and the addition of more bike racks on buses, the BRT is a unique multi-modal transportation system that is available to commuters in L.A. 24 hours a day and cuts commute times by half. The system is now being modeled by other cities around the world.

Check out this great film by streetfilms.org to learn more and to see BRT in action:

Learn more about Futurefleet, Avego’s end-to-end real-time management system for passenger transport operators here.

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This perfect storm created an America of single occupancy vehicles, urban sprawl and commute times expanding from a few minutes to hours a day. The days of hitch-hiking were gone and carpooling became the ugly step sister for many years, considered dangerous and inconvenient by many.

However, in the last five years, as the US becomes more environmentally responsible and resistant to foreign oil dependency, we’ve come to realize a long-term solution needs to be found. Beyond hybrid vehicles, electric cars and public transit, we have to get more people to change their narrow view of owning a vehicle for themselves and instead think in terms of maximizing seat capacity for a better way of life.

The Avego solution is simple. Reduce the number of single occupant vehicles on our roads by creating a network of Shared Transport vehicles, in which people are matched together in real time to occupy a single vehicle, thereby saving gas, money and harmful C02 emissions.

Now, you can become part of the solution by sharing your car in a safe and economically positive environment by broadcasting empty seat availability and choosing to take on riders (for compensation). Conversely, as a rider, you can broadcast your destination and be matched in real time with drivers going where you need to go, when you need to go.

Safe, efficient and environmentally friendly… that’s the Avego Shared Transport solution.

Avego Shared Transport is available as a free iPhone app.

Riders do NOT need an iPhone to request rides – they can sign up for a free account to book rides online. Create your free Avego account here.

Learn more about Avego Shared Transport here.

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In the last year, Twitter has grown in popularity amongst transit agencies in the US as a tool for communicating with their customers about service changes and general news. While the number of agencies using Twitter is still small, agencies are increasingly trying to figure out how it can be of real strategic value.

Some great articles have been written about the business benefits of “tweeting” (such as here, here and here), but the specific role that Twitter can play in your transit agency requires some internal analysis. A general rule of thumb is to start by considering Twitter in terms of “how we communicate with our customers”, including potential customers.

Twitter provides some specific benefits to transit agencies, such as the ability to provide real-time service updates to customers, but it also offers more traditional marketing benefits, such as generating leads and web traffic. Once a decision has been made about how Twitter will be used to communicate to the world, then it can be assigned to a particular group with specific objectives.

When deciding how to use Twitter in your agency, look towards other related organizations that are already using Twitter, by searching for “#transit” on Twitter.

Avego uses Twitter to communicate the latest in transit related news and technology. You can find us at www.twitter.com/AvegoUSA

US Department of Transportation

The money represents the first batch of funding by the Obama Administration for its Livability Initiative, a joint venture of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“This represents a significant effort to promote livable communities, improve the quality of life for more Americans and create more transportation choices that serve the needs of individual communities,” Secretary LaHood said. “Fostering the concept of livability in transportation projects will stimulate America’s neighborhoods to become safer, healthier and more vibrant.”

A maximum amount of $25 million per project will be made available from approximately $130 million in unallocated discretionary New Starts/Small Starts Program funds. Eligible projects include streetcars and other urban circulator systems. Priority will be given to projects that connect destinations and foster the redevelopment of communities into walkable, mixed-use, high-density environments.

Transit operators interested in acquiring Futurefleet^TM to enable reliable real-time passenger information (RTPI) for their fleets can now apply for this funding.

Avego has compiled two documents with more information on funding opportunities for transit agencies in .pdf format, which are now available here and here.  Contact information is provided on each document if you have more questions or would like assistance in applying for these grants.

The coalition, which includes Former Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters, the U.S. Chamber, T4 America, AAA and other public and private sector leaders, joined ITS America in signing a letter to President Obama outlining the numerous economic, environmental, and transportation benefits of investing in ITS technologies.

The letter, which was delivered to the White House on December 17th, highlights a recent report by the London School of Economics and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation which finds that investment in ITS:

• Creates a ‘network effect’ throughout the economy and directly benefits economic growth by stimulating job creation across multiple sectors, including green jobs, high-tech, automotive, information technology, consumer electronics, and related industries; and
• Provides a foundation for long-term benefits, including government cost savings, economy-wide productivity and an improved quality of life.

The full letter is available here.

The full list of signatories is available here.

“We really appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm for the pilot, and the feedback we receive every week has driven the improvements and new capabilities in Version 2.0,” said Avego’s Pilot Programs Manager, Audrey Linnane. “Everyone is looking forward to trying it out for themselves, and to the upcoming expansion of the pilot to more staff and students.”

Focus Group at UCC

Avego’s UCC pilot aims to expand affordable commuting options for staff and students by providing a marketplace for drivers to offer their unused seats to other people in real time. 20 staff and students regularly use Avego’s iPhone app, while many hundreds more have registered their interest in participating in the next stage of the pilot, as both drivers and riders.

As well as being featured in the New York Times, and other local, national and international press, the pilot was also recently the focus of this evening news story on Irish national TV station TG4 (note: this video is in the Irish language, with English subtitles).