During the 2019 National Regional Transportation Conference, June 2019 in Columbus, Ohio, Chris Whitaker shared the process that Western Iowa Transit has used to transition from paper records and phone calls to software for dispatching and scheduling.

1. Regional Mobility
& IntelligentTransportation
Systems
National RegionalTransportation
Conference
Columbus, Ohio
June 17, 2019

3. Region XII COG Profile
•Organized 1973
•6 Counties
•56 Cities
•74,671 People
•Three Divisions
•Local
Assistance
•Western Iowa
Transit –1977
•Workforce

4. Western IowaTransit
FY 2018Year End Stats
• Ridership: 158,000
• Revenue Miles: 1,154,916
• Revenue hours: 52,486
• CurrentTransit Employees: 39
• Transit Director 1
• Transit Assistant 1
• Office Assistant 1
• Service Manager 1
• Full time drivers 24
• Part-time drivers 11

5. WIT –Transit Dispatching
• Historical Dispatch Systems
• Established Routes
• Phone
• Fax
• Bulletin Board Notes
• Two Way UHF Radios
• Cellular Phones
• Barriers toTechnology
• Service
• Cost
• Reluctant to Change

6. WIT – IntelligentTransportation
System Use and Expansion
•2017 - 2018
•Faced with Expensive Radio Upgrades
•Compared Systems with other Rural
Transit Systems
•RFP for Software and Equipment

7. ITS Expansion and Use
• ParaPlan for Scheduling
• Team on the Run for Dispatching
• SamsungTablets
• HeadQuarters
• Track Location and Speed
• Drivers
• Receive Dispatch Messages viaVoice andText
• Enter Rider Status,Time, Mileage, etc.
• MappingTrips and Locations
• Funding Source – Private Pay, Contract, etc.

8. The
Driver’s
View

9. TheView from HQ

11. ITS forWIT
• Ease of Use
• Push Button EmergencyAlert
• Cost Savings
• Monthly Cellular Cost = $1200 per month
• Old two-way radio rate = $3,500 per month
• BetterCommunication and Reporting
• Safety Improvements andVehicleTracking

12. THANKYOU!
Chris Whitaker, Local Assistance Director
Region XII Council of Governments
Carroll, IA 51401
712-792-9914
cwhitaker@region12cog.org
www.region12cog.org