efficiency , justify funding requests , and demonstrate compliance . Riders are immediately notified of changes , dispatchers know the locations of every bus and driver , incidents are tracked as they occur , and vehicle health monitoring capabilities can predict failures so maintenance can easily work on all vehicle issues before those buses hit the road . According to Avail Technologies project manager , Neal Castles , TANK was looking to solve a few specific challenges they had faced with their previous CAD / AVL system . Issues with reporting data , generating reports , keeping track of vehicles , and an outdated radio tower communication system . “ Those were just a few of the challenges that were presented to us ,” Castles said . “ As we went along through the installation , we were very deliberate about addressing each of those issues .” The Avail onboarding process is a methodical one , with each vehicle undergoing a pre inspection prior to the installation itself followed by an ATP , a rigorous test to ensure that all new features are functioning properly . From the outset , TANK was confident in Avail ’ s ability to meet its operational needs . One key feature of Avail ’ s approach is its adaptability , as the system is highly customizable to fit the specific demands of its clients .
“ What made this partnership special is TANK already had our ERP solution ,” said Robert Manaseri , Avail Technologies Vice President of Programs . “ We then deployed our CAD / AVL solution . That is the beauty of a uniform platform . Our ERP system is built specifically for transit agencies , and then you add the CAD / AVL , it ' s all under one umbrella . It gives our customers all the information they need in one place .” Avail ’ s myAvail system goes beyond CAD / AVL ; it is an Enterprise Transit Management Solution ( ETMS ) with role-based user interfaces for operations , finance , and administration staff to manage all aspects of a modern transit agency operation . Capabilities include automatic mining and analysis of operational data , configurable performance metrics dashboards , preemptive notification of upcoming issues , as well as onboard , desktop , email and text alerts to avoid operational issues . In an installation or upgrade of this magnitude , Avail first conducts a survey of all the vehicles that will require new hardware . Avail then creates a bill of materials for each vehicle type . From there , Avail ’ s production team begins ordering components and building vehicle kits , before sending the kits to the agency ’ s facilities . Avail installers and field engineers arrive to support the installation effort , and Avail conducts on-site training while aiding with the initial vehicle pilots .
18 | BUSRIDE . COM | FEBRUARY / MARCH 2025