C S 4 1 0 - B L U E G R O U P
2Me

A Brief Overview
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• The Problem
• Our Solution
• Evaluation Plan
• Funding/Budget
• Risks and their mitigation
• Four Phases o Staffing o Costs
• What is being provided and what is not
• Cost to develop
• Closing Statements
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CS 410 Blue Group Spring 2009

Meet the Team
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CS 410 blue Group May 5, 2009

Overarching Problem
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Passenger needs are not addressed by mass transportation systems.

Regional Transit Need Is Increasing
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Source: http://www.hrtransit.org/pdf/hrtbrochure/HRT_Brochure.pdf
http://www.gohrt.com/pdf/strategicplan/Strategic%20Plan%20Final%20--%20November%202008.pdf

Congestion
•
•
Buses in the HRT
System: 343
Average bus capacity is currently only at 15%
• Severe congestion is expected on 1,221 lane miles in Hampton Roads in 2026
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Source: http://www.gohrt.com/pdf/strategicplan/Strategic%20Plan%20Final%20--%20November%202008.pdf
May 5, 2009

Preventing Congestion
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Texting Efficiency
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A Proposed Solution: communicate
2Me
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Increase efficiency of transit authority systems by providing potential passenger information

The Solution
Needs:
Information for the transit authority to learn about: o potential customers o possible customer frustration
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While remaining:
Accessible, convenient, and unobtrusive to end users
Reasonable cost for transportation companies

communicate2Me
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CS 410 blue Group May 5, 2009

Planned Components
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A Feasible Implementation
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Passengers will be provided with methods to:
• Allow Bus Schedule Query via: o Cellular Phone / Short Message Service(SMS) Texting
• Have notifications of changes in schedule o SMS notification service
Result:
• Increased Passenger Awareness and Satisfaction
• Increased Statistical Information for Transit Authorities

Benefits
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Passengers:
• Better Service
• More Interaction
• Greater Satisfaction
Transit Authorities
• Passenger Query Statistics
• Warning of Waiting Passengers
• More Efficient Routes

Project Goal And Objectives
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•
•
•
• o
Time
Measured against baseline project plan o
Cost
Measured against budget plan per phase o
Scope
Measured against requirements document o
Quality
Measured by customer and end user satisfaction
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Phase 0 - Concept Development
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Milestones Acceptance Criteria
Review Board Acceptance
Problem Area Development
Feasibility Research
Milestone Scheduling
Website Development
SBIR Proposals
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Phase 0 Organizational Chart
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Phase I - Prototype Development
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Milestones Acceptance Criteria
Prototype Specifications
Test Plan
User Manuals
Proposal
Prototype Construction
Demonstration
Review Board Acceptance
CS 410 blue Group May 5, 2009

{phase i} - Organizational Chart
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Phase I - Prototype Components
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{phase i} - Financials
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Phase I - Hardware Requirements
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Phase II - Organizational Chart
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Phase II - Critical Design
Milestones
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Acceptance Criteria
Web Interface
Web Message Algorithm
Interfaces with Google Transit
Receives SMS Messages
SMS Gateway Development
Passes Tests
Algorithm Development
Algorithm Testing Connects with Transit
Authority's Systems
Transit Interface
Interface Test
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Phase II - Major Components
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{phase ii} - Financials
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Phase II - Hardware Requirements hardware qty
SMS Server
Web Server
Algorithm
Server
SMS Service
/ Credits
(yearly)
2
1
2
1
28 cost
$1000.
$2000.
$2000.
$36,000
Total
$2,000
$2,000
$4,000
$36,000 overall hardware costs $44,000
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{phase iii} - Production & Beyond
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Milestones Acceptance Criteria
Support Current Installations Market Penetration
Improvement:
Modifications to Interface
Improvements to Algorithm
Market Acceptance
Profitability
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{phase iii} - Organizational Chart
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{phase iii} - Financials
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•
• o o o
Service to set up and maintain:
Short Messaging Service gateways
Web servers
Application servers
Algorithm to communicate between end users and transit authorities
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•
•
•
Buses
Wireless communication between buses and Transit Center
Tracking system for buses (GPS, RFID)
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Who Is The Customer?
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Initial customers:
Transportation
•
• Hampton Roads Transit (HRT)
Metropolitan Transportation Authorities
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Current Competition
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Risks & Pitfalls
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1. Interoperability problems
2. Latency Issues
3. Abuse of the system
4. SMS message costs
5. Down Time
6. Phone incompatibility
7. Transit operator ignoring system
May 5, 2009 CS 410 blue Group

Risk Mitigation
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Interoperability:
• Direct Communication with each Transit Authority's technicians
Latency:
• Optimize Incoming SMS Processing Time
• Synchronize Driver Updates based on Position
Abuse of the System:
• No way to mitigate without tracking passengers
Transit Operator Ignoring System:
• Education
• Tracking of Requests to Pickups
CS 410 blue Group May 5, 2009

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Grants.gov
• Innovative Small Research Projects to Advance Public
Transportation Planning
$ 750,000
• State Operating Assistance
$840,550
References: http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=MgLfJcyflkGLZ3tLyF7Rj6GTJrn0PfTyyFvzsQtD1TNF10WzQqWS!-
802466050?oppId=46140&flag2006=false&mode=VIEW http://www.gohrt.com/pdf/budget/Budget_2009.pdf
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

 Funding Source: Department of Transportation o o o
SBIR – Phase 1: $100,000
SBIR – Phase 2 : $650,000
SBIR –Phase 3: Small Business Loan/Venture Capatilists http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=MgLfJcyflkGLZ3tLyF7Rj6GTJrn0PfTyyFvzsQtD1TNF10WzQqWS!-
802466050?oppId=46140&flag2006=false&mode=VIEW http://www.gohrt.com/pdf/budget/Budget_2009.pdf
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Price Point
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Cost To Develop
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•
•
•
•
Phase 0: o Free
Phase 1: o Hardware Resources - $4,300.00
o Personnel Resources - $14,525.00
Phase 2: o o
Hardware Resources - $44,000.00
Personnel Resources - $443,114.00
Phase 3: o Hardware Resources - $37,200.00
o Personnel Resources - $286,860.00
Total - $829,999.00
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Revenue
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Assumptions: minimum of 5 new customers per year while maintaining current customers.
May 5, 2009

Closing Statements
Current Systems are One-Way:
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• Informing the passengers, not Interacting with them.
communicate 2Me promises to:
•
• Connect Passengers with Information
Connection Transit Authorities with Potential Customers
Each phase is feasible in terms of:
• Cost
•
• Requirements
Staffing let's do it!
communicate
2Me
CS 410 blue Group May 5, 2009

Any Questions?
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CS 410 blue Group May 5, 2009