Transit is a critical City service, ensuring the efficient and timely movement of Ottawa citizen’s to where they live, work, shop and play. As highlighted in the Transportation Master Plan, public transit supports the social, environmental and economic sustainability of our City.

Information and Technology is a key enabler of Transit’s mission and business priorities. The Technology Roadmap represents the plan that will be used to deploy technology by the Service over the next five (5) years.

The Roadmap not only aligns Transit technology priorities with key corporate initiatives including the Service Excellence Plan and the City Strategic Plan, but links directly to Transit’s key business priorities, including:

· Enhanced customer experience through service delivery

· Enhanced safety culture;

· Maintenance “Total Rebuild” (rethinking the way transit vehicles are purchased, serviced and maintained);

· Strengthened communications;

· Implementation of a culture of quality;

· Efficiency savings; and

· Improved accessibility.

This document identifies a baseline series of technology “platforms”, based on a Transit industry, standards-based framework, and aligns specific technology initiatives to the platforms:

· Business Intelligence Platform: Provision of information for capacity planning, performance measurement and analysis, decision-making;

· Scheduling Platform: Provision of information for service and route planning and scheduling,;

· On-Board Systems: Provision of information on vehicle and passenger location and status;

· Vehicle Maintenance Systems: Provision of information that maximizes vehicle availability and reduces operating costs;

· Security Systems: Protecting Transit customers, employees, assets, and facilitating investigations;

· Operations and Control Centre Systems: Dispatching and Transit operations;

· Customer Service Systems: Provision of information to Transit customers and addressing customer service needs

· Facilities Infrastructure Platform: Systems that manage and control Transit’s facilities, such bus stations, transit stations, garages (including fire alarms, monitoring, security)

· Corporate and Business Support Systems: Provision of financial, human resource information, information/records management, voice and data communications, office productivity and collaboration tools

Transit Services is a set of interconnected parts, every component or platform in the system should be able to connect to the other. It is virtually impossible to deliver a comprehensive and cohesive service without all the business units and platforms that service them interacting in a unified manner.

For example, Business Intelligence is used to develop the knowledge required to create a rational, optimized set of schedules. Schedules drive the On Board Systems which in turn feedback the real time data that is used to control the operation of the system. The Control Center generates work for the Maintenance platform, which in turn informs the Control Center of the availability and type of vehicles. The Security and Customer Service Platforms interact with the Control Centre. The Facilities, Business Support platforms, in conjunction with Corporate Shared Services, provide the underpinning infrastructure for each of the platforms and the tools for employees to carry out their duties.

Collectively, these platforms represent a reference business “architecture” that is the foundation for technology systems and sub-systems that Transit Services requires in order to operate its business.

Business Intelligence (BI) Platform:

There is an urgent need for technology to support “fact based” decisions, where fine grained service delivery, internal process options and designs must be made to improve resource usage. Transit managers are currently dissatisfied with the level of information and a general lack of operational reporting capabilities with current technologies.

Planned improvements include implementing Transit-specific software services, reporting and analysis tools that pulls together data from operational systems for analysis and decision-making. An integrated approach to BI will provide information for Scheduling, Operations and Control, Maintenance that in turn will be used to improve the reliability, availability, and efficiency of these services.

Scheduling Platform

Transit Services uses separate systems for fixed route scheduling and on-demand scheduling (e.g., Para Transpo). The current technologies are industry leaders and “best of breed”. Simulation capabilities enable Transit planners to adjust schedules under different scenarios. However these capabilities are under-utilized.

Planned improvements include upgrading the existing software to current versions and engaging with the vendors to better leverage their capabilities. This should enable Transit planners to assess various scheduling scenarios relative to the mediation activities currently underway, as well as to better assess and adjust route options in the future. Long term, this means that Transit can optimize service capacity to demand.

On-Board Systems

The current On-Board technology is based on legacy and custom systems, built on a closed and proprietary architecture. Leading edge at the time, it is not industry standard/supported, requiring in-house staff to install and support changes and modifications, and requiring custom development to remain up-to-date.

Planned improvements include installation of the Intelligent Vehicle Network (IVN) from Clever Devices. IVN is an industry standard and will become the platform for Next Stop Announcement, eventually replacing the legacy platform and becoming the standard for all on-board systems.

Migrating to a more open, standard-based platform will reduce IT support costs for on-board systems, and shift support to industry vendors. More importantly, it will enable Transit to more rapidly deploy new buses, or repair existing equipment.

Vehicle Maintenance Systems

Transit has been making significant investments in re-defining its maintenance processes in order to become more efficient, and increase the reliability and availability of its fleet. The current technology is recognized as an industry leader, but has been configured to support a more generic vehicle maintenance business model, and will not support the new processes.

Planned technology improvements include re-configuring the current technology (FleetFocus/M5) and improving integration with SAP for parts inventory management.

The combination of process and technology improvements will result in efficiency savings of $3M annually, as well as address audit recommendations related to parts management.

Security Systems

Transit Services is currently participating in a joint initiative with Ottawa Police Services (OPS) to deploy the OPS’ dispatch and records system (Versaterm CAD/RMS) as the base security platform. This will be a standalone system for the foreseeable future. Other planned improvements, such as extending CCTV and on-board cameras, will be dependent on development of a comprehensive security strategy and associated policies.

Investments in security technology are important for the safety of the public, employees and property, and to comply with provincial legislation.

Operations and Control Centre Systems

The technologies that comprise the Operations and Control Centre are largely custom, developed in conjunction with the On Board systems used for the original SmartBus implementation. The inability to make changes to this code without affecting On-Board systems is seriously hampering any effort to improve operations in an area where the use of information technology is essential. Only 30-40% of Transit’s business requirements are being met with the current systems.

