Multi-community command and control systems in law enforcement: An introductory planning guide

A set of planning guidelines for multi-community command and control systems in law enforcement is presented. Essential characteristics and applications of these systems are outlined. Requirements analysis, system concept design, implementation planning, and performance and cost modeling are described and demonstrated with numerous examples. Program management techniques and joint powers agreements for multicommunity programs are discussed in detail. A description of a typical multi-community computer-aided dispatch system is appended

Application of automatic vehicle location in law enforcement: An introductory planning guide

A set of planning guidelines for the application of automatic vehicle location (AVL) to law enforcement is presented. Some essential characteristics and applications of AVL are outlined; systems in the operational or planning phases are discussed. Requirements analysis, system concept design, implementation planning, and performance and cost modeling are described and demonstrated with numerous examples. A detailed description of a typical law enforcement AVL system, and a list of vendor sources are given in appendixes

Bus Rapid Transit: A Handbook for Partners, MTI Report 06-02

In April 2005, the Caltrans Division of Research and Innovation (DRI) asked MTI to assist with the research for and publication of a guidebook for use by Caltrans employees who work with local transit agencies and jurisdictions in planning, designing, and operating Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems that involve state facilities. The guidebook was also to assist to transit operators, local governments, community residents, and other stakeholders dealing with the development of BRT systems. Several areas in the state have experienced such projects ( San Diego , Los Angeles , San Francisco , and Alameda County ) and DRI wished to use that experience to guide future efforts and identify needed changes in statutes, policies, and other state concerns. Caltrans convened a Task Team from the Divisions of Research and Innovation, Mass Transportation, and Operations, together with stakeholders representing many of those involved with the BRT activities around the state. Prior to MTI’s involvement, this group produced a white paper on the topic, a series of questions, and an outline of the guidebook that MTI was to write. The MTI team conducted case studies of the major efforts in California, along with less developed studies of some of the other BRT programs under development or in early implementation phases around the state. The purpose was to clarify those issues that need to be addressed in the guidebook, as well as to compile information that would identify items needing legislative or regulatory action and items that Caltrans will need to address through district directives or other internal measures. A literature scan was used to develop a bibliography for future reference. The MTI team also developed a draft Caltrans director’s policy document, which provides the basis for Caltrans’ actions. This ultimately developed to be a project within a project. MTI submitted a draft document to Caltrans as a final product from the Institute. Task team members and Caltrans staff and leadership provided extensive review of the draft Bus Rapid Transit: A Handbook for Partners. Caltrans adopted a new Director’s Policy and published the document, BRT Caltrans. The MTI “wraparound” report presented below discusses in more detail the process that was followed to produce the draft report. The process was in many ways as much a project as the report itself

Reliable routing in schedule-based transit networks

textA framework is proposed for determining the least expected cost path in a schedule-based time-expanded public transit network where travel times, and thus bus arrival and departure times at stops, are stochastic. Transfer reliability is incorporated in a label-correcting algorithm with a penalty function for the expected waiting time when transferring that reflects the likelihood of making a successful transfer. The algorithm is implemented in transit assignment on an Austin, Texas test network, using actual bus arrival and departure time distributions from vehicle location data. Assignment results are compared with those of a deterministic shortest path based on the schedule and from a calibrated transit assignment model. Simulations of the network and passenger paths are also conducted to evaluate the overall path reliability. The reliable shortest path algorithm is found to penalize transferring and provide paths with improved transfer and overall reliability. The proposed model is realistic, incorporating reliability measures from vehicle location data, and practical, given the efficient shortest path approach and application to transit assignment.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

Transit Stop-Level Origin-Destination Estimation Through Use of Transit Schedule and Automated Data Collection System

As fare and data collection technology has developed, the resolution of collected data has reached the level of the individual traveler in investigations of transit passenger behavior. This paper investigates the use of these data to estimate passenger origins and destinations at the level of individual stops. Because of a lack of information from the fare collection system, researchers still need some estimate of passengers' alighting stops to complete each passenger trip chain on a specific day. Automated fare collection (AFC) and automated vehicle location (AVL) systems are the inputs to the estimation. Instead of typical AVL data, the paper proposes two models to estimate the alighting stop; both consider passenger trip chaining by using AFC data, transit schedule data (Google's General Transit Feed Specification), and automated passenger counter (APC) data. The paper validates the model by comparing the output to APC data with vehicle location data (APC-VL) and performs sensitivity analyses on several parameters in the models. To detect transfer trips, the new models propose a submodel that takes into account the effect of service headway in addition to some typical transfer time thresholds. Another contribution of this study is the relative relaxation of the search in finding the boarding stops, which enables the alternative algorithm to detect and fix possible errors in identification of the boarding stop for a transaction. As a result, the paper provides algorithms for the proposed models and sensitivity analysis for several predefined scenarios. The results are based on data and observed bus passenger behavior in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, area

Mobile Vehicle Road And Weather Observation Quality Check Methods

Today State Departments of Transportation rely more and more on road weather data to make maintenance decisions. Inaccurate data can result in wrong treatment applications or inadequate staffing levels to maintain the roadway at the desired level of service. Previous methods of road condition data reporting have been limited to static in situ sensor stations. These road weather information systems (RWIS) provide varied data about precipitation, winds, temperature, and more, but their siting does not always provide an accurate representation of weather and road conditions along the roadway. The use of mobile data collection from vehicles travelling the highway corridors may assist in the locations where RWIS sitings are sparse or non-existent. The United States Department of Transporation\u27s Connected Vehicle (formally IntelliDrive) research project is designed to create a fully connected transportation system providing road and weather data collection from an extensive array of vehicles. While the implementation of Connected Vehicle is in the future, some of the theories and technologies are already in place today. Several states, as a part of the Pooled Fund Study Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS), have equipped their winter maintenance vehicles with Mobile Data Collection Automated / Vehicle Location (MDC/AVL) systems. In addition, since 1996, automobiles sold in the United States are required to be equipped with an Onboard Diagnostic Version 2 (OBDII) port that streams live data from sensors located in and around the vehicle. While these sensors were designed for vehicle diagnostics, some of the data can be used to determine weather characteristics around the vehicle. The OBDII data can be collected by a smartphone and sent to a server in real time to be processed. These mobile systems may fill the information gap along the roads that stationary environmental sensor stations are not able to collect. Particular concern and care needs to be focused on data quality and accuracy, requiring the development of quality checks for mobile data collection. Using OBDII-equipped automobiles and mobile collection methods, we can begin to address issues of data quality by understanding, characterizing, and demonstrating the quality of mobile system observations from operational and research environments. Several forms of quality checking can be used, including range checks, Barnes spatial checks, comparing vehicle data to road weather models, and applying Clarus quality check methodologies and algorithms to mobile observations. Development of these quality checks can lead to the future integration of mobile data into the Clarus system, data implementation for improved forecasting, maintenance decision support, and traveler safety. This paper will discuss the benefits and challenges in mobile data collection, along with how the development and implementation of a system of quality checks will improve the quality and accuracy of mobile data collection