AT&T Wireless Network Enables Simplified Electronic Fare Collection and Automated Vehicle Location.
Utah Transit Authority (UTA) has facilitated the ability of its passengers to travel more efficiently throughout Greater Salt Lake City thanks to a new relationship between AT&T and the UTA. AT&T* announced that the UTA has awarded AT&T a contract to provide a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN). The AT&T solution will facilitate real-time fare collection, which reduces passenger boarding times.
The AT&T WWAN, powered by AT&T’s 3G wireless network, has allowed UTA to implement an electronic fare collection method, which reduces passenger boarding times and simplifies fare payment. UTA’s advanced payment system transmits all payment information to a “back office” for processing. UTA passengers carry a pass card which contains a micro-processor chip, or a contactless debit/credit card. Passengers tap the card against a validator and the information is immediately transmitted over the AT&T network for validation and processing. To accomplish this, AT&T wireless services provides the reliable and fast communication link to and from each of the UTA’s 530 buses and some of its rail cars.
Additionally, the UTA will implement an Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) system providing UTA buses the ability to regularly communicate their position to a central dispatch location and allowing passengers to access real-time information about UTA services. The AVL system will transmit the UTA data using the AT&T 3G wireless network and GPS.
“AT&T is providing the Utah Transit Authority a turn-key wireless solution including the fastest 3G network and a rich customer experience,” said Clair Fiet, chief technology officer of Utah Transit Authority. “It’s also an investment in the future, allowing us to track travel patterns and improve our services for our customers as well as consider other potential applications.”
The UTA is also considering future wireless applications with AT&T such as passenger WiFi and electronic signage.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
About UTA
Established in 1970, UTA has become a multi-modal transportation leader that is 100 percent accessible with 69 light rail vehicles, 30 commuter rail cars and more than 600 buses. UTA’s TRAX light rail system is currently averaging between 40,000 and 50,000 riders a day along its 15-mile Salt Lake-Sandy line and the 4-mile University Line. UTA is an ISO 14001:2004 9001:2000 certified agency. During the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, UTA’s transit system was declared a great success on the international scene - carrying more than four million Olympic riders.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation’s fastest 3G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. AT&T offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verseSM and AT&T | DIRECTVSM brands. The company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T’s Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations are known for their leadership in directory publishing and advertising sales. In 2009, AT&T again ranked No. 1 in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE® magazine’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies.
No comments:
Post a Comment