The technology used by the Scheduling Platform (Trapeze) for on-demand scheduling, has the potential to replace much of the legacy software. A functional assessment of the Operations and Control Centre (in conjunction with the LRT project) will be conducted as soon as possible, to determine whether the Trapeze suite of products can be expanded to replace legacy systems, or if new technology is required.

Migrating to a more open, standard-based platform will reduce IT support costs for Operations and Control Centre systems, and shift support to industry vendors. More importantly, it will enable Transit to more rapidly make changes to On-Board systems without negatively impacting the Control Centre.

Customer Service Systems

Customer Service systems are currently focussed on the OC Transpo website and 560 Telidon systems, which in turn are dependent on the Scheduling and Operations platforms respectively. The website is currently outsourced and generally considered successful, although the interface between the service provide and internal systems is less than optimal and limiting the ability to make improvements.

As Customer Service systems are dependent on other platforms (some of which are in a state of “technological risk”), there are no new planned service improvements in the short term. However, improving the existing ebusiness architecture and security related to interaction with partners must be addressed prior to the design of any new services. In the interim, the deployment of SmartCard media for fare payment technology, coupled with the corporate Client Relationship Management (CRM) initiative, provide avenues and opportunities to address customer relationship issues and services.

Corporate and Business Support Systems

This is not a single platform, but a collection of services that support the day-to-day business of Transit services, including finance and HR systems, information management, voice and data communications, productivity software and tools.

Much of these improvements are described and quantified under the corporate service excellence initiative, i.e., engaging with employees and providing them with the tools to do their job.

The Roadmap

The Technology Roadmap identifies the timing and sequencing specific investments to meet Transit’s business needs, including:

· New technology required to enable key Transit Service Excellence and Business priorities;

· Ongoing technology to support daily operations and service delivery; and

· Foundational technology required to address weaknesses and gaps and reduce the risk of service interruption

The cost to implement the technology identified in the Transit Roadmap is estimated to be $58.9M over 5 years. Recurring costs (software licensing, support and maintenance) are projected to average $2.5M annually.

Benefits will be realized in terms of a) service improvements and customer satisfaction, b) better utilization of Transit assets, c) deferral of capital spending on buses, technology and other assets, d) improved safety for the travelling public and City property, e) increased ridership and revenue generation, and f) efficiency savings.

Costs and benefits, particularly for initiatives shown on the Roadmap in outer years, are considered “Class C” estimates, based on fully loaded costs of technology and resources. They will be refined during annual planning and budgeting cycles, and re-profiled in support of Transit’s “10 Year Tactical Plan” required by Transit Committee and Council prior to Budget.

Investments, the value of business benefits, and projected payback are summarized by platform as follows:

Platform	5-Year Invest’t Plan	Benefits (10-Year)	Payback (yrs)	2010 Initiatives
Business Intelligence	$0.6M	$0.7M	-	$0.60M
Scheduling	$1.0M	$0.7M	-	$0.26M
On Board Systems	$19.1M	$83.2M	2	$15.60M
Maintenance	$1.8M	$30.0M	1	$0.40M
Security	$2.7M	$3.5M	8	$0.40M
Operations and Control Centre	$6.0M	$11.9M	6	$0.30M
Customer Services	$26.5M	$36.3M	8	$9.95M
Business Support Services	-	-	-	-
Corporate Support Services	$1.3M	-	-	$0.25M
TOTAL	$58.9M	$166.3M	4	$27.8M

The Transit Technology Roadmap represents a significant and planned shift from in-house developed and supported technology, to Transit-specific solutions that are represented by a standards based “best of breed”, vendor-supported approach, and that can be procured through a competitive process.

The Roadmap is a living document. Each year, progress against the plan will be reviewed regularly with the IT Sub-committee, and a new 5-year plan produced to reflect changing business priorities, technology, or fiscal constraints. Annual budget submissions to Council will always reflect the Roadmap priorities.

Transit Services – Technology Roadmap (2010-2014)

1.0 Introduction

Transit Services is a critical City service, ensuring the efficient and timely movement of Ottawa citizen’s to where they live, work, shop and play. As highlighted in the Transportation Master Plan, public transit supports the social, environmental and economic sustainability of our City.

The goal of this document is to provide Council with a strategic direction for information technology within Transit Services. The plan identifies key technology initiatives and building blocks that ultimately affect the every-day lives of citizens and Transit customers within the City of Ottawa.

The plan aligns with the City and Transit strategies and priorities by:

· Implementing technology solutions that support Transit’s Service Excellence priorities;

· Shifting technology from in-house software/hardware to fully integrated, vendor-supported solutions;

· Modernizing the network and telecommunications infrastructure that Transit Services requires to ensure uninterrupted service delivery; and

· Establishing a sustainable technology infrastructure that reflects the City of Ottawa fiscal framework.

A technology “roadmap” provides a guide to the development and implementation of specific technologies in order to achieve a specific goal. Originating in the High Tech domain (integrated circuit, switching systems), it has been adapted to address the needs of planning information systems within a business.

2.0 Key Business Drivers

Prior to reorganization of Transit Services in 2008/09, the deployment of information technology reflected leading edge thinking in terms of Intelligent Transportation Systems, but over time as transit and information technology evolved and matured, a patchwork of systems has emerged that is difficult to manage and maintain, and limits the service’s ability to easily take advantage of technology advancements.

