Title
Resolution for a Joint Participation Agreement - Service Development Grant for Intelligent Transportation System applications in Transit (B)
This item involves adoption of a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a Joint Participation Agreement between the City of Gainesville and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to accept a service development grant for applications in Transit.
Explanation
The Regional Transit System (RTS) and the University of Florida are working on a demonstration project involving applications of ITS technology to improve schedule adherence and disseminate timely bus location information to assist passengers with their trip planning decisions. This ITS technology would consist of an Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) system to track the real-time positions of fifty (50) RTS buses using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.
The key to this project's success is the ease with which passengers, or potential passengers, can access transit information (i.e., bus locations, bus schedules, and bus stop information) and how that same information is put to use to improve the RTS' service performance. The RTS expects this product to create greater awareness of our services and increase our passenger's expectations of those services, which in turn will help the RTS to better understand customer expectations. Knowing where the bus is, or how long before the next bus arrives, can remove the uncertainty passengers feel and improve their level of comfort while waiting at the bus stop. Passenger comfort and convenience are two expected outcomes of this project, but we also believe that this technology will help the RTS to build more reliable schedules that will result in an improved public transit experience.
Fiscal Note
The Service Development Grant Funds Joint Participation Agreement requires a 50% grant match. The total amount of this grant is $300,000 and matching funds in the amount of $150,000 will be provided by the University of Florida.
Recommendation
The City Commission adopt the Resolution.