WORLD
LEADING
PROVIDER
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to the bottom” in terms of sustaining
business. Th e data structures,
collection sources and analytic
capabilities they leave behind will
be a wellspring for entities that can
take advantage, not excluding public
transit.
“Th e data and open systems
now will better feed what’s next,
for things like autonomous vehicles,”
he said. “Th ere is an ecosystem
change and I don’t know what
role transit will play.”
Scheidt and Bachmann, which
makes solutions for parking, railway
signaling and fare collection,
is working on a future where the
machines are talking to and teaching
each other. Reese sees a compounding
eff ect as agencies onramp
to better collection of more
quality data. From those operational
effi ciencies, transit agencies
may be able to tap into machine
learning functions based on advancing
platforms and conduits
to external, public data streams.
“You’re getting to customer
prediction on high volume spikes
in ridership, or where weather
impacts service,” he said, latter
adding, “You’ll see more innovative
things coming out of these
agencies around saving money. …
You’re talking about bus tracking
systems that are able to know to
re-route, give operators better decisions
in real-time.”
Wherever the spectrum of technology
takes transit, plus nearly every
other industry, experts repeatedly
touched on two themes to keep
your sanity and career in the years
ahead. On the tech provider side, it
will “become incumbent … to continue
to be innovative” in answering
transportation and rider challenges,
not just new bells and whistles, according
to Reese.
From the perspective of transit
providers, Komanduri said agencies
with a clear goal can most nimbly
weather whatever data challenges
come down the road. It starts with
operational statistics and a few key
performance indicators. Agencies
vexed by today’s data collection
and analysis capabilities can then
begin to set the bar a bit higher, with
features like real-time snapshots
of data, or the transit feed overlaid
with a revenue feed, according to
Mastercard’s Slater.
“Even doing that very basic
thing is very valuable,” he said. It’s
baby steps rather than trying to
jump to the advanced analytics. Th e
cities that struggle are the ones that
try to do everything, all at once.”
Justin Kern is a freelance writer out of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Future Systems
solutions include:
• Bus transit stops
• Bus transit shelters
• BRT shelters
• Wayfinding systems
• Digital RTI displays
• CCTV Security
• Canopies & walkways
• Solar energy systems
For further information
call us on 845 570 2745
www.futuresystems-inc.com
sales@futuresystems-inc.com
iStock
MACHINE
LEARNING
functions
based on
advancing
platforms
and conduits
to external,
public data
streams
could be
in the near
future.