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Council hears presentation on real-time transit tracking and reporting upgrades funded by CARES and ARPA
Summary
Staff and Passio Technologies presented Phase 1 of transit technology upgrades — a rider-facing real-time tracking app, public displays, passenger counting and reporting tools — funded entirely with CARES and ARPA grants, and previewed a cashless fare system to come at a future meeting.
City staff and Passio Technologies briefed the council on Phase 1 of a transit-technology upgrade that provides riders and staff with real-time vehicle tracking, passenger counting, stop alerts, on-vehicle announcements and enhanced reporting tools. Staff said the work was financed with CARES Act and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant funds and was 100% grant-funded.
Scott McLaren, vice president at Passio Technologies, described the package as an integrated rider app, web viewer (passiogo.com) and public-display solution. "You have 3 solutions in 1," McLaren said, demonstrating live vehicle tracking and telling the council the system shows vehicle crowding and real-time ETAs at specific stops. He said the system can push notifications for detours or special events, create set-stop alerts (for example, notify a user when a vehicle is within 20 minutes of a chosen stop), and provide ridership and stop-level reports to inform service changes.
Transit staff said the upgrades were paid for with CARES and ARPA funds. "These tech upgrades were made possible through the CARES funding and the ARPA funding. So they were 100% paid for with grant funding," a transit staff member said. Staff also described plans to present Phase 2 — a cashless fare system using the Wisconsin-wide "Wisco" platform — at a future council meeting.
Council members asked whether the system could support schedule and route adjustments driven by demand (for example, late-night or third-shift employment areas) and whether drivers could summon help in a safety emergency. McLaren replied that both features are available: ridership and stop data can be broken down by route and time to highlight demand peaks, and the vehicles' mobile data terminals can include a covert alarm that sends text, email and automated-call alerts to designated contacts while displaying the alarm on the dispatch live map. The vendor also showed that vehicle infotainment displays could be monetized with ads to generate incremental revenue.
Staff and the vendor said Janesville's transit system also uses Passio, enabling cross-system routing visibility in the same app. Transit staff reported the system has been installed for about three months and that early data already allow analysis by day, hour, route and stop. Staff described outreach and marketing plans — QR codes, short social media videos and coordination with the communications director — to get riders to download and use the app. Phase 2, the cashless fare presentation and public hearing, was scheduled for an upcoming meeting.
