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SMARTSe
Project Details

Title:Transit Ridership Improvement Policies for Real-time Information Technology environments (TRIPRITe)
Principal Investigators:Raj Bridgelall

Abstract

Transit Ridership Improvement Policies for Real-time Information Technology environments (TRIPRITe) combines RFID-based real-time transit-arrival information technology and theoretical modeling to explore the potential impact of transit improvement policies to encourage greater use in campus and small urban areas. A key objective of this project is to quantify the propensity for modal shift when riders can view information about bus status and receive real-time arrival alerts on their personal mobile devices. The project deploys low-cost RFID readers at regular stops along bus routes to read a passive tag as the bus approaches. The RFID readers transmit data only after reading a tag, and may use a free Wi-Fi hot spot to upload data in campus and urban areas. RFID tags are significantly less expensive than bus equipment containing GPS receivers with a data plan to upload position coordinates continuously.

The ideal study areas are large university campuses, such as NDSU, where automobile and mobile phone usage is high, and transit usage is low. These demographics represent a significant potential for modal shift to transit while providing system wide benefits in mobility, energy efficiency, and reduction in environmental pollutants. The project will develop smart phone and web based apps to deliver customizable bus-arrival alerts on mobile devices and to log survey inputs. The mode choice models will incorporate survey response data to quantify mode-shift propensity as a function of the mobile app adoption and utilization rate.

The TRIPRITE System
NDSU Dept 2880P.O. Box 6050Fargo, ND 58108-6050
(408)607-3214smartse@ugpti.org