The Transit 5-Year Technology Roadmap serves multiple purposes. Firstly, it aligns technology investments with the Transit Tactical Plan and Service Excellence Plan, as well as key corporate plans such as the City Strategic Plan and Corporate Technology Roadmap.

Secondly, it establishes a foundation for a robust and efficient system that cost-effectively increases customer service levels and allows the department to quickly and more easily take advantage of future technology improvements.

Lastly, it communicates the direction of proposed Transit services technology investments.

At the same time, it is a response to many factors that been identified, such as the need for:

· Enhanced safety culture;

· Strengthened communications;

· A culture of quality;

· Enhanced customer experience through service delivery

· “Total Rebuild” of Maintenance (rethinking the way transit vehicles are purchased, serviced and maintained);

· Efficiency savings; and

· Improved accessibility.

All the major transit business activities that require an IT focus are in line with one or more of these seven priorities.

For example, the implementation of new Smart Bus technology aligns with the Transit priority of enhanced customer experience, by providing a platform to support the Presto Smartcard. The Smartcard is a new fare collection program that will offers increased flexibility and ease of use for customers, easier boarding of transit vehicles and easier fare enforcement. The Smart Bus technology also supports the accessibility priority by enabling the implementation of an automated system for visual and audio announcements of service stops across our entire network.

The maintenance “total rebuild” priority is supported by technology initiatives such as optimizing the FleetFocus (M5) product utilization and completing FleetFocus implementation across all business functions, streamlining the maintenance delivery model and rationalizing the infrastructure footprint.

The implementation of a quality culture is supported by technology initiatives such as the Business Intelligence solutions for performance analysis and ”dashboards” to track continuous improvement, improvements in the areas of floater run usage at ParaTranspo and the booking process. The quality culture priority also includes the introduction of an environmental fuel reduction modification program, and the design and implementation of an integrated training program for bus operators based on emerging technologies.

The customer experience priority will be achieved through the delivery of service excellence in reliability, convenience and every aspect of travelling. It is supported by a number of initiatives including the implementation of scheduling changes, the integration of actual bus travel times into schedules based on GPS-tracking information, and the implementation of connection management to reduce waiting time and uncertainty between bus services.

In support of the safety culture priority, priority initiatives include a Security System Management Strategy, featuring Closed Circuit Television and security equipment, the integration of a CAD/RMS system in special constables’ vehicles to the Ottawa Police Services’ system to enable pro-active enforcement strategies and decreased on-street response time, the implementation of a Safety Management System with the documentation of policies and procedures to achieve regulatory compliance, and strengthening the CVOR-related reporting and analysis of collisions.

Finally, toward improving accessibility, Transit will make improvements to ParaTranspo service delivery through the analysis of its scheduling processes.

3.0 Transit Business Architecture

A reference model is a useful tool to graphically illustrate the main business functions of an organization, and to organize and communicate how technology supports these functions. Mapping current and planned technology requirements against the model will help ensure alignment and identify technology gaps that should be addressed and planned for.

Identifying the key business functions and then looking at the underlying technology platform that supports those business functions, allows the complexity to be decomposed into more manageable blocks for analysis and planning.

Figure 1 - A Simple Business Model provides a means to show technology systems that support the Transit business and their inter-relationships

4.0 Standards Based Framework

Municipal Transit systems in North America have adopted a standard architecture for transportation systems, based on the US Department of Transportation Intelligent Transit Systems Architecture (ITS 910.4). Vendors of transportation systems design and build products to the ITS specifications.

A portion of this architecture is dedicated to Transit Management, vehicle maintenance and other aspects which have a direct impact on Transit Services. The communications between the components in the system have been defined by specific technical and process standards.

Figure 2 - The United States Department of Transport, (USDOT), has developed a standard Intelligent Transport System, (ITS), architecture which has been adopted by Canadian transportation agencies, including the Ontario Ministry of Transport.

Although the standards in the transportation industry are not as rigorous (as for example those defined for the heath industry), this does provide a common language for comparison and discussion of transportation (transit specific) architecture and the design of software.

Any architecture work done for Transit Services should follow the ITS standards as a guide. The Transportation industry, and specifically the Transit industry, has many commercially solutions available to them based on this architecture and that can be procured through a competitive process - there is no longer any need to custom build systems.

This approach offers significant advantages over the current model of ‘in-house” supported systems and addresses many of the current challenges, including:

· More rapid deployment of technologies across a large fleet of buses

· On-board systems delivered and supported by vendors vs. in-house staff

· Improved integration between systems

· More effective utilization of resources

5.0 Guiding Principles

The Transit Technology Roadmap is guided and influenced by a set of corporate principles that inform the outlook and approach to the deployment of technology resources. While operational planning may be dynamic, the following guiding principles remain the same and are the basis for key decisions:

· Adopt and deploy Transit Services technology solutions that are primarily represented by a “best of breed”, standards based (e.g., ITS 910.4), and vendor-supported approach; avoid building custom systems;

· Focus technology investments on large-scale initiatives capitalizing on existing technology wherever possible, thus yielding the largest return on investment;

· Leverage and capitalize on common infrastructure to maximize the return on investments already made;

· Align Transit IT investments across the enterprise with corporate strategies, plans and priorities to the maximum extent possible;

· Continuously improve and optimize the network, application and hardware infrastructure, within the financial framework, to achieve a fast, flexible, cost effective and sustainable computing environment that meets Transit needs, and reduces risk of disruptions to Transit services and impacts on its customers and citizens;

· Provide IT services and capabilities where Transit workers are, including at the office, in the field, or on the move;

· Provide access to information in a secure manner and protect personal information; and

· Increase the use of technology and electronic information to conduct day-to-day business and reduce Transit’s dependency on natural resources.

