Albany, N.Y.’s Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) contracted INIT to implement an Intelligent Transportation Management System (ITMS) across its entire fixed-route fleet. The partnership between CDTA and INIT initially began in 2005 with a then state of the art fleet management and real-time passenger information system.

The contract will modernize CDTA’s existing fleet management system to a cloud-hosted system, upgrade the automatic passenger counting system, and deploy real-time passenger infotainment displays on-board and at various stop locations. CDTA customers will have their choice of real-time information channels; a mobile app, a user-friendly website, wayside and onboard signage, and an Interactive Voice Response system. The contract also includes onboard Wi-Fi for passengers to further enhance their experience.

“CDTA is committed to growing its Navigator brand with INIT as our partner by providing a groundbreaking transit technology innovation platform designed to meet the needs of customers for many years to come,” said Thomas Guggisberg, director, information technology.

As part of the project, INIT will supply a remote dispatching tablet application for field supervisors and new software upgrades for dispatchers and operators. They will enjoy a redesigned user experience for communications, managing operations, executing various service restoration measures, and more. The intuitive design will minimize training and increase utilization.

The project also includes business intelligence tools to convert the operational data, like on-time performance, passenger miles, and real-time communications into actionable information. The dashboards and data visualization tools will display the current status of metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) for decision makers.

To insure a successful implementation of the technology, INIT will provide extensive operational consulting to CDTA. The consulting will begin with benchmarking during the design, continue with assessments during deployment and carry on after system acceptance into the warranty. INIT will use the results to report to CDTA to keep the system utilization aligned with CDTA’s goals and objectives.

Due to the ongoing partnership with INIT, CDTA is uniquely able to transition to the new system without interruption. Throughout the entire migration process, normal operations will be maintained — further enhancing passenger convenience.