A new data integration between Vontas, Swiftly and Transit will allow information to flow seamlessly between the three platforms to give riders accurate and accessible updates during ad hoc changes to service.
By incorporating Vontas’ market leading CAD/AVL Service Disruption features, agencies now have a central location to create ad-hoc service changes by central control or in-field support staff using Vontas OnRoute. The changes are then enhanced by Swiftly and shared via APIs to riders through Transit’s mobile app, Vontas and other passenger information platforms.
Agencies now have access to an end-to-end integration that links Vontas, Swiftly, and Transit in a best-in-class data flow that enhances staff efficiency and the rider experience. The result is highly accurate real-time information with data flowing seamlessly across a transit agency's critical vendors - from CAD/AVL to dynamic passenger information engine to passenger facing mobile app.
The end-to-end data flow takes inspiration from Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration's (MDOT MTA) in-house integration that connects Vontas OnRoute and Swiftly to share real-time disruption information with passengers via the Transit app. MDOT MTA’s work, which built upon Vontas Service Disruptions and Swiftly’s Service Adjustment APIs, revolutionized how MTA staff keeps riders informed during service interruptions and opened the doors for further collaboration among Vontas, Swiftly and Transit.
How it works
The integration works by linking three groundbreaking product updates spearheaded by Vontas, Swiftly, and Transit:
1. Data now flows seamlessly from Vontas OnRoute to Swiftly
Vontas OnRoute stands out as a modular, innovative solution that seamlessly integrates with top industry partners. As the only CAD/AVL provider to take this unique approach, transit agencies are empowered to create a customized solution perfectly aligned with their operational needs.
This power now extends to agencies who use Vontas Service Disruptions as their primary system for operational changes to service. With the new integration, key operational updates made in Vontas OnRoute – including detour information, trip cancelations and stop closures – now flow seamlessly to Swiftly’s Transit Data Platform via Swiftly’s Service Adjustments API. Swiftly then factors this information into its industry-leading prediction algorithm to generate highly accurate ETAs and allows rider alerts to be associated with the service adjustments. All this information then flows directly to riders through the Transit app and is also shared with other passenger information systems, real-time staff tools and historical analytics products.
2. Swiftly now sends detailed detours data to Transit via a new GTFS-rt extension
Swiftly and Transit have expanded their long partnership to develop a new extension of the GTFS-RT specification, called Trip-Modifications, that allows the display of detour information for the first time.
As detours flow into the Swiftly system directly or from Vontas they automatically inform ETAs in Swiftly's prediction engine and now show up for passengers in Transit, which is the first and only app to support detoured routes.
3. Transit is the only app to display detours in real time to riders
With its unique interface, Transit is now the first and only mobile app to display Trip-Modifications information to passengers in a dynamic, real-time map. Detours that are flagged in the Swiftly system directly or from Vontas, as well as those identified by Transit's first-of-its-kind automated detour detection system, now display on the map for agencies that have partnered with Transit.
The integrations allow detour information to flow seamlessly from Vontas to Swiftly to Transit, enabling agencies to more easily keep riders up to date during unexpected detours and service disruptions.
"At the end of the day, when our vendors integrate well with each other, it's our riders who benefit. This is always top of mind for us, but it was particularly relevant when exploring options for real-time detour updates to riders. We saw how an integration between our key partner vendors — Vontas, Swiftly and Transit — could keep riders informed with necessary disruption information. That's exactly why we invested in building the integration in house and the result has been even greater than the sum of its parts. It's great to see this being replicated and available to all other transit agencies. We're thrilled to be the first agency to use this integration to show detours to our passengers," said Michael Helta, chief customer experience officer, MDOT MTA
