DATA REQUIREMENTS FOR URBAN LOCATION/COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

ALTERNATIVE DATA INPUTS TO LOCATION AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS ARE EXAMINED. THESE SYSTEMS COMPRISE THE HARDWARE FOR THE AUTOMATIC MONITORING OF VEHICLES BY DISPATCHERS, TRANSIT OPERATORS, AND OTHER MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IN CONTROL OF DISPERSED VEHICLE FLEETS IN THE FIELD. THE PURPOSE OF LOCATION AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS IS TO TRANSMIT DATA TO A CENTRALIZED COMPUTER WHICH PERMITS INSTANTANEOUS MONITORING OF SCHEDULES, EQUIPMENT UTILIZATION, AND EMERGENCIES. DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS WHICH CAN BE PERFORMED BY LOCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS ARE DISCUSSED. SINCE THE FLOW RATE OF INCOMING DATA MAY OUTSTRIP EITHER THE CAPACITY OF THE COMPUTER TO DISPLAY THEM OR THE ABILITY OF MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL TO USE THEM EFFECTIVELY, A THRESHOLD OF USABLE INFORMATION IS DEFINED. THE COMPUTER MAY BE RE-PROGRAMMED TO DISPLAY TIME AND COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH INCOMING DATA RATHER THAN MERELY DISPLAYING THEM ON A ROUTE CHART OR OTHER PLOTTING BOARD; AND THEREFORE, COMPUTER CAPABILITY BECOMES AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN SYSTEM FEASIBILITY. THREE DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION ARE ANALYZED WITH REFERENCE TO THE KINDS OF INFORMATION INPUTS REQUIRED BY THEIR RESPECTIVE MONITORING SYSTEMS: (1) ROUTED VEHICLES (BUSES); (2) SEMI-ROUTED VEHICLES (DEMAND-ACTIVATED RAPID TRANSIT); AND (3) NON-ROUTED VEHICLES (POLICE CARS). ITEMS COMMON TO LOCATION AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS FOR THESE THREE CATEGORIES ARE IDENTIFIED ALONG WITH REQUIREMENTS UNIQUE TO EACH. A MATRIX IS THEN CONSTRUCTED WHICH ESTIMATES THE NUMBER OF "BITS" OF INFORMATION REQUIRED TO REPORT TYPICAL TYPES OF INFORMATION FROM EACH VEHICLE CATEGORY. A DIRECT MATHEMATICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NUMBER OF "BITS" OF INFORMATION WHICH CAN BE COMMUNICATED PER SECOND AND THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES WHICH CAN BE MONITORED IS PRESENTED. /UMTA/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • PROJ NO MD-MTD-4
• Corporate Authors:

  IIT Research Institute

  10 West 35th Street
  Chicago, IL  United States  60616
• Publication Date: 1970-4

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automatic vehicle monitoring; Buses; Communication systems; Demand responsive transportation; Information processing; Monitoring; Police vehicles; Radio; Scheduling; Urban areas
• Uncontrolled Terms: Monitors
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00226483
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Urban Mass Transportation Administration
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Nov 7 1982 12:00AM