Feasibility Study on the Use of Personal GPS Devices in Paratransit

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Feasibility Study on the Use of Personal GPS Devices in Paratransit

F. Cevallos / Q. Yuan / X. Wang / J. Skinner / A. Gan

The use of personal mobile GPS devices offers a potentially powerful use for paratransit. The conventional pickup procedure requires reservations via telephone or through the Internet for the paratransit driver to meet passengers. In this case, the potential problem is that a missed pickup may occur due to the ambiguity of the address information or the inability to find a specific location. However, with the availability of existing mobile GPS devices, passengers and vehicles can be located instantly, thereby facilitating the pickup process. This research project explores the feasibility of using personal mobile GPS devices to help develop more efficient paratransit services. Four different GPS-tracking devices were examined, and a prototype was developed. Using the prototype, the vehicle operator and passengers are able to know each others location through the help of an agency dispatcher. With this additional information, it is expected that the number of missed pickups will be reduced. Surveys were also distributed to collect opinions and concerns from different agencies.