AUTOMATIC VEHICLE LOCATION AND PARATRANSIT PRODUCTIVITY: MIAMI CASE STUDY

In 1995, the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida in Tampa conducted a study designed to test whether automatic vehicle location (AVL) technology could be used to improve paratransit productivity. This paper describes the case study resulting from research conducted at Zuni Transportation, Inc., in Miami, Florida. Zuni operates door-to-door, paratransit service as part of the Specialized Transportation Service brokerage at Metro-Dade Transit Agency. The AVL technology used for the study was a subscriber-based radio navigation system developed by AirTouch Teletrac. Zuni originally purchased the AVL system as a security precaution to protect against vehicle theft and related crimes. During the study period, significant issues related to the collection and analysis of data were encountered, raising the question of whether this particular technology lends itself well to this application. Despite the limitations identified in the case study, the results of the research suggest that AVL technology could benefit paratransit systems by providing better (and more accurate) information relating to productivity (e.g., measuring on-time performance, vehicle dwell times, passenger ride times) and real-time service monitoring (e.g., tracking system safety, locating addresses, documenting passenger no-shows, estimating arrival times, and monitoring drivers). A checklist was developed to assist paratransit systems considering the implementation of an AVL system. The checklist includes considerations for: determining the need for AVL, selecting an AVL system, and implementing an AVL system.