Harbor Transit Adopts RouteMatch Software's Integrated Automated Dispatching, Scheduling and Mobile Data Solution to Improve Operations and Ridership Service

ATLANTA, GA and GRAND HAVEN, MI--(Marketwired - Jun 8, 2015) - Harbor Transit, one of the longest-serving transit providers in the Great Lakes region, announces their transition to RouteMatch Software's automated dispatching and scheduling system, paired with tablet mobile data devices.

"We are so excited to launch our new system," says Sue Thomae, Compliance Manager at Harbor Transit. "We are confident this will help us become more efficient and, most of all, cut down on wait times for our riders."

Celebrating its 40^th year of operations, Harbor Transit sits on the shores of Lake Michigan and provides over 800 trips a day across a 39 square mile service area. Later this summer, they will be expanding service to a neighboring township.

Prior to selecting RouteMatch for their operations upgrade, Harbor Transit relied on a manual, pen and paper-based system. Challenges the agency faced included record keeping, and having limited oversight or ability to streamline their dispatching processes. Each of their six staff dispatchers had a different dispatching method. And when it came to reporting and data gathering, Harbor Transit used Excel spreadsheets and maintained driver logs on paper -- all of which were time consuming and costly.

RouteMatch's automated optimization tools will allow Harbor Transit's schedulers and dispatchers to manage overlapping routes and create optimal timetables and schedules for drivers based on predictive algorithms, greatly reducing workloads and creating reliability for riders.

The other important component of Harbor Transit's new platform is the in-vehicle tablets for automated vehicle location. The agency is installing 22 of these devices, equipped with the RouteMatch mobile application which will provide more accurate manifests to their drivers, ensuring real time pick-up and drop-off information.

Before finally selecting RouteMatch, Harbor Transit formed an internal committee to interview and review possible intelligent transportation systems vendors. Harbor Transit's committee chose RouteMatch as the overwhelming favorite due to the user-friendly hardware and software, and nimble reporting abilities.

"Overall, we are so pleased with our decision to go with RouteMatch and this new system," Thomae says. "We are looking forward to continuing to serve our rides and communities with better and improved service."

About Harbor Transit

Since 1975 Harbor Transit has been providing quality public transportation service to thousands of Tri-Cities residents in the City of Grand Haven, the Village of Spring Lake, the City of Ferrysburg, and now to people living in Grand Haven Township. It was reorganized into the Harbor Transit Multi-Modal Transportation System in January of 2012 which coincided with the expansion of the service area to include all of Grand Haven Charter Township. Further expansion will occur in August of 2015 when Spring Lake Township joins Harbor Transit's service territory.

The system employs 38 full and part-time employees and operates a fleet of 19 buses, 2 mini-vans, and two seasonal trolleys. The fleet is powered by diesel and gasoline motor vehicles along with four L. P. powered buses. In a normal month, buses will travel 50,000 miles and will consume approximately $16,000 in fuel.

About RouteMatch Software

RouteMatch Software is the leading provider of passenger transportation technologies and mobility management solutions. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, GA and works with more than 600 transit agencies across the U.S. and internationally, providing quality software and customer service. Partnering with public and private sector passenger transportation providers, the company's products address routing, scheduling, dispatching, billing, reporting, fixed route, CAD/AVL, demand response and fixed route integration, traveler information services, mobility management, business analytics, automated fare collection and more. Additional information about RouteMatch's ITS technologies are available at www.routematch.com or by calling RouteMatch toll-free at (US) 1-888-840-8791.