County Connection received the Gold Award for Location-Based Services at the annual Connected World Awards Gala hosted by Connected World Magazine. County Connection teamed with Clever Devices, Source Inc., and Sprint to successfully launch the web based real-time Bus Tracker in early 2013. Bus Tracker uses existing GPS data to predict real time arrivals of buses at any bus stop in the system. Bus arrival times and service alerts are also available by text messaging when internet access is not available.
The new Bus Tracker system is an example of the latest in machine-to-machine (M2M) technology which effectively sends information to and from the buses over the Sprint wireless network to a custom web-based application that lets dispatchers and customers monitor the location and status of the buses remotely. It is the product of collaboration between several companies, Clever Devices, Sprint, and SourceInc. – each bringing expertise to create this leading edge solution for County Connection.
The Connected World Awards honor the companies that have successfully leveraged M2M in order to solve a critical pain point within their business, all with quantifiable results. Emphasis is given to the process of combining multiple technologies, such as device, connectivity, hardware, radio modules, network service, and application software to create a winning solution. For the County Connection Bus Tracker solution, CW recognized Clever Devices for the development and customization of the Bus Tracker application, Sprint for providing the wireless data connectivity for the solution, and SourceInc for helping to integrate the solution into the County Connection system.
Both Sprint and Clever Devices have partnered with County Connection for communication needs for many years. Sprint has been the cellular provider for a variety of communications needs ranging from mobile service for the maintenance and transit road supervisors, to mobile dispatching services in the ADA paratransit division.
County Connection chose Clever Devices to provide automated voice announcements in compliance with ADA requirements. At the time County Connection was interested in the modular system offered by Clever Devices system which made it possible to add functions over the year as funding became available. Over the years, County Connection added passenger counting and reporting functions, headsign controls. Finally, Source Inc. provided the digitized routers that made the Sprint connection to Clever Devices possible, transmitting real time data over a safe, reliable network.