A research study investigated the impacts of technology on operational efficiency of Florida Community Transportation Coordinators (CTCs). The challenges facing CTC staff are universal as trips have to be completed with no delays and customers have to be satisfied. Although demand is on the rise, budgets are not increasing with the same pace. This presentation will report on the impacts of applying various technologies to paratransit systems based on an online survey of Florida agencies and in-depth interviews with seven of them during site visits. Data from survey responses that indicate reasons that prompted applying these technologies, the costs of the technologies deployed, and the funding resources used will be presented as well as an assessment of the impacts of selected technologies on increasing system performance. Technologies investigated by this research included reservation, scheduling, and dispatching software, mobile data computer or terminal, automatic vehicle location, global positioning system, vehicle security cameras, and advanced telephone systems. Performance measures for evaluating the impacts of technology deployments included system productivity, on-time performance, reduction of no-shows, driver performance, and customer satisfaction. Lessons learned during these interviews are discussed to help other agencies apply effective practices that have been successful in solving challenges with the application of new technologies that are available to the industry. The study was sponsored by the USDOT and FDOT through the National Center for Transit Research at CUTR.
Presenter: Nevine Georggi, Senior Research Associate, Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida
For over 22 years at CUTR, Ms. Georggi researched the impacts of employing new technology in advanced public transportation and traveler information systems on travel behavior. She participated in designing ITS planning and integration guidebooks for the state of Florida, alcohol-related safety research, travel behavior, travel-related statistical analysis, trip generation models, transportation, and survey design and analysis. Ms. Georggi currently investigates the impacts of employer-based policies and programs on the transportation system, researches the impacts of ITS applications in collecting travel data, providing travelers with pertinent feedback to reduce drive-alone use, and enhancing the transit rider experience. Her experience extends to coordinating Project Development and Environmental Studies for southeastern Florida counties, providing initial data collection and future forecasting of energy consumption of a region, writing of energy conservation policies, and transportation planning related to an existing land use plan. Ms. Georggi is pursuing a doctorate degree. She earned a Master’s of Science in Civil Engineering from the USF in 2000.