IntelliRide™ - Smart Paratransit

Innovative paratransit model by Veolia Transportation delivers quality and cost efficiency

Paratransit demand is on the rise. Coupled with increasing employee, fuel, insurance and capital costs associated with the delivery of these services, funding of paratransit is one of the industry’s most vexing challenges. Ultimately, without a fundamental alteration in the way we deliver service, the current paratransit model is economically and operationally unsustainable.

Introducing IntelliRide™

IntelliRide is a business approach for operating paratransit that simultaneously improves service quality and reduces cost includes. It deploys new operational practices and new technology.

Key elements of the IntelliRide model include:

1. The use of both dedicated vehicles (such as traditional paratransit vans) and non-dedicated vehicles (such as taxicabs) in order to promote efficiency and flexibility.

The goal of IntelliRide is to use dedicated vehicles for service that is predictable and productive and non-dedicated vehicles for trips that occur when system productivity and demand are low — or to cover peak-hour demand spikes. Dedicated vehicles are cost-effective when there is a sufficient number of paratransit trips to keep the vans busy and rides shared. However, they are not cost-effective at times when demand and productivity are low. Non-dedicated vehicles are also very effective for recovering service when a route is running late or for trips which have not been pre-scheduled, such as return trips from medical appointments which are difficult to schedule in advance. Ultimately, IntelliRide not only increases system efficiency and flexibility; it also allows for the operation of more service with fewer dedicated vehicles and a smaller capital investment. Intelliride finds the right mix —which is unique for each system.

2. The use of proprietary middleware developed by Veolia’s Unified Dispatch, LLC (UDI) to ensure rigorous management of trip completion for both dedicated and independent drivers.

Our middleware seamlessly transmits trip data between a paratransit software system and a taxi dispatch software system and GPS-enabled tablet computers used by drivers of non-dedicated vehicles. The software synchronizes trip data in real-time, and enables dispatchers, the transit agency and even riders to monitor service and the status of individual trips in real-time (regardless of who provides the trip).

3. The implementation of consistent driver screening and training requirements.

Our customized training programs result in consistent service quality across all modes and assure full compliance with all federal, state and local regulatory requirements.

4. Ability to integrate with an agency’s existing software, technology and operational approach.

Because every transit agency is different, IntelliRide can be customized based on the size and configuration of the agency’s fleet, nd the agency’s technology environment. In short, we designed IntelliRide not only as a comprehensive stand-alone approach for delivering paratransit, but also as a set of tools and technologies which can be grafted onto the agency’s existing paratransit infrastructure, thereby preserving and building on prior investments in technology and personnel.

Case Study: IntelliRide improves quality and saves money in Orange County, CA

In 2006 — long before we came up with its name — IntelliRide helped us to simultaneously improve service quality and productivity for one of the largest paratransit systems in the country. In Orange County, CA, Veolia and our subcontractor, American Logistics Corporation (ALC), worked with our client, the Orange County Transit Authority to implement a service model that allows Veolia to operate the bulk of service (approximately 4,200 trips per average weekday) with a client-provided fleet of 248 vehicles. We also subcontract the delivery of approximately 400 trips per day to ALC.

Veolia operates a state-of-the-art call center provided by OCTA, where we accept all trip requests and schedule all trips within the OCTA-provided Trapeze system. We begin by assigning those trips that can be productively scheduled to the dedicated vehicle fleet. Then we assign all other trips (which include late-night trips, approximately half of all weekend trips and any other trips that cannot be accommodated on the dedicated vehicle fleet) to ALC.

Since 2006 (the year Veolia and ALC began service), productivity has improved from about 1.8 to more than 2.2 trips per hour. On-time performance has gone from under 90 percent to around 94 percent. Finally, in a 2011 survey conducted by OCTA, customer satisfaction improved in all areas measured by the survey.

Much has changed from those early days in 2006. Today Veolia’s IntelliRide business approach is able to use UDI’s middleware in conjunction with a taxi provider’s dispatch system or GPS-enabled tablet computers to create a continuous data link between any agency’s paratransit scheduling software environment and any dedicated or non-dedicated vehicle providing service. This means real-time access to the status of each and every trip and real-time access to all performance data — regardless of whether the trip is provided on a van or in a taxi.

In addition to these advances in technology, Veolia has used its growing presence and experience in both the paratransit and retail ground transportation arenas to create IntelliRide business practices that result in better training for drivers and service that is safe, and reliable for riders and transparent for agencies.

Summary

IntelliRide is one of many examples of how the industry is responding to the challenge of delivering safe, reliable and cost-effective paratransit service. Other efforts include the development of smaller accessible vehicles and the increasing use of a wide range of technologies designed to improve rider convenience, reduce dwell times, increase productivity and better manage and track passenger fares and other program data.

Ultimately, we believe all of these efforts will transform the paratransit systems of today into systems that offer safety, reliability and flexibility for riders even as they offer transparency and cost-effectiveness for the agencies that pay the bills. In short, the day will come when paratransit passengers no longer have to choose between product and price because they will be able to have both.