Massachusetts’ Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA) is launching a new CAD/AVL and real-time passenger information system, which will provide real-time bus tracking, trip planning, automatic announcement, and service alerts to all riders on a variety of media.

Created in 1974, LRTA provides public transportation services to residents and visitors of the Greater Lowell area. With 20 fixed routes, its goal is to become the transportation choice for people who live, work, and visit the area.

LRTA’s Partnership with Equans

Selected for this project in 2023, Equans has already installed and commissioned the Equans Computer-Aided Dispatch and Automatic Vehicle Location (CAD/AVL) solution, real-time passenger information (RTPI), and equipped all buses with Automatic Passenger Counters.

With the new Equans CAD/AVL, LRTA can improve passenger experience and operations efficiency. The Equans CAD/AVL system includes ADA-compliant Automated Voice Announcement (AVA), relieving bus operators from having to announce it themselves.

The CAD/AVL is fully integrated to the vehicle’s speakers and updates the destination signs automatically, even when buses interline.

Equans Integrating with Other Techs

Now, the Equans CAD/AVL system provides a GTFS Real-Time feed to Google, Transit App, and LRTA’s website, which all utilize real-time service change updates, such as when a trip is cancelled, so that LRTA’s riders never miss their bus.

Equans’ CAD/AVL system offers many new ways to access real-time information for LRTA’s customers, including Transit App, a real-time bus tracking website, and digital signage at the transit terminal.

With LRTA’s new real-time Transit bus app, riders can track buses in real-time, plan trips, and receive alerts when their bus is close to arriving at their stop, or when a service change occurs.

Riders can “favorite” their most used stops to quickly access them from the home screen and set up reminders, so they never miss a bus again. Users can quickly get walking directions to any stop and tap the bus icon to see its actual location, direction of travel, last stop, on-time status, and even how many seats are available on the next bus through new real-time bus occupancy technology.

The free Transit App is available for iOS and Android devices on the App Store and Google Play. LRTA’s customers are also able to use this tool on their website.

Further Benefits of the New System

One of the key highlights of this project is the implementation of Automatic Passenger Counting (APC) technology in all buses, which will facilitate accurate data collection and analysis.

LRTA will benefit from reliable ridership data, real-time occupancy status shared with riders, and a simplified annual NTD reporting process.