For DART, Smarter Vehicles Mean Better Customer Service

The Client

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), with a modern lineup of public transit services and customer facilities, transports residents and visitors between 12 adjoining cities. Their growing network of light rail and commuter rail lines, plus a fleet of nearly 1,000 late-model buses and vans, move more than 200,000 people a day across a 700-square-mile service area. By nearly doubling ridership since 1996, DART is a popular alternative to traffic jams and parking hassles.

The Challenge

DART desired to implement a new system for data retrieval through the national Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). In ITS, information and communications technologies are being deployed to better manage and improve how transportations providers offer services to the public. The DART ITS Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) would improve data collection methods, fare collection systems' ability to distinguish currency, and passenger volume estimates.

The Solution

To implement the ITS/IVI program through DART, they needed help with project management. BearingPoint developed an acquisition strategy for the multi-million dollar ITS/IVI program for an integrated system that included all transit modes of transportation. This required BearingPoint to define DART's business requirements, document the system's functional requirements, evaluate technology applications, assess and recommend vendors to deliver the required technology solution. BearingPoint was able to provide overall project management from the resource and development phase to integrating it all under the name Vehicle Business System (VBS).

The Benefits

The VBS delivers a myriad of benefits to DART through improving service through better performance monitoring of vehicles, aligning services to customers' needs, and increased efficiency in many areas including fixed routes. BearingPoint exercised their expertise through assessing design and performance through the selected technologies in order to ensure DART gained noticeable and evolving improvement in their business operations.

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