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Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview of the Monterey-Salinas Transit

Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) is one of the three major transit providers in Monterey Bay area. MST was formed in 1981 after the merger of the Salinas Transit System with the Monterey Peninsular Transit. Currently, MST serves an area of approximately 280 square miles in Monterey County and Southern Santa Cruz County. MST provides service to the 352,000 residents of Monterey County. MST also provides curb-to-curb paratransit transportation services, called RIDES, to the residents of the MST service area who need specialized transportation. RIDES is operated by MV Transportation.

MST serves the Monterey Peninsula and Salinas Valley areas with 36 fixed routes. MST provides service between these two urban areas of Monterey County via Highway 68 and Highway 1.

In addition to the Monterey-Salinas area, intercity routes connect MST with the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District. MST also provides rural transit service to Carmel Valley and seasonal service to Big Sur. Recently, MST has added express commuter routes to its service on two corridors: Monterey - San Jose and Salinas - King City.

In addition to regular and express routes, MST operates trolleys that serve the area along the Monterey and Pacific Grove waterfronts.

MST recently reviewed and modified its routes based on recommendations from the Monterey Peninsula and Salinas Service Area Studies completed in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

Nine new routes were introduced in July 2009 to serve active duty service members and Department of Defense (DoD) employees who commute to work from (outside of the Presidio in Monterey) communities throughout Monterey County and from San Jose.

MST operates its services from the following five transit centers or transfer centers located across its service area:

MST serves 36 fixed routes that include approximately 1,250 bus stops. Table 1 provides information on specific operational characteristics of MST.

Table 1: MST Operational Characteristics
Category Directly Operated Services Contracted (Fixed Route and Demand Response)
Number of coach operators* 123 28
Number of road supervisors 9 3
Number of dispatchers 4 3
Number of revenue vehicles 76 21
Number of non-revenue vehicles 31 Not applicable
* "Coach Operators" is the term used by MST for bus drivers.

MST operated approximately 3.6 million revenue-miles and just under 230,000 revenue-hours annually in fiscal year 2009 (which ended in June 2009). Other operating statistics and performance measures are as follows for fiscal year 2009:

Figure 1 is a regional map of the MST service area.

Map of the MST service area.
Figure 1. Regional Map of MST Service Area

1.2 Monterey-Salinas Transit ITS Augmentation Project

The TransitMaster system was implemented at MST in October 2002 as part of a $3.5 million MST Advanced Communication System (ACS) project. The TransitMaster system was installed to provide MST operations with computer-aided dispatch/ automatic vehicle location (CAD/AVL) and digital voice/data communications. Later in 2006, a maintenance management system (MMS) was installed. MST also procured financial management and accounting software (FAMIS) in 2006. MST has plans to integrate the MMS with the FAMIS. They will not integrate the ACS with the MMS. In 2007, MST procured and installed on-board internet access system on buses serving commuter routes.

In fiscal year 2003, MST received Federal earmark funding for the implementation of the ITS Augmentation Project to address the following areas:

Like many other transit agencies, MST was faced with challenges in keeping track of its fleet and personnel, monitoring the performance of its services, and complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (in terms of providing next-stop and major intersection announcements). MST procured its Advanced Communication System (ACS) system, consisting of new radio and a GPS-based CAD/AVL system, to meet these needs. The ITS Augmentation Project continues to meet the additional needs of MST, such as providing a high level of safety and security both on-board and in transit facilities, providing passengers with real-time information and trip planning capabilities, facilitating the collection of passenger counts, and ensuring service reliability. In meeting these needs, one key element of the Augmentation Project is to ensure that all aspects of the ACS are fully integrated.

MST has completed the deployment of most of the ITS systems as part of the ITS Augmentation Project, with the TSP, smart card fare payment, and additional real-time information signs yet to be deployed. The following sections describe the basic features and the deployment status of each of the technologies identified as part of the ITS Augmentation Project.

1.2.1 Passenger Counting

The implementation of a passenger counting system was accomplished using a technique that was different than what was originally intended. The agency has elected to gather passenger counting information by having MST coach operators record (via their MDT) the number of passengers boarding (see Figure 2).

