Oklahoma City-based Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority (COTPA) awarded a $2 million contract to Mentor Engineering to implement a complete end-to-end transit intelligent transportation system (ITS). The project is scheduled to be completed in early 2013.

For COTPA, Mentor is providing in-vehicle hardware and in-office software as well as a comprehensive passenger information system. The Mentor Streets software suite will be installed in the office. Streets is a fully integrated ITS that will give the agency’s dispatchers computer-aided dispatch and automatic vehicle location (CAD/AVL) capabilities. They can see the location of all the vehicles in their care on their onscreen map and can instantly access any vehicle's status to see if it is running early or late. Streets also provides Metro Transit management with automated reporting using valuable real-time data, which will assist them in improving the efficiency and accuracy of their transit operations.

Mentor MyRide is a passenger information system that will provide passengers with real-time bus location and status information. Passengers will be able to access real-time bus departure information via wayside signs, smart phones or on their personal computers; instant map updates and trip planning tools will also available to Metro Transit riders.

Mentor Ranger is a rugged mobile device that will be installed in the agency’s buses. Ranger allows Metro Transit’s drivers to communicate with dispatchers in real-time, and view route or schedule changes instantly. With Ranger in the buses, drivers will know if they are driving ahead or behind schedule, improving on-time performance.

Mentor will also install the Mentor T-Box, a sophisticated annunciator that announces next stop information to riders and automatically updates interior and exterior signs so riders have a visual cue for the upcoming stop in addition to the audio prompt.