When considering transit software and technological applications, it can be easy to overlook how software can actually impact and improve the experience of the end users; namely the transit riders. However, having the right technologies in place can actually translate into great benefits for transit riders, because technology can help keep costs low, improve the efficiency of a system, make rides safer and faster, and improve both communications and customer service capabilities.
Cutting-edge transit software can increase productivity and help operations run more efficiently, ultimately resulting in happier riders and increased ridership for agencies.
Keeping Costs Low
The demand on natural and manufactured resources continues to grow as the world’s population steadily increases, and customers and end users like transit riders are often forced to bear the brunt of the rising costs associated with this demand. Imagine being able to improve a system and maximize an operation without added expense to the customer.
That’s exactly what Ecolane MDT software is designed to do, because it can actually reduce costs for the transit company, and those savings can be passed on to the customer. For instance, by implementing software that reduces fuel costs, a transit company can both save money and refrain from increasing fares, and this will make for happy transit riders.
Improving Transit Efficiency
A common complaint lodged against public transit is that it’s slow and inefficient. The right transit software, however, can maximize scheduling capabilities, improve dispatching systems, and make a system more efficient overall. Moreover, being able to increase the number of rides per hour translates to moving more people in less time, and this efficiency will make a system more reliable, and more trusted by the riders who use it.
Making Trips Faster and More Flexible
Increasing the speed and flexibility of a transit system is another way that MDT software can improve the rider experience. For one, the right technology makes it easier for drivers and dispatchers to respond to unexpected issues, plan alternative routes, and deal with unforeseen route deviations. Similarly, software that optimizes scheduling can create faster routes that will accommodate more riders in larger areas.
Improving Safety and Customer Service
Ecolane has options available that can improve data collection, enhance reporting capabilities, reduce driver distractions, and improve communications between drivers or vehicles and the dispatchers and operations managers directing them. In the eyes of riders, this means that their complaints will be heard more clearly, issues will be addressed rapidly, and problems can be resolved more efficiently – to everyone’s advantage.
No matter how you look at it, the right mobile data software can play a huge role in improving the rider’s experience and creating a more efficient service overall.
About the Author
Ecolane
Read Ecolane's blog articles for perspective, opinion and information on transit and paratransit issues.