6.0 Transit Technology Platforms

The Transit Service business is supported by distinct technology platforms. Each supports a self contained functional business unit or units within the organization. It is impossible to deliver a comprehensive and cohesive service without all the business units and platforms that service them interacting in a unified manner.

As these platforms are assessed, it should be kept in mind that:

· Business units, in this analysis are functionally based and may not, nor need to necessarily reflect organizational units;

· Definition of the touch points, or interfaces between the platform become the key to identifying the dependencies and break points in a system;

· Functions on the surface may look similar, but in practice present very different problems (e.g., Dispatch is a common business function between fixed route and demand services, however they present very different business models and require different solutions);

· A goal of any organization is to minimize the number and variety of platforms while still being able to support to the business unit properly;

· Shared Corporate Resources (e.g., Finance, HR, and similar systems), while fundamental to the operation of Transits services, are outside the scope of Transit to define the shape of the platform, other than as a service consumer. It is also in the very nature of the Transit business that corporate network and mobile computing services will be fundamentally entwined in any Transit solution, and Transit services will have an impact on the shape of that service.

Nine (9) distinct platforms were identified in the course of the analysis, including;

· Business Intelligence Platform

· Scheduling Platform

· On Board System Platform

· Maintenance Platform

· Security Platform

· Operations and Control Centre Platform

· Customer Service Platform

· Staff Development & Business Support Platform

· Transit Facilities Infrastructure

Figure 3 – Nine (9) distinct platforms were identified in the course of the analysis, including dependencies on corporate Shared Services

In a real sense, Transit Services is a set of interconnected parts, every component or platform in the system is able to connect to the other. Practically, the connections must be simplified to define an appropriate solution. Compartmentalizing the functions into platforms allows “data” cross communications to be minimized so that natural breakpoints can be defined and interface points are kept to a minimum.

For example, expressed in simple terms, Business Intelligence is used to develop the knowledge required to create a rational, optimized set of schedules. Schedules drive the On Board Systems which in turn feedback the real time data that is used to control the operation of the system. The Control Center generates work for the Maintenance platform, which in turn informs the Control Center of the availability and type of vehicles. The Security and Customer Service Platforms interact with the Control Centre. The Facilities, Business Support platforms, in conjunction with Corporate Shared Services, provide the underpinning infrastructure for each of the platforms.

6.1 Business Intelligence Platform

All Transit organizations require detailed and accurate information for both understanding operational performance and service planning. Business “intelligence” (BI) includes advanced analytics and reporting using real-time or static information from on-board systems, maintenance systems, and customer service systems.

There is an urgent need for “fact based” decision making process where fine grained service delivery, internal process options and designs must be made to improve resource usage - Transit managers are currently dissatisfied with the level of information and a general lack of operational reporting capabilities with current technologies.

Overview

A number of initiatives have been identified within Transit Services and these have been given priority within the roadmap, and do not in any way preclude taking advantage of the corporate city-wide initiative to establish BI services. Transit should become a key stakeholder in the corporate initiative as it will allow them to leverage as much data as possible into usable information.

Return Expected

Aside from addressing known problems accessing and retrieving information, the payback from accurate and timely information is difficult to quantify. The payback could be immediate if it results in a tactical decision that can be acted upon, or it could have long-term implications.

At a minimum, the BI program would yield the following returns:

· Improve productivity of staff searching and analyzing operational data by at least 10%

· Extend the useful life of APC technology by at least 50%, and reduce the probability of downtime and on-going cost pressures on technical support as a result of unsupported (vendor) software (5% annually)

· Add capability to analyze large volumes of real-time and static operational data from On-Board systems to identify and quantify potential operating efficiencies and improve integrated route planning, route design, service scheduling, operational forecasting and financial budgeting.

Program Strategy - Roadmap

Transit Services should initially establish Transit-specific analysis and reporting tools (such as NetBI), as a starting point for the use of business intelligence tools within the Transit planning and design areas.

Replacement of the Automated Passenger Counting (APC) software is a lifecycle issue. The current software is both antiquated and Transit Services has lost their only experienced personnel that were familiar with the software.

Priority initiatives include:

· Implementation of NetBI as a standard Transit business information analysis and reporting tool ($300K)

· Lifecycle replacement of APC (Automated Passenger Counter) software ($300K)

Cost of Not Doing

· Lost opportunity to analyze operational data and identify improvements in terms of efficiencies, service reliability, capacity and forecasting

· Increases probability of hardware/software failure and downtime

6.2 Scheduling Platform

For the purpose of this analysis, a distinction has been drawn between the scheduling and dispatch functions. Although closely linked, the latter functions of matching the schedule (work) and resources (drivers and vehicles) for the purposes of Computer Aided Dispatch, (CAD), are considered in the context of the Operations and Control Centre platform.

Overview

The Scheduling Platform has two distinct components. The first is fixed route scheduling using the Hastus system, and on-demand scheduling using the Trapeze system (Para Transpo). The dual nature of this platform is based on the different nature of the scheduling. Both packages are considered best of breed in their field.

Hastus, a product from GIRO, is the platform currently used for the fixed route development which in turn used by existing Bell/XWave legacy system to support the dispatch functions for buses. Hastus is also used as a planning tool to simulate new routes and sets of routes to allow planners the ability to assess these changes against service and resource (driver) allocation. Hastus also provides the key source of information for the delivery of the online trip planning and schedule media distribution.

Para Transpo scheduling is a dynamic environment, regularly scheduled bookings are combined with on demand booking and cancellations on a daily basis. This schedule is further dynamically adjusted throughout the day as the demand changes.