MST coach operators do not enter any alighting data. Daily alighting figures are estimated based on the number of boardings. Also, alighting data is verified using information from on-board surveys3 when National Transit Database (NTD) data is being collected.

Photograph of an onboard MDT device.
Figure 2. On-board MDT

1.2.2 Automated Vehicle Announcements (AVA)

All vehicles are equipped with on-board light emitting diode (LED) dynamic message signs (DMS) and a public address system for making visual and audio next-stop announcements. These announcements are made per the ADA. Figure 3 shows DMS installed inside an MST vehicle showing a "stop requested" message. When a stop has been requested, the DMS alternates to a next-stop announcement message as the vehicle approaches a major stop, landmark or street-intersection.

Photo of an automated vehicle announcement system featuring a 'stop requested' announcement.
Figure 3. On-board DMS for Making Visual Next Stop Announcements

1.2.3 Transit Management and Planning Software

The existing scheduling and runcutting software, called Gsched, was upgraded and replaced with HASTUS Scheduling Software from Giro, Inc. in 2005. The Daily Dispatch and Attendance Management (DDAM) timekeeping module of HASTUS was purchased from Giro in 2007.

1.2.4 Surveillance System

All MST revenue vehicles are equipped with digital cameras. MST completed the initial installation on 38 vehicles in 2003 and installed cameras on the remaining vehicles in 2007. These cameras are installed both on the interior and exterior of MST vehicles. The video is recorded by a digital video recorder (DVR) which is connected to the on-board cameras. The on-board DVR can store up to 72 hours of data. Data is overwritten once the DVR memory disk reaches its capacity.

The surveillance system has enabled MST to develop an excellent relationship with the local police department by sharing video data when necessary.

1.2.5 Archived Data User Service

The implementation of the ACS has enabled MST to store, archive, and retrieve historic logs of daily vehicle events. The data archived by the ACS can be exported and analyzed by MST planning and operations staff. MST staff utilizes Microsoft Access and Excel to analyze the archived ACS data.

1.2.6 Real-time Traveler Information

The DMS that provide real-time information were installed by MST at the Marina Transit Exchange and Salinas Transit Center in 2007. Additional DMS were installed at the "Bus Stop Shop," a new customer service center which was opened near the Monterey Transit Plaza in 2008. MST plans to install additional DMS at other major bus transfer points, including downtown Monterey, the Del Monte Shopping Center, Northridge Mall, and the Crossroads Shopping Village in the future.

Figure 4 provides an example of the LED DMS installed at the Salinas Transit Center. One DMS has been installed in the center of each bus bay providing the scheduled departure and estimated arrival time for each bus.

Photo of several overhead dynamic message signs indicating real-time bus departure information at the Salinas Transit Center
Figure 4. DMS Displaying Real-Time Information at Salinas Transit Center4

Figure 5 shows a liquid crystal display (LCD) sign with a summary of the arrivals at and departures from the Marina Transit Exchange. The LCD DMS was installed inside the customer service kiosk at the Center to avoid vandalism.

Large flat screen TV mounted high on a wall displaying real-time bus arrival and departures.
Figure 5. DMS Displaying Real-Time Information inside Customer Service Kiosk at Marina Transit Exchange

MST believes that the DMS, which were tested extensively before installation in both locations, have been working as expected. The Evaluation Team assessed the impact of real-time information on MST operations in Phase III of this evaluation by conducting customer intercept surveys.

1.2.7 Transit Signal Priority (TSP)

MST vehicles have been equipped with transit signal priority (TSP) transponders5 since 2001, but TSP has not been implemented yet because of institutional issues. MST has been negotiating with the City of Salinas and other jurisdictions to achieve consensus for the implementation of TSP along the proposed bus rapid transit (BRT) corridors. Currently, only the City of Monterey has approved the use of TSP. Thus, MST is not certain about the timing of TSP deployment.

1.2.8 Integration with Translink6

MST had planned to implement smart card fare media on buses traveling to the Bay area, which is currently using the Translink smart card fare payment system. MST runs eight buses on the long distance commuter route to San Jose. However, due to delays caused by institutional agreements between the vendor and agencies in the region, MST has decided not to use the same Translink fare media.

