March Networks announced that the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is deploying the company's mobile video surveillance systems on its 669-vehicle, fixed-route bus fleet to dramatically improve incident investigations and coordinate with police and Homeland Security operations.

While MTA staff must manually retrieve video from buses still equipped with legacy recorders, video from March Networks 5412 Mobile DVRs installed on approximately 130 new and retrofitted buses is downloaded automatically via a wireless network as vehicles enter one of four depots. In the future, the MTA plans to enable real-time video monitoring while buses are in service, taking advantage of the solution's support for remote video access over GSM/CDMA/EVDO and WiMax mesh networks.

In tests conducted by the MTA, the 5412 MDVRs consistently downloaded 700 MB of video — the equivalent of one hour of video from 10 cameras on each bus — in less than five minutes. The systems enable operators to record video at 30 fps and stream the same video wirelessly from each camera at lower frame rates for live viewing. The 5412 MDVRs also easily store video for up to 30 days, enabling the MTA to satisfy a state mandate it was unable to achieve with its legacy system.

The administration plans to have its entire bus fleet upgraded with the March Networks solution by March 2011.