Downeast Transportation
Bar Harbor, Maine
Avail customer since 2001
Island Explorer provides seasonal fixed route shuttle service within Acadia National Park and the Bar Harbor area, operating a fleet consisting of approximately 17 buses (with expansion to 29 buses in the spring 2006 making Island Explorer the largest transit agency in the state). Island Explorer boasts a seasonal ridership of approximately 350,000 passengers throughout the season.
Avail’s OmniPoint suite of products:
- CommandPoint - Computer Aided Dispatching and Automatic Vehicle Location
- ControlPoint - Vehicle solution including Mobile Data Computer, Automated Next Stop Annunciation, and Automatic Passenger Counters
- DataPoint - Ridership reporting, data mining and analysis for operational personnel
- InfoPoint Wayside - Real-time service display for customer information via wayside electronic signage
- InfoPoint Web - Real-time service display for customer information via the Web
2001 - Maine Department of Transportation awarded Avail the contract to install a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) System with a focus on providing passenger information to encourage patrons to this seasonal park to take advantage of the Island Explorer System. This project was sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Interior, with procurement and administrative oversight provided by the Maine Department of Transportation. Island Explorer provides visitor transportation on this island park on a contract vehicle fleet that navigates fixed routes throughout the park. The Avail solution provided electronic wayside signage at each of the designated bus stops. Current bus departure information is updated continuously through the real-time reporting of the bus location via the in-vehicle AVL equipment to the CAD system. The CAD system in turn monitors the bus movement in comparison to the scheduled time points and relays the anticipated Departure times to the appropriate wayside stop signage. In addition to providing this real-time information to the wayside signs, this information is available via the Island Explorer website, allowing visitors to access this information from the local hotels for example, to know when they can expect the next bus. This system is fully operational and Avail continues to provide long term warranty and support services to Island Explorer.
2002 - Island Explorer contracted with Avail to integrate with the 411 System for telephone access
2004 - Island Explorer contracted with Avail to add Headsigns to their fleet integrated with our ControlPoint mobile data computer which provides a single point of driver logon for hands free control of the sign
2006 - Island Explorer is expanding their fleet to a total of 29 vehicles and has contracted with Avail to add these vehicles to our system.
"A wonderful service. Best way to get around. Fun to ride and happy drivers."
-Island Explorer passenger from Texas
"Using the bus really helped us to see and visit a lot more of the island."
-Acadia National Park visitor from England
"This makes the week a real vacation."
-Island Explorer passenger from Massachusetts
"Free is the way to be. I like your bus service."
-Island Explorer passenger from Franklin, Maine
- "Park managers believed that parking lot status signs and bus departure signs have a positive influence on congestion and traffic by facilitating bus travel, whereas Park rangers believed that the Island Explorer with ITS enhancements is helping to alleviate congestion but were less enthusiastic about the parking information signs".
- Figure 4-10 shows a high level of agreement among visitors that the real-time departure signs were accurate and easy to read. Virtually all (96%) strongly agreed or agreed with the statement “I found the information to be accurate.” Visitors reported similar ratings (94%) on how easy it was to read the information displayed on signs and the ease of using the information (94%).
- Figure 4-12 shows a high level of agreement among users (95%) that the bus on-board information was accurate. Visitors reported similar ratings (92%) on how easy it was to read the bus stops displayed on signs on-board the bus. Most users (93%) also rated the real time information easy to use. Visitors were asked about the audio quality and timing of the announcements relative to the next stop and the results are displayed in Figure 4-13. Ninety-three percent of the users thought the bus on-board information was clear and understandable. Most users (95%) reported the volume of the announcements was loud enough to hear, and most (94%) thought the announcements were made early enough for them to exit the bus when needed. Thus, in terms of quality the on-board announcements were well received by visitors.
- 44% of the users of the real time parking information said it helped them decide to use the Island Explorer bus. Thus, the ITS technologies appear to be contributing to the overall goal of diverting visitors from personal vehicles to using the Island Explorer bus.
- While total recreational visitors to Acadia National Park during the summer season increased by 1.3% from 2001 to 2002, ridership of the Island Explorer increased by 17%. Thus, a higher proportion of Acadia summer recreational visitors used the bus after ITS was operational than before, growing from 15.6% in 2001 and 18.3% in 2002.
For more information regarding this project or to request references, please contact us