MST will be investing in a separate smart card fare payment system in partnership with the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District in the future by utilizing a grant received from the State of California.

1.2.9 Improvements in MST website

Originally, MST planned to participate in the TakeTransit trip planner program offered by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) in the San Francisco Bay Area. However, MST had discussions with Google, Inc. and decided to implement a regional trip planner for the Monterey-Salinas and Santa Cruz regions. After evaluating several other options, MST decided to deploy the Google Transit trip planner, which went live in November 2008. The Google Transit trip planner for MST enables MST riders to plan regional travel in the Bay Area.

Displaying the real-time location of buses on their website is not a high-priority requirement for MST since their customer service representatives do not receive a large number of calls requesting information on the real-time location of buses. However, MST is interested in surveying customers regarding their interest in using such a capability in the future.

Table 2 provides a summary of the current (as of June 2009) status of each technology deployment as part of the ITS Augmentation Project.

Table 2. ITS Augmentation Project Deployment Status
Technology Deployment Status
On-board Passenger Counting Completed in 2003
Automated Annunciation System Completed in 2003
Upgrade of Transit Management and Planning Software Completed in 2005
Digital cameras on buses and in transit centers Completed in 2007
Archived Data User Services (ADUS) Completed in 2003
Real-time Traveler Information System Completed in 2007
Trip Planner Completed in 2008
Transit Signal Priority (TSP) Deployment timeframe uncertain
Smart Card Payment System Deployment timeframe uncertain

1.3 Overview of MST ITS Evaluation Project

The USDOT's ITS Joint Program Office (ITS/JPO), housed within the Research and Advanced Technology Administration (RITA), established a National ITS Evaluation Program to determine the impacts of ITS deployments across the country. The objective of these evaluations is to document findings that can be used by a wide variety of external audiences such as planners, engineers, and managers. The results of these evaluations assist in the planning and implementing future ITS projects with the help of lessons learned from systems already implemented.

The ITS/JPO selected the MST ITS Augmentation Project for an evaluation to be conducted by an independent Evaluation Team comprised of SAIC and TranSystems (referred to as the Evaluation Team in this report). The two-fold purpose of this evaluation is to evaluate the use of archived ITS data for improving service planning and operations and to evaluate the costs and benefits of implementing the MST ITS Augmentation Project. The ACS was evaluated along with the technologies that are part of Augmentation Project since these technologies were integrated with the ACS. Further, the ACS was evaluated since it contributes significantly to achieve the ITS Augmentation Project goals (e.g., on-time performance). Also, the Evaluation Team analyzed the impact of other technologies that were not procured with the Federal earmark funding (e.g., FAMIS and MMS) but have made significant contributions to improvements at MST.

The evaluation is being conducted in three phases. Phase I of the evaluation was an initial assessment of the implementation of the Augmentation Project by the Evaluation Team. This Phase was completed in October 2005 when the Evaluation Team submitted their Phase 1 findings to the ITS/JPO and the FTA. These findings assisted the ITS/JPO in deciding to proceed with a full evaluation of MST's Augmentation Project. Phase I results are not included in this Evaluation Report.

Phase II, completed in December 2008, focused on a "before" and "after" analysis of the technologies that had been fully deployed as of August 2008. Additionally, the Phase II report provided information on technologies that were planned to be deployed in the future.

In Phase III, the impacts of real-time information and the Google Transit trip planner were evaluated by analyzing results of the customer intercept surveys that were conducted. Since TSP and smart card payment were not deployed at the time of Phase III evaluation, an analysis was not performed for these technologies. Further, all inconclusive hypotheses from Phase II were revisited in Phase III.

1.4 Document Organization

The remainder of this Evaluation Report is organized as follows.



3 On-board surveys refer to having MST staff or a consultant count the number of passengers boarding and alighting.

4 Photograph provided by Monterey Salinas Transit.

5 Transponders are installed on-board transit vehicles to emit signals to receivers installed at traffic intersections. These receivers process the signals to extend priority to transit vehicles.

6 Translink is a Contactless smart card based fare collection system being implemented in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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