CA: Marin Transit approves $1.3M dispatch system upgrade

Marin Transit's buses will be getting a technology upgrade this summer.

The agency's board has unanimously approved a contract with Ineo Systrans for a new computer dispatch system. The $1.3 million, five-year contract is intended to provide Marin Transit with better real-time tracking, monitoring and communication with its buses.

The new system, called computer aided dispatch and automatic vehicle location, funnels key data — including route information, on-time performance, location, speed and onboard camera footage — to one place for administrators, said Kyle French, the agency's operations manager.

"CAD/AVL really does act as the central nervous system for a robust, functioning agency," French said. "Hundreds of data points are going back and forth within this system through two main points."

For bus drivers it's a "one-stop shop" that can automatically program things such as fare information and announcements, French said. It also can show when someone requests a stop and messages from dispatchers.

All buses would get a silent alarm switch, which would automatically alert dispatchers and change the exterior digital signs on the bus to an emergency message — without notifying anyone inside the bus, French said.

The automatic vehicle location part of the system involves data from various map applications such as Google Maps, Apple Maps and transit apps.

"It also means that our website, which has custom built widgets, shows the most up-to-date information and that the data pushed back to our scheduling software and our real-time passenger counting systems are accurate and complete," French said.

The old system uses tablets installed on the buses, but they pose issues with communication, dock connection and cable misalignment. The system required a separate hardware for voice communication between dispatch and drivers, and it is not integrated with any security systems, French said. It also needed multiple vendors.

"What I see in this is a staff-time savings by not having numerous vendors," said Marin County Supervisor Mary Sackett, a Marin Transit board member, at the Jan. 13 meeting. "I imagine that took time, and time is money."

The agency's existing contract, GMV, a company based in Spain, ends June 30, the close of the fiscal year. The board had approved the contract in 2009.

Since then, the agency has seen transit-related technology evolve, according to a staff report. Additionally, the GMV contract had gone through multiple extensions and amendments.

The new system will go live July 1. The parent company of Ineo Systrans is Equans, which is based in Atlanta. It says its clients include 250 public transit agencies around the world.

Its computer-aided dispatch and automatic vehicle location system is used in more than 50,000 buses, according to the Marin Transit staff report. Equans has a West Coast office in Irvine and a program manager in the Bay Area.

The $1.3 million cost includes around $859,000 in system startup costs and $95,000 to integrate the new system with the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District system. It also includes a $150,000 contingency in case more buses are added to the fleet, and yearly maintenance fees.

The cost for replacing Marin Transit's system was included in the district's capital plan and is 80% funded with a grant through a Metropolitan Transportation Commission program. The remaining 20% will be funded with Measure AA local sales tax revenue.

The agency issued a request for proposals in September. The agency received 10 proposals, but only six were complete applications.

Of the six, Ineo Systrans scored the highest, with 87.1 out of 100 points. The scoring categories were functional and technical requirements; vendor experience and qualifications; implementation approach; support and maintenance; and cost effectiveness. The rest of the applicants scored between 80 and 44.

"All of this looks great, although it's all premised on second-by-second communication, which I assume is done over the cellular network," said director Maribeth Bushey, a San Rafael City Council member. "What happens in places where there isn't cellular service?"

French said a previously installed system safeguards the bus disappearing from the map in a no-service area to some extent — it will show the last known location and update as soon as possible — but the agency is able to switch between cellular networks.

"I don't think there will be a noticeable delay or a noticeable lag even in areas of very low or no coverage throughout Marin County," French said.

___
(c)2025 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.)
Visit The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) at www.marinij.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.