Williamsburg Area Transit Authority (WATA) has completed outfitting its bus fleet with the latest Intelligent Transportation Systems, including CAD/AVL and real-time passenger information. WATA selected Equans for the project and the company worked in partnership with Masabi and Via, to coordinated the installation of the system on 23 fixed route buses and seven paratransit vehicles. The new system enables WATA to provide crucial data to its riders live on multiple platforms such as Transit app and Google.
Digitalize public transport to boost passengers’ well-being and local tourism
WATA provides public transportation services to residents and visitors of James City County, the city of Williamsburg, York County and the city of Newport News, Va. With 12 fixed routes operating, its ambition is to become the transportation option of choice for people who live, work and visit the area. In 2022, WATA provided service to more than 670,000 tourists and local citizens. WATA benefited from Equans as a single system integrator, both for its fixed-routes and paratransit vehicles. By collecting, analyzing, and processing data in real-time, the Equans NAVINEO CAD/AVL system will ease WATA’s work as a transit agency by enabling it to locate instantaneously both moving and stationary vehicles on its 12 fixed routes and improve its reactivity and operational performance thanks to real-time service adjustments features.
“The main benefit is we can provide real-time information to our riders. The new system can also quickly respond to any disruptions in our service. For example, if one of our routes has to make a detour due to an accident or road work, we can quickly provide riders with the live temporary route. Another great benefit is the system improves communication between dispatch and operators, as well as gives dispatchers the ability to locate our fleet as they’re out on their routes,” said Karen Davis, director of operations, WATA.
As the vehicles move along their route, schedules, transfers and service alerts are displayed on brand new on-board infotainment screens but are also accessible via the Transit app and Google. Furthermore, thanks to Masabi’s Mobile Fare Payment platform, starting July 1, passengers will be able to pay via their mobile phones.
Flexible and adaptative, Via’s paratransit CAD/AVL was built to support both WATA’s current demand response service (ADA service), as well as potential future on-demand services. The ability of the new digital equipment to geolocate and communicate with each vehicle in real time is particularly valuable to better consider and adapt the schedule and route of each paratransit vehicle according to the requests received daily while keeping beneficiaries informed.
Equans’ technology also offers new automated functionality, both for operations team and for riders, saving the agency both time and money.
“During the early stages of this project, we placed a high value on customer service. From start to finish, our experience with Equans has been top notch. We came into this project with a little bit of a unique, but exciting approach. From the early planning stages through testing and acceptance, the Equans team has been responsive, organized and determined to make sure this project matched our expectations,” said Ben Goodill, director of planning and administration, WATA.
“Equans is proud to support WATA and to improve riders’ experience in public transportation via Intelligent technology. For Ineo Systrans USA Inc., it is also a major premiere as it is the first contract where we have been mandated to implement an Intelligent Transport System both for fixed-route and paratransit services. We would like to express our special thanks to WATA for their trust, as well as to our partners Masabi and Via,” said Stephan Goguet, COO of Ineo Systrans U.S., an Equans company.
