Tait Communications Completes Transport for London Upgrade
Tait Communications announced that it has completed the digital upgrade of Transport for London's (TfL) surface fleet, fitting London's 9,200 red buses with high-reliability digital radio communications.
Tait was chosen in March 2018 by TfL to replace the British capital city's bus radio communications system with a new digital system. The project was successfully completed by Tait, on time and within budget.
The London bus network is made up of more than 650 contracted bus routes, providing more than two billion passenger journeys each year.
The bus radio system provides high-reliability voice and data connections between all busses and TfL's network of dispatch and control centres. Tait achieved initial cutover to the new system in November 2018, with operational commencement a month later.
"We place great value on our long-term relationship with Transport for London, so we're delighted to have delivered fully on the trust placed in us," says Garry Diack, CEO of Tait Communications.
The Tait Unified Vehicle platform supplied to TfL is built with developing technologies in mind, enabling in-vehicle IP connectivity to future Intelligent Bus systems and additional communications. These include WiFi and Cellular alongside mobile radio, and the ability to run data applications to improve operational efficiency and service levels.
Additionally, Tait EnableFleet device management solution allowed automation of the transition from analogue to the new digital mobile radio platform. By automating the process of converting between the legacy device profiles to the new platform, and simultaneously generating a centralised management database for the devices, installation time was less than 20 minutes per vehicle. With a vehicle rollout rate peaking at 500 vehicles a month, it meant 9000 vehicles were able to be rolled out within six months.
The Tait Communications system agreement supplied in this case also gives customers access to the extensive range of KPI reporting, monitoring and management services Tait has available from its global service management centre, and on-site field services and service delivery management provided by the Tait UK based services team which is on duty year-around, 24 hours a day.
Tait Communications worked successfully with Trapeze ITS to ensure the fleet deployment was completed on time.