PASS, a component of the Trapeze suite of products is used to support the on demand scheduling function. Both products are considered industry leaders in their respective functions, but there are overlapping capabilities inherent in the software, and both products claim to be able to do both functions as well. As fixed and on-demand scheduling are very distinct business functions, with very little overlap, the existence of two standards to perform from what, on the outside would seem redundant does not pose any real difficulties.

However, when the core Dispatch and Control Center legacy systems are replaced (2011/12), this apparent redundancy will be re-evaluated.

Return Expected

The investments currently planned for this platform focus on generating productivity improvements in the scheduling process and technology lifecycle management. By themselves, the payback is long term, but consider the impact on Transit operations and customer service if the fleet of 1000+ buses and 1700 operators are not available for any period of time. The payback is immediate if it results in a tactical decision that can be acted upon, or it could have long-term implications.

At a minimum, the BI program would yield the following returns:

The 5-year program would yield the following returns:

· Improve productivity of staff involved in scheduling of both fixed and on-demand scheduling by at least 10%

· Improve productivity of staff involved in responding to on-demand bookings by at least 5%

· Extend the useful life of scheduling technology by at least 50%, reduce probability of downtime and on-going cost pressures on technical support as a result of unsupported (vendor) software (5% annually)

· Formal review of Scheduling software in 2010/11 will identify and recommend further improvements in utilization of the existing systems, with commensurate benefits to be determined

Program Strategy – Roadmap

There are currently five identified initiatives that are related to the Scheduling platform and focused on the use of Hastus for developing the fixed route schedules.

Priority initiatives include:

· Installation and configuration of the ATP module (initial work completed),

· Upgrading access to the simulation environment,

· Review of the ATP installation and the environment usage,

· Scheduling Software upgrades (2010 and 2012)

· New Trapeze “Run-cutter” functionality.

Cost of Not Doing

· Affects reliability of information for online trip planning and schedule media distribution.

· Lost opportunity to find efficiencies and further improvements in both the fixed and on-demand scheduling process

· Increases probability of hardware/software failure and downtime.

6.3 On Board Systems Platform

The current On-Board technology is based on a legacy and custom platform, built on a closed and proprietary architecture. Leading edge at the time, it is not industry standard/supported, requiring in-house staff to install and support, and requiring custom development to remain up-to-date.

Planned improvements include installation of the Intelligent Vehicle Network (IVN) from Clever Devices. IVN will become the platform for Next Stop Announcement, eventually replacing the legacy platform and becoming the standard for all on-board systems.

Overview

The On Board systems platform is currently supplied through custom built technology provided by Bell Canada. This platform, although still functional, is at the end of its lifecycle and becoming increasingly difficult to maintain and support. The hardware is beyond the point where replacement parts are readily available and the software supporting the platform is very expensive to change. The platform is not capable of expansion to support new functions required by Transit Services without significant custom development and effort.

The SmartBus-NG (Next Generation) program will replace the existing SmartBus platform with the Clever Device IVN (Intelligent Vehicle Network) unit. Clever Devices is a leader in the transit industry and IVN is recognized as a standard platform that software vendors build towards. The addition of the Next-Stop Announcement function on the IVN platform will move Transit to a compliant state relative to current legislation. Other functions currently on the Bell platform will be migrated to the IVN unit or replaced.

Transit Services will also be adding Smartcard functionality on to the IVN platform to provide transit riders additional fare options, consistent with the Ontario government wide Presto Smartcard initiative.

Additional On Board systems exist outside of the IVN hardware. These include Automated Passenger Count, (APC) systems, EDAC radio system. As future on board systems requirements are defined they will be evaluated against the IVN platform as to whether it make sense to leverage this platform or whether they are better served as independent systems.

Return Expected

The 5-year program would yield the following returns:

· Reduce bus fleet by 40 buses over 5 years

· Eliminate fines imposed by CTA by implementing automated bilingual calling-out stops

· Eliminate the need for the replacement platform and vehicle diagnostics which is budgeted for 2016-2018

· Increase ridership (revenues) by 1% annually

Program Strategy - Roadmap

Priority initiatives include:

· Replacing the Bell/XWave SmartBus platform with Clever Device’s IVN platform

· Establishing the IT infrastructure to support the Presto SmartCard, including integration with SAP

· Integration of back-office systems (i.e., Dispatch, AVL)

· Planning and requirements for Automated Vehicle Maintenance technology

Investment

Cost of Not Doing

· Planned efficiencies including a reduction of 40 buses($26.8M), would not be realized

· Reduction and loss of ridership revenue ($12M)

· No ability to enhance customer experience and convenience (Smart Card, Real-time Arrivals)

6.4 Vehicle Maintenance Platform

Transit is making significant investments in re-defining its maintenance processes in order to become more efficient, and increase the reliability and availability of its fleet. The current technology is recognized as an industry leader, but has been configured to support a more generic vehicle maintenance business model, and does not support the new processes.

Planned technology improvements include re-configuring the current technology (FleetFocus/M5) and improving the integration with SAP for parts inventory management.

The combination of process and technology improvements will result in efficiency savings of $3M annually, as well as address audit recommendations related to parts inventory management.

Overview

The Vehicle Maintenance Platform is based upon the FleetFocus/ M5 software suite from Assetworks. Both Transit Services and Fleet Services Ottawa use FleetFocus - it is a recognized leader in the industry and Transit Services has expressed a high level of satisfaction with the product.

Transit services has used this product for a number of years, but has not fully leveraged its capabilities. Removing these constraints will allow Transit to fully utilize the product and are critical for Transit Services to realize its efficiency targets. Improvements to the interface between FleetFocus and SAP are also needed to address audit and compliance requirements related to parts inventory management.

