Skip to main content

San Diego deploying Apollo Video Technology’s transit camera system

San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), in California, has selected Apollo Video Technology’s RoadRunner MRH DVR and back-end management software for its fleet of transit vehicles.
March 2, 2012 Read time: 2 mins

San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), in California, has selected 850 Apollo Video Technology’s RoadRunner MRH DVR and back-end management software for its fleet of transit vehicles. In the first phase of the project, Apollo will replace existing transit surveillance systems in 246 of MTS fixed-route buses and deploy wireless back-end equipment providing fleet-wide data and real-time video streaming. Ultimately, the four-year contract (base plus three option years) will equip more than 500 transit buses.

The new installation will include the company’s digital video recorders (DVRs), interior and exterior cameras, motion detectors, and wireless local area network (LAN) equipment. The contract also includes vehicle information management (ViM) software which will supply MTS with vehicle status reports, event logs, on-demand video clip retrieval and automated downloads of event video.

MTS undertook an extensive RFP process to select Apollo as the contractor for the project. The RoadRunner system was then installed on four transit buses as part of a 45-day test phase, which was successfully completed this month.

MTS will utilise the MRH8 and MRH12 series DVRs equipped with seven to nine cameras based on the specific bus types.  Each camera system supplied by Apollo will provide MTS with state-of-the-art Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities, allowing transit officials to monitor real-time video and location data. To capture potential incidents occurring inside the transit yards overnight, MTS requested that Apollo include motion detection capabilities to trigger the system to start recording at the first sign of movement. The passive infrared sensor detects any movement inside the vehicle when the bus is turned off.

“The combination of passive infrared sensors and the ViM software will ensure that MTS has top-of-the line video surveillance management while recording activity on the bus at all times,” said Rodell Notbohm, general manager of Apollo Video Technology.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Lidar: recipes for success
    March 28, 2022
    Lidar is being deployed all over the world - and you can even read a cookbook on the subject...
  • Jenoptik highlights Vector ANPR cameras
    April 4, 2016
    Jenoptik, the international solution provider for global traffic safety, is highlighting its Vector ANPR cameras which are a vital tool used by police and security forces around the globe. Operated in temporary and long-term installations, Vector is able to rapidly identify and report on vehicles of interest. Working as stand-alone units, or part of a wide ANPR network, Vector provides a 24/7 monitoring capability, with each camera capable of capturing thousands of plate reads every day.
  • Transport technology transforming bus stops in Los Angeles
    January 20, 2012
    David Crawford reports on a pioneering blend of transport technology and aesthetic By gaining a design award before installation has even started, the US$6.9 million City of Santa Monica (California)'s Big Blue Bus Shelter and Branding Package has ensured early interest among what it expects to be a new wave of transit riders. The American Institute of Architects' Los Angeles chapter's recently conferred 'Next LA Citation Award for Architecture', given for design excellence in projects as yet unbuilt, comm
  • Social media a one-stop shop for travel information
    January 20, 2012
    Exponentially widening mobile phone ownership is opening up the field to new ways of obtaining and disseminating better travel information from and to public transport users, via for example social media and tracking riders' phones. Over 50 US transit agencies, including major actors such as TriMet, in the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon, Dallas Area Rapid Transit in Texas, and San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), as well as smaller operators, now have Facebook and/or Twitter accoun