Thunderbird Rural Transit Vehicles Equipment Packages

 

The following equipment packages are associated with the "Thunderbird Rural Transit Vehicles" element.   Select the "Details" icon to see the detailed process specifications that support each equipment package, or consult the National ITS Architecture web site for more information.

 

On-board Maintenance

This Equipment package provides the capability to use transit vehicle mileage data to automatically generate preventative maintenance schedules for each specific bus by utilizing vehicle tracking data and storing with a trip computer. It also provides the capability for real-time condition monitoring on board the vehicle, and transmission of this information via two-way communication to the management center.

 

On-board Paratransit Operations

This equipment package forwards paratransit dispatch requests to the driver and forwards acknowledgements to the center. It coordinates with, and assists the driver in managing multi-stop runs associated with demand responsive, flexibly routed transit services.

 

On-board Transit Fare and Load Management

This Equipment package provides the capability to collect data required to determine accurate ridership levels and implement variable and flexible fare structures. Support shall be provided for the traveler for use of a fare medium for all applicable surface transportation services, to pay without stopping, have payment media automatically identified as void and/or invalid and eligibility verified, and allow for third party payment. In addition, capability to provide expansion into other uses for payment medium such as retail and telephone and for off-line billing for fares paid by agencies shall be supported. This Equipment package also supports the capability for two-way voice communication between the transit vehicle driver and a facility, two-way data communication between the transit vehicles and a facility, sensor data to be transmitted from the transit vehicles to a facility, and data transmission from individual facilities to a central facility for processing/analysis if desired. These capabilities require integration with an existing On-board Trip Monitoring Equipment package.

 

On-board Transit Signal Priority

This Equipment package provides the capability for transit vehicles to request signal priority through short range communication directly with traffic control equipment at the roadside.

 

On-board Transit Trip Monitoring

This Equipment package provides the capabilities to support fleet management with automatic vehicle location and automated mileage and fuel reporting and auditing. This package may also record other special events resulting from communication with roadside equipment. This includes only the equipment on board the vehicle to support this function including the vehicle location devices such as GPS equipment, communication interfaces, a processor to record trip length, and the sensors/actuators/interfaces necessary to record mileage and fuel usage.