Transit has been dependent on Fleet Services as the primary service provider for Fleetfocus/M5. However, the planned “Maintenance overhaul” program to standardize and redefine maintenance practices in Transit, requires Transit to assume greater ownership for the use of the system.

Return Expected

The 5-year program would yield the following returns:

· Achieve efficiency savings of $3M from improved maintenance processes

· Increase availability of buses to 95% level

Program Strategy – Roadmap

There are currently four initiatives proposed that relate to the maintenance platform. The priority initiatives identified are:

· Implementation of existing technology in the new Industrial Garage

· Implementation of the Transit-only version of FleetFocus

· Implementation of FleetFocus with a full SAP interface

· Introduction of new shop floor technologies which are facilitated by the implementation of FleetFocus

Investment

Cost of Not Doing

· Will not be able to implement new business processes or achieve annual efficiencies of $3M.

· Target availability (95%) would not be attained, increasing the need for additional buses to meet demand

6.5 Security Platform

Development of a security strategy is a Service Excellence priority for Transit Services. In addition, Transit is currently participating in a joint initiative with Ottawa Police Services (OPS) to deploy the OPS’ dispatch and records system (Versaterm CAD/RMS) as the base security platform. Other planned improvements, such as extending CCTV and on-board cameras, will be dependent on development of a comprehensive security strategy and associated policies.

Investments in security technology are important for the safety of the public, employees and property, to ensure compliance with provincial legislation, and have a direct correlation to increasing ridership.

Overview

There is currently no specific Security Platform. Some elements exist within On Board systems such as the EDAC radio and “Redline” systems which interface to the Control Centre and provide driver safety.

The joint initiative with OPS will be used as the base security platform across a number of enforcement agencies within Ottawa. This will provide Transit Services a standard security platform, consistent and integrated with their key partners within the security domain.

Integration with internal Transit systems will be a future consideration as the priority and key benefits of the platform rest with the synergy of integration with partner organizations.

Return Expected

The 5-year program would yield the following returns:

· Improved response time and productivity of Special Constables of approximately 10%

· Enhanced incident reporting, tracking and crime analysis

· Achieve compliance with provincial (MCSCS) legislation

Program Strategy - Roadmap

There are four components contained in the Security Platform strategy.

Priority initiatives include:

· Adoption of Versaterm as the standard platform for Transit Law Enforcement

· Future access to operations Control Center technologies

· Strategy for the use of Closed Circuit Television, (CCTV) technologies

· Implementation of the CCTV strategies

Investment

Cost of Not Doing

· Erode public confidence in the safety of the transit system

· Inefficient use of resources (paperwork, reports, etc.)

· Lower success rate for investigations and prosecutions

6.6 Operations & Control Centre Platform

The technologies that comprise the Operations and Control Centre have been largely custom-developed in conjunction with the On Board systems used for the original SmartBus implementation. The inability to make changes to this software without affecting On-Board systems is seriously hampering any effort to improve operations in an area where the use of information technology is essential.

Overview

The Operations and Control Centre includes both fixed route operations (Bus) and on demand operations (Para Transpo) and are handled as separate business functions. Each currently runs on their own specific platform and present both common and unique requirements.

The fixed route operational requirements largely are handled today by legacy Bell/XWave software which was developed about 10 years ago for Transit Services, specifically to support the original Smart Bus implementation. XWave is a Canadian leader in technology, but is not a specialist in the Transit or the transportation industry. Changes or modifications to the software to maintain currency or interface to other systems require custom development, which is both expensive and time-consuming.

The on demand operational requirements are handled by a number of modules within the Trapeze suite of products. Trapeze is an industry leader and should be viewed as the platform of choice for any new Para Transpo functions.

Return Expected

The 5-year program would yield the following returns:

· Compliance with legislated requirements (Hours of Work)

· Improve productivity of operator booking process by approximately 8 hours/operator/year

· Extend the useful life of existing technology by at least 50%, reduce probability of downtime and on-going cost pressures on technical support as a result of aging systems and/or unsupported (vendor) software (5% annually)

Program Strategy - Roadmap

The review and analysis of the Operations and Control Centre technology identified significant interdependencies with other platforms (e.g., Scheduling and Customer Services). Maintaining these interfaces is costly and has significant risk due the age and design of the systems. Until this platform is modernized and replaced by fully supported, commercially available software, key initiatives that are dependent on this platform should be deferred.

The LRT project will also be examining requirements for operations and control of the new rail system, and the combined needs of LRT, Bus and Para should be examined holistically to ensure integrated and transparent operations and control.

The strategy for the operations and Control centre platform focus initially on reviewing current and planned requirements against future needs, and developing functional specifications and a procurement strategy. Ultimately, there is a compelling need to replace the legacy systems in order to address improvements to customer service.

Priority initiatives include:

· Develop functional specifications

· Perform operational review

· Design procurement

· Procure and implement a new Operations and Control Centre platform

Cost of Not Doing

· Interfaces with other platforms (On-Board Systems, Scheduling, Customer Services) will become increasing complex, difficult and costly to maintain by ITS, and less responsive to Transit’s changing business environment

· Technology improvements that would be desirable in terms of service improvements and impacts on the public will not be possible

6.7 Customer Service Platform

Planned improvements are dependent on the Operations and Scheduling systems, affecting the speed at which the business requirements of Transit’s Client Services organization can be met. In the interim, the deployment of SmartCard media for fare payment technology, coupled with the corporate Client Relationship Management (CRM) initiative, provide avenues and opportunities to address customer relationship issues and services. Improving the existing ebusiness architecture and security related to interaction with partners must be addressed prior to the design of any new services.

