Deployment of an Advanced Public Transit System (APTS) for a mid-size transit system costs $150,000.

The experience of San Luis Obispo Transit in implementing Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL), software, dynamic messaging signs (DMS) and real-time passenger information.

Made Public Date
07/29/2011
Identifier
2011-SC00216
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Summary Information

The San Luis Obispo (SLO) Transit pilot project for Efficient Deployment of Advanced Public Transit Systems (EDAPTS) in California was deployed in 2001 and was studied in 2008 to assess the benefit/cost ratio of the implemented technologies. This study was performed to assess the potential expansion of these technologies to other small and middle sized systems if the SLO system was found to be economically feasible.

The costs of equipment, construction, installation, and maintenance for components of the SLO Transit system are given below, as excerpted from the report:
 

Component
SLO Transit
Quantities
Current Per Unit
EDAPTS
Component Cost
Estimates (2007)
Current Per
Unit
EDAPTS
Component
Construction
Labor Time
Estimates in
hours (2007) [2]
Current Per
Unit
EDAPTS
Installation
Labor Time
Estimates
Current Per
Unit
EDAPTS
Annual
Maintenance
Labor Time
Estimates
SLO Transit
EDAPTS
Total
Component
Cost
Estimates
(2007)
Fixed Costs
Mobile Data Terminal with mounts, GPS antenna, and magnetic stripe card reader
15
$1,747
7.00
3.50
6.00
$37,615.88
Smart Transit Sign with paging receiver and solar power equipment
9
$3,179
16.00
9.00
2.00
$44,912.25
Smart Transit Sign engineered post with installed foundation
7
$2,350
2.00
4.00
0.00
$19,492.90
Radio and radio-modem set with installation in vehicle
15
$1,700
0
2.50
1.00
$28,216.88
Central Dispatch Workstation
2
$700
0
0.75
0.00
$1,508.68
Central Dispatch Server
1
$1,700
0
1.25
2.00
$1,790.56
Software
1
$0
0
160.00
88.00
$11,592.00
Recurring Costs
Radio service (per bus)[1]
18
$17 /month
$3,726.00 /year
Pager service
1
$55 /month
$660.00 /year
Total
$149,515.134

[1] Cost is for single radio channel. Current EDAPTS installation in San Luis Obispo share existing voice channel, effectively providing free data communications. A separate dedicated channel is recommended.

[2] Labor rate assumed to be $72.5 per hour.

The Smart Transit Sign is a Dynamic Messaging Sign (DMS) which allows nearly 50 percent of SLO Transit riders to get real-time information about bus arrivals at eight of their bus stops. These signs are solar powered and capable of running for 20 days of inclement weather. Housed in a heavy-duty enclosure that is both vandal and weather resistant, the signs are all pager controlled. These signs can display information about estimated arrival times for multiple routes and repeated text banners.

It should be noted that the EDAPTS ITS system is an open-source system. The Central Dispatch Software does not have unit cost. Transit agencies willing to adopt the EDAPTS ITS system can refine the free Central Dispatch Software for their own operating environment. This research only considered the costs associated with the installation, operation, and maintenance of the Central Dispatch Software.

Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) and On-Board hardware are installed on SLO Transit buses. Each MDT includes 1) a driver’s keypad and display, 2) an integrated GPS receiver, 3) a magnetic swipe card reader, 4) an emergency button, and 5) a data interface to a voice radio system.This project assumed that these MDTs and vehicle On-Board hardware can be packaged to be commercial products. The unit price of these products was defined to reflect the costs of off-the-shelf components assembled in the MDTs and On-Board hardware. Additionally the project considered the costs associated with the installation, operation, and maintenance of these products.