Federal Funding for HRM’s Automated Vehicle Location Pilot Project

Issued on Friday, January 14, 2005

HRM will receive 50% funding from Transport Canada for a $500,000 Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) pilot installation project.

Halifax Regional Municipality’s proposal was selected for funding as one of (25) twenty-five new projects aimed at making transportation safer, more reliable and efficient, under Transport Canada’s Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Plan.

The AVL pilot will see a new satellite communication system installed on the new buses being purchased for HRM's Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. This system will provide real-time arrival information to transit customers and operational managers. Providing immediate and reliable information to transit customers is part of the BRT strategy to attract more riders to transit through an enhanced level of service. It is anticipated that this system will be expanded to the entire transit fleet and eventually to other components of our municipal fleet such as snow plows and fire trucks.

Mayor Peter Kelly said "HRM’s project to implement a pilot deployment for the new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is viewed as the initial step to an integrated corporate Vehicle tracking and Communications (VT&C) system, through our Integrated City Initiative. Integrated City is a vision for HRM where customers can easily access government services through a variety of mediums built to their needs." He added, "The Transport Canada funding through the Intelligent Transportation System Plan is very welcome and timely for HRM, as we are now able to proceed with our plans to improve services more quickly than would have been possible without the extra financial assistance."

Included as part of Integrated City is the updating of Metro Transit’s GoTime system. The successful, but decade-old real time transit information system has become difficult to support and maintain due to advancements in technology. The pilot deployment of a new GPS based Vehicle Tracking & Communications system is a natural evolution of the existing GoTime system, and is to be focussed initially on Metro Transit’s new BRT service, scheduled for introduction in the Fall of 2005.

For more information on Transport Canada’s ITS Plan, please visit their website at www.its-sti.gc.ca.

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