Overview

The Customer Service Platform is primarily supported by a number of different products and approaches that are dependant in large part on the back end systems associated with Operations and Scheduling. It is really a collection of packages which target a specific function within the business area.

Given its dependencies, the Customer Services platform is at a state of “technological risk”, since changes and improvements to these systems to achieve the business goals of the Customer service organization are hampered by the age and design of these systems.

There are two categories of services that drive the definition of the platform requirements. The first being the IVR technology required to fulfill a Client Relationship Management (CRM) function to the public and the second being the provision of dynamic information to the travelling public.

Enquiries, complaints and direct contact with the public through telephony are a large component of the work. The system supporting this activity is currently out of date and built in an unsupported technology. It does represent a point of risk where a technology failure, possibly caused by a required upgrade somewhere else in the environment can cause a failure in the system that can cause a significant outage.

A key customer service area is in the area that can be described as a “call centre” type of business function. The platform adopted by Transit should be consistent with the overall approach the city has taken to the development of the “311” service. Definition of the “Transit specific”, requirements and more generic call centre functions will be fundamental to providing the City of Ottawa a consistent view into city services.

The Internet is a key element of delivery of information and services to the public. Transit has taken the approach to outsource the OCTanspo.com function. This has largely been a success but the interface between the outsource partner and internal Transit system is less than optimal. Although new services, as noted above, are dependent on the progress of other platforms it is important that these issues related to security and the eBusiness architecture related to the interaction with partners be addressed prior to the design of these new services.

Return Expected

The 5-year program is focussed primarily on the deployment of smartcard technology which was initially approved by Council as part of the 2007 budget, and subsequently updated to approve the City joining the Greater Toronto Area Fare System (GFAS) project. The benefits and returns are well documented in that report, but in summary, the total investment of was expected to pay for itself in 7-8 years, by :

· Significantly reducing fraud and fare avoidance

· Increasing ridership and revenues

· Eliminating printing and distribution of paper tickets and passes

· Offering customer the convenience of on-line and pre-approved payment and ways to add value to their cards

Program Strategy - Roadmap

The primary focus of the Customer Services platform is deployment of the Presto Smart Card fare payment system which will be built on the new IVN (Intelligent Vehicle Network). Further evolution of the Customer Services platform is in large part dictated by dependencies on the Operations and Control Centre platform upgrade. The systems(s) selected for the Operations platform will have customer service components that should be leveraged by the Customer Services platforms to enhance existing systems (560 & Telidon) and to support new capabilities such as “real-time” arrival information.

Priority initiatives include:

· Introduce and Deploy Presto SmartCard

· Digital Voice Logger (Legislated)

Cost of Not Doing

· Inability to reduce vulnerability of fare fraud and comply with OAG recommendations (2007)

· Lost opportunity to reduce fare collection/management costs and provide customers were more flexibility and convenience

· Lost opportunity to extend smartcard capabilities to other City services.

6.8 Business Support Platform

This really is not a single platform, but a collection of services required for Transit services to reach its goals, including finance and HR systems, information management, productivity software and tools.

There are no improvements currently planned. Participation in the corporate Service Excellence program will provide benefits to Transit staff and management in terms of supporting business tools.

6.9 Transit Facilities Infrastructure Platform

The operation of a transit organization requires a large number of diverse unique facilities. Some locations have no information technology associated; some have a large number of sophisticated IT systems required for their operation. Each facility has its own maintenance profile and cycle, associated in many cases to when the facility was built.

Transit facilities are generally managed through the use of the SAP Corporate system. However at a more granular level the specialized maintenance cycle associated with Transit specific facilities (Bus stations, stops, Transitway stations, garages) all have a specific and relatively unique profile. The maintenance, at the finer level, is handled largely in a manual manner or small “black box” systems. There is specialized connectivity requirements associated with these systems such as fire alarms, monitoring systems, security systems which are generally not integrated in to the wider scheme of the transit operations.

This domain was not “in scope” for this analysis, but during the course of the review it became apparent that it should receive more attention in subsequent analysis as there are several key elements of this infrastructure that need to be integrated with the overall Transit operation.

6.10 Shared Corporate Services Platform

As a “Shared Services” department ITS provides Transit with a number of services, including voice and data communications, server and database support, application maintenance and support. Recent network outages and unplanned downtime have had a direct and negative impact on Transit operations and customer satisfaction. Lack of investment in technology infrastructure over the past ten years are beginning to be felt, and increasing the level of effort for technical staff to support Transit operations.

ITS will asses the feasibility of a range of options to address this problem, from increasing the current support coverage window, to implementing redundant networks and servers. In the short term, planned improvements focus on upgrading the network and application infrastructure that support “high availability” systems. Re-configuring database server software and upgrading applications in accordance with vendor recommended schedules should contribute to the solution in the longer term.

Technology Infrastructure and Asset Renewal

Technology must continually be managed to ensure that it performs to specification and to reduce the risk of service interruption. This includes modernizing infrastructure to increase the robustness of critical systems; upgrading individual components as technology changes or as hardware/software reaches “end-of-life”; and continually renewing business applications to optimize technology support.

ITS supports the networks, servers, applications and databases on which the Transit Technology platforms are based. This technology must be reliable and robust, particularly for those systems that support “around the clock” operations at Transit. Although the lifecycle replacement of network and database infrastructure occurs over time, targeted investments in critical infrastructure for “high availability” systems is urgently needed.

