Skip to main content

Denver RTD opts for wireless AVL and payments

Canadian company Sierra Wireless has deployed its InMotion Solutions oMG Mobile Gateway for Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) to support mobile broadband access for automatic vehicle location (AVL) and smart card fare payments aboard more than 1,100 buses in its fixed route fleet. One of the top 20 public transit agencies in the US, the RTD provides services to residents across an eight county metro area, from the bus and light rail services to the free MallRide and specialty services.
October 15, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Canadian company 7884 Sierra Wireless has deployed its InMotion Solutions oMG Mobile Gateway for Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) to support mobile broadband access for automatic vehicle location (AVL) and smart card fare payments aboard more than 1,100 buses in its fixed route fleet.

One of the top 20 public transit agencies in the US, the RTD provides services to residents across an eight county metro area, from the bus and light rail services to the free MallRide and specialty services.

The InMotion Solutions oMG Mobile Gateway connects mobile equipment for RTD’s smart card fare system and new bus AVL system over both a Sprint cellular broadband network and new 802.11n garage-area wi-fi networks. It supports real time communications while buses are on the road and bulk data transfer automatically upon return to the garage. The management system enables managers to see how much data is being transmitted, which network is being used, and allows IT teams to update configurations remotely.

“We wanted a carrier-agnostic communications platform that would allow us to grow and upgrade as wireless technology changed,” said Tom Hughes, RTD’s manager, Intelligent Transportation Systems.

“RTD coordinated planned investments in its new fare system and bus AVL solution to deploy a very flexible, high-performance wireless communications solution that can ultimately serve all systems aboard its fleet,” said Scott Davis, vice president of Worldwide Sales, Enterprise Solutions for Sierra Wireless. “RTD now has the mobile communications technology, management systems and the organisational expertise to efficiently deliver reliable communications to new onboard systems using the latest broadband wireless technologies.”

Related Content

  • Dubai metro - the world's longest automated rail system
    July 31, 2012
    David Crawford reviews the recent opening of Dubai's Red Line. The US$7.6bn Dubai Metro, the Phase I Red Line of which started partial operation in September 2009, will be the world's longest driverless rail system on its planned completion in 2011. With a total length of some 75km, it will then overtake the 68.7km Vancouver SkyTrain and be able to carry over 1.2 million passengers on a typical day.
  • Wireless connectivity at highway speeds
    July 24, 2012
    The Enterprise Mobility Solutions business of Motorola has announced the latest addition to its Mesh Wide Area Network (MWAN) portfolio, the Vehicle Mounted Modem (VMM) 4300. Designed to deliver wireless broadband connectivity at highway speeds, the company says the VMM 4300 provides public transportation organisations and safety agencies with the opportunity to extend mobile applications and video to buses, trains, public works vehicles and police cars for increased productivity and improved safety. The VM
  • u-blox acquisition adds wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity
    May 20, 2014
    Swiss-based u-blox has acquired Swedish company connectBlue AB, a provider of industrial-grade short range radio modules which support Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11/wi-fi industry standards that enable the last hundreds of metres of connectivity between equipment and the internet. According to u-blox, the acquisition greatly enhances its portfolio of positioning and cellular wireless communications solutions with short range communication products and broadens the u-blox module offering bringing millions of
  • Thales uses standard smartphones to revolutionise mobile point of sale sector at CARTES 2013
    November 19, 2013
    Thales, the UK-based information systems and communications security specialist, is planning to re-shape the mobile point of sale sector at CARTES 2013. The company will be sharing and demonstrating a range of solutions from leading mPOS device manufacturers on its stand at the show, as well as showing off the newly-announced members of its multi-partner ecosystem. “By working with Thales, Miura has been able to simplify and remove the complexity of delivering leading P2PE and Remote Key Injection services