Innovations in Paratransit Technology

    Veolia Transportation has invested heavily in people and technology to back our commitment to first-class, on-time paratransit service:

    • We use the world’s leading software systems, including Trapeze, RouteMatch, Stratagen and Ecolane.
    • We have developed special training programs to help dispatchers, schedulers, reservationists and managers learn how to use their software most effectively.
    • Our Trapeze experts are industry leaders and have customized our paratransit software programs to enhance the “real-time” performance of dispatch and dynamic route planning, and to provide passengers with up-to-the-minute schedule information.
    • We use GPS technology not just to react to problems but to proactively anticipate and solve them.
    • We build flexibility into route designs so fluctuating demand can be accommodated more easily.

    Veolia Transportation’s dedicated software team is continuously focused on identifying, developing, deploying and customizing new technology to enhance service and value to riders and clients. Our team has extensive experience with paratransit software. In fact, we have hired two of the most experienced experts in the industry, who have an outstanding track record in designing and deploying software to improve paratransit operations.

    Their focus is on paratransit software that monitors real-time performance and gives dispatchers and managers tools to take action in real time to optimize routes and to ensure we have the right number of vehicles on the street at the right times. Our paratransit software application ensures that we can more effectively manage labor and fuel costs, by giving our people tools to effectively manage the historical daily peaks and valleys in passenger needs for trips.

    It also makes visible to dispatchers any trip where there is an issue. For example, if the passenger is not ready when we arrive, or traffic congestion will cause us to be late, our customized tools enable our dispatchers to intervene and re-structure the remaining pickups accordingly. This capability enables them to make the best use of all the vehicles and drivers, in order to provide consistently good service to passengers and tightly manage costs. Another example of performance-enhancing software is a new monitoring tool that tallies our on-time performance for each hour of the day, giving managers more insight into how we are performing in real time.

    Veolia Transportation has a comprehensive technology infrastructure and a top-quality team. Whether it’s software for tracking fuel conservation, time and attendance, safety and maintenance, run cutting and performance or dispatch, we use cutting edge technologies and have the ability to customize and enhance applications. And we are constantly reviewing the landscape for new technologies to bring to our clients.

    Our proprietary technology anticipates scheduling problems before they happen.
    We customized our dispatch software to enable our teams to see potential delays well in advance, so they can proactively resolve the issues.

    In Orange County, California, we operate one of the largest paratransit services in the U.S. In this system, Veolia Transportation and our client, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), have one of the best on-time performance records in the country. This is a remarkable achievement given that this is one of the largest geographical areas we serve, and one of the most congested.

    One key performance enhancement that we provided our client is customized dispatch software. This enables our dispatchers to identify and deal with potential scheduling issues before they happen. This is very important in an area where traffic congestion is a serious daily challenge to getting people to their appointments on time.

    Our operating software combs through a database of active trips in the queue, and identifies those in danger of being late. These are then displayed on wide-screen monitor boards, so that dispatchers can take immediate action.

    Implemented in early 2008, the new software and equipment has improved on-time performance, and helped us maintain our industry-leading high levels of performance, which average 94%.