Since amalgamation, the City has not invested sufficiently in its core network infrastructure, as exemplified by the increasing number of service interruptions experienced by Transit Services in 2009/10 as a result of failures to the existing network infrastructure. System service interruptions impede the delivery of transportation services to the citizens of the City of Ottawa and have a direct impact on customer satisfaction.

The overall impact of the loss of a particular application or system varies depending on the degree of service interruption and individual system requirements.

Priority initiatives include:

· Business Impact Assessment (BIA) to identify “high availability” systems and a strategy/plan to improve the availability of critical IT services

· Maintenance upgrades in accordance with vendor-recommended schedules

Network & Mobile Computing Services

Mobile network services have always been an integral part of the operation and success of the SmartBus program. With the examination of the new technology associated with the implementation of the SmartBus-NG program the cellular connectivity solution will become more important as the current function being upgraded utilize richer more sophisticated data stream and new functions are added in the future.

Additionally new requirements for mobile workers, supervisors, security, maintenance personnel have been identified and have been highlighted in the analysis of the program strategies because of the potential impact on the overall network design.

Priority initiatives include:

· Secure mobility platform (corporate) to enable staff to access business applications remotely through mobile devices

· Cellular and Wi-Fi networks to transfer operational data from Transit assets for processing (scheduling, maintenance, performance analysis)

7.0 The RoadMap

Through Q1 2010, IT Services and Transit Services conducted a thorough review of Transit’s portfolio of technology projects that were in progress or planned. Projects were assessed against the following criteria:

1. Did the project support or help define a standard platform?

2. Did the project have the necessary prerequisites for success?

3. Did the project have requirements well enough defined to be successful?

The analysis was an exercise in rationalizing projects and their associated cost estimates. The project proposals were examined in the light of the program strategies, and related to moving toward an industry standard platform.

Projects were classified as defining a standard, implementing a standard, or as a requirement for the future when a standard has been defined.

These estimates will be re-examined as the governance and project management structure is put in place.

Benefits and Return on Investment

With the exception of projects that are being recommended for funding in 2010, the Roadmap does not include a detailed cost/benefit analysis for each project. Projects are estimated at a rough order of magnitude, within the context of the overall program, and organized into an Implementation Program within each Platform.

A key assumption is that in conjunction with the annual planning and budgeting cycle, a business case will be accompany the funding request and Council will be able to assess the project in terms of where it fits within Transit’s overall Technology Roadmap, the business value of the project in terms of customer service improvements, increased ridership, revenue generation, risk mitigation, productivity improvements and efficiency savings, availability of resources and capital funding.

Figure 4 – The Transit Technology Roadmap (Annex 1) represents priority IT projects and initiatives planned between 2010-2014 - it is reviewed annually and updated as necessary

Maintaining the Roadmap

The Transit Roadmap is a living document that will be updated annually to show Transit’s technology directions for a subsequent 5-year timeframe. Governance will allow for new ideas, priorities, or technologies to be introduced in a structured and transparent fashion, and the impact of new technology fully debated.

The detailed Transit Technology Roadmap is attached as Annex 1, identifying the sequence and duration of each of the initiatives described above. As the initiatives progress over time, the Roadmap will be continually updated to reflect changes to schedule and/or budget, accompanying Departmental budget submissions.

8.0 Financial Summary

Table 1 identifies the proposed investment plan for each Technology Platform, as well as a summary of benefits where applicable. In the short term (2010), investments are focused on the On-Board Systems Platform (Next Stop Announcement, Intelligent Vehicle Network) and implementing the Customer Services Platform (Presto Smart Card).

Table 1 – Investment Plan (2010-2014)

Platform	5-Year Invest’t Plan	Benefits (10-Year)	Payback (yrs)	2010 Initiatives
Business Intelligence	$0.6M	$0.7M	-	$0.60M
Scheduling	$1.0M	$0.7M	-	$0.26M
On Board Systems	$19.1M	$83.2M	2	$15.6M
Maintenance	$1.8M	$30.0M	1	$0.40M
Security	$2.7M	$3.5M	8	$0.40M
Operations and Control Centre	$6.0M	$11.9M	6	$0.30M
Customer Services	$26.5M	$36.3M	8	$9.95M
Business Support Services	-	-	-	-
Corporate Support Services	$1.3M	-	-	$0.25M
TOTAL	$58.9M	$166.3M	4	$27.8M

Table 2 identifies the program and priority initiatives within each platform, project cost estimates (fully loaded) and cash flow requirements projected between 2010-2014.

As of June 2010, projects highlighted in green are complete or substantially complete.

Table 2 – Program/Project Budget and Spending Plan

Table 3 identifies the annual lifecycle, maintenance and support costs associated with the Transit roadmap, based on current vendor contracts and the projected impacts from new technology.

Table 3 – Software Licensing, Lifecycle Maintenance and Support

9.0 Summary/Conclusion

Transit Services is undergoing a significant transformation in terms of the way it operates its business. Initiatives such as SmartBus NG, the comprehensive overhaul of its Maintenance processes, and upgrading the Operations and Control Centre, are large, complex projects requiring full-time project management and resources.

IT Services and Transit Services have been working diligently to improve overall IT governance and project management to address this challenge. Oversight by the IT Sub-committee will be key – supporting and advocating for the Transit Technology Roadmap program and assisting staff secure the necessary resources.

Nevertheless, as a critical City service, there is no choice but to proceed on this journey. Transit Services is highly dependent on information technology to ensure it meets or exceeds customer expectations for timeliness, reliability, security, and convenience of its bus, para, and future LRT systems.

Attachments

Annex 1 - Transit Technology Roadmap (2010-2014)