September 15, 2005

Engineering Alumni Create System to Keep Track of Wolfline Online

  — New Technology Is the First in North Carolina to Track Public Transportation on the Web

When students returned to the North Carolina State University campus this fall, they had a new resource for navigating the Wolfline system. The University Transportation Office contracted with TransLoc, a company founded by four NC State computer science alumni, to offer real-time information on the location of each of the Wolfline buses through a website.

Joshua Whiton (BSCSC ’04), cofounder and chief executive officer of TransLoc, came up with the idea for an online, Web-based locator for buses while waiting for the bus with his friend and cofounder Dominique Bischof (BSCSC ’03, MSCSC ’04).

“People had kicked around the idea for a while, but no one ever really pursued it,” said Whiton. “We were standing at the bus stop and just said that it was possible and then set out to make it happen.”

The team, which also includes Jesse Lovelace (BSCSC ’05) and Justin Harris (BSCSC ’04), formed an intelligent transportation system (ITS) company to develop and market the innovative Transit Visualization System (TVS) that provides real-time tracking of multiple vehicles. They researched global positioning systems (GPS), radio systems and tracking programs. After building and testing several prototypes, they were ready to field-test the package.

The WolfLine system on campus was a perfect fit for testing since it was close to their offices in the NC State Technology Incubator on Centennial Campus. And the TransLoc system was a perfect fit for NC State’s WolfLine since the traffic on campus and surrounding streets is a challenge for bus drivers to keep WolfLine buses running on time, especially with all of the construction on campus. The system allows students, faculty and visitors to go online and pinpoint where their bus is on its route. The TransLoc system is the first to offer this level of information in the mass transit market.

“With the new AVL technology in place, we are able to provide even safer, more convenient transportation services to students, staff and faculty,” says Pat Mitchell, NCSU Transportation transit manager. “Rather than waiting at a stop in inclement weather or after dark, riders can check the TVS website and find out exactly when their bus is approaching their stop.”

The TransLoc team is marketing its real-time online tracking system to mass transit providers in larger markets. The system offers public transportation officials another tool for managing a fleet of buses and other vehicles.

“It would take the worry about missing the bus out of the equation,” said Bischof.

To view the Transit Visualization System for the Wolfline buses, visit the NCSU Transportation website at www2.acs.ncsu.edu/trans/transit/index.html and click on the Transit Visualization System link.

— weston —

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