The North Carolina Department of Transportation has awarded GoTriangle a $202,000 advanced technology grant that will be used to upgrade the agency’s scheduling software and equipment so that customers who are certified to use the ADA paratransit service can book their trips online and track their rides in real time.
Customers currently must book trips in advance by phone and receive an hourlong window for when they will be picked up. The grant will be used to outfit GoTriangle’s 20 light transit vehicles or LTVs with electronic tablets, which will allow operators to more efficiently plan their routes and customers to use the internet to check the location of their rides.
“We are happy to be able to add this technology to our fleet because it will help our customers and allow real-time tracking of the location of our paratransit vehicles,” said Vinson Hines Jr., interim director of bus operations at GoTriangle. “Operators will receive manifest changes in real time, and passengers will have a better experience because they’ll be able to receive automated calls and alerts and reminders in their preferred method of communication.”
GoTriangle provides more than 150 rides a day with its paratransit service, which is available along existing fixed GoTriangle routes among Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park and the Raleigh-Durham International Airport at a cost of $4.50 per trip.
The onboard tablets will cut out paper manifests and eliminate the need for manual data entry and paperwork, making the paratransit system far more efficient, Hines said. They also will give operators access to constantly updated Google maps, cutting down on delays due to outdated directions.
Most importantly, the system will improve the service for customers by allowing them to use an online passenger portal at any time of day to add a trip or to view, edit or cancel a scheduled trip. Customers also will be able to use their electronic devices to view their vehicles approaching. Check out the software at bit.ly/GoTrianglepara.
GoTriangle hopes to have the equipment purchased, the employees trained, the customers informed and the system up and running by the end of the year.
For more information about transportation services in the Triangle area, contact a GoTriangle ACCESS paratransit supervisor at 919-485-7468 Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. TDD/TTY is available at 1-800-735-2965. Or please see gotriangle.org/access.