Mobile Bus Tracking System Nears Launch In Ocean City

OCEAN CITY — Ocean City’s new mobile “Where’s the Bus?” tracking system for municipal transportation patrons could be ready for a soft opening by mid-December with a complete system ramp-up by New Year’s Eve.

During Tuesday’s Transportation Committee meeting, Assistant Transportation Supervisor Brian Connor provided committee members with an update on the implementation of the TransLoc auto vehicle locator (AVL) system, which, when in operation, will allow municipal bus riders to track the location of the next bus heading their way. For the last year or so, Ocean City officials have been looking into an online application for cell phones that will allow riders to track the location of the city’s buses.

The intent is to allow riders to track the locations of the buses and ultimately when they should be arriving at the various bus stops, thereby reducing the amount of time riders spend sitting on bus stops. The town’s transportation department has utilized similar technology since 2004, allowing supervisors to track the bus locations, determine where riders are stacking up and moving the resources to best meet the demand.

When that system showed signs of failure this summer with 35 different outages totaling 96 hours including an entire three-day period in July, it expedited the need to replace the 2004 AVL system. Replacing the outdated technology presented the town with an opportunity to implement a new system that can be accessed by the bus-riding public via their cell phone.

In September, the Mayor and Council approved the purchase of the TransLoc system, which will serve the dual purpose of allowing city transportation officials to track the locations of the resources, while allowing bus riders to access the information from the phones and other mobile devices. Since then, TransLoc has been creating a system to meet Ocean City’s needs and Connor told Transportation Committee members on Tuesday the project is moving ahead as planned.

“We’re shooting for a soft opening on or around Dec. 15,” he said. “We have to start somewhere, and getting it up and running in mid-December will allow us to work out any bugs and have it fully ready and operational for the New Year’s Eve weekend.”

Educating the public on the new bus tracker application will require significant marketing and outreach. Connor said he has been working with Communications Director Jessica Waters and Tourism Director Donna Abbott on a multi-faceted marketing plan to get the word out about the new bus tracker application.

“We have a plan in place to really market this and let the public know about it and how it works,” said Waters on Tuesday. “We’re really pushing for New Year’s Eve, which historically is a big time for people to ride the municipal buses. We’ll be doing several pushes through different mediums over the next few weeks leading up to the soft opening and New Year’s Eve.”

Mayor Rick Meehan said educating the public on the new TransLoc system will take some considerable effort and will have to be an ongoing process.

“Education is the key with this, just as it is with any new initiative we roll out,” he said. “It’s going to take some time to get people used to this, and it’s going to be an ongoing thing because of the turnover in visitors we have.”

Already, signs are being prepared instructing bus rides how to use the system and they will be deployed at bus stops, bus terminals and bus shelters over the next few weeks in the lead-up to the soft opening of the system in mid-December. A sample sign shows how bus riders will be able to send a text message to the TransLoc system, which will then notify riders of the locations of the buses.

“They’ll be able to send a text message to the TransLoc number and TransLoc will text them back,” he said. “The return next message will tell riders their next expected bus will be there in one minute, four minutes, six minutes, or whatever the case may be.”

The original AVL system purchased in 2004 cost $80,000 up front and came with an $8,700 per year operation fee. The current AVL system is operational roughly from May to October with no tracking in the offseason. The TransLoc system pitched by transportation officials on Tuesday would include a one-time cost at $400 each for the installation of 66 tablets on municipal buses and annual operating costs of over $44,000, or about $36,000 over the current annual operating cost of the current AVL system, which is experiencing routine failures.

The total cost of the new AVL comes in at around $100,000, of which $80,000 is already included in the transportation department’s annual budget. The remaining $20,000 could be moved rather easily from the town’s general fund, according to Budget Manager Jenny Knapp, who said increased ridership because of the more efficient bus deployments and the mobile app accessible for potential riders would likely offset the cost of purchasing and operating the new AVL system.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.