TRANSIT INFORMATION DECISION SUPPORT ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS STUDY

THE USE OF POWERFUL GIS AND DECISION SUPPORT TOOLS WILL AID TRANSIT PROFESSIONALS IN PROVIDING BETTER SERVICES AND MAKING INFORMED DECISIONS. HOWEVER, THE LACK OF INTEGRATION BETWEEN MULTIPLE DATA SOURCES AND TRANSIT SOFTWARE TOOLS WITH GIS PREVENTS TRANSIT FROM FULLY DEMONSTRATING THE SYNERGY THAT IS ACHIEVABLE BY GIS AND FURTHER DELAYS ADOPTION AND WIDE-SPREAD USE OF GIS IN TRANSIT AGENCIES. THE VIGGEN TEAM PROPOSES DEVELOPING A TRANSIT INFORMATION DECISION SUPPORT ENVIRONMENT (TIDSE) WHICH WIL ENABLE TRANSIT TO SEAMLESSLY EXCHANGE SPATIAL DATA BETWEEN A GIS AND EXISTING SOFTWARE TOOLS. THE TIDSE WILL ENSURE USE OF EXISTING TRANSIT SOFTWARE AND DATABASES, AND INTEGRATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS INTO TRANSIT ACTIVITIES. IN THIS PHASE I EFFORT, THE VIGGEN TEAM WILL ADDRESS THREE AREAS NEEDED FOR THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A TIDSE. THESE INCLUDE: 1) UNDERSTANDING EXISTING DATA REQUIREMENTS AND DATA SOURCES AVAILABLE FOR USE. 2) CHARACTERIZING DATA FLOW BETWEEN TRANSIT ACTIVITIES AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 3) DEFINING COMMON DATA INTERFACES BETWEEN GIS AND TRANSIT SOFTWARE TOOLS. AS A PRIMER FOR TRANSIT PROFESSIONALS, THE VIGGEN TEAM WILL DEVELOP A BOOKLET ON QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GIS FOR TRANSIT PROFESSIONALS. BECAUSE THE VIGGEN TEAM IS COMPOSED OF GIS AND TRANSIT EXPERTS, WE UNDERSTAND THE ACTIVITIES AND CONNECTIONS BETWEEN BOTH DISCIPLINES.