Smart Cities & Innovation Committee

Download January Meeting Package

Meeting Minutes – January 17, 2020

The Smart Cities and Innovations Committee (SCIC) convened at 12:02 pm on Friday, January 17, 2020.

Commissioners in attendance

Chairperson, Commissioner Andria McClellan (Norfolk) {phone via HRT Norfolk}
Commissioner Dr. Patricia Woodbury (Newport News)
Commissioner Jimmy Gray (Hampton)

Hampton Roads Transit Staff in attendance

Erin Glenn, Interim Chief Information Officer & Chief Technology Officer {phone}
Kamlesh Chowdhary, Director of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
Brian Smith, Chief of Staff
Conner Burns, Chief Financial Officer
Shelia Gulledge, Technology Project Manager, SCIC Secretary

Additional attendees

Denise Johnson, TRAC
Janice Taylor, PAC {phone}
Judith Brown, League of Women Voters, South Hampton Roads {phone}

The SCIC meeting package contained the Agenda and October/December 2019 Meeting Minutes. It was distributed electronically to all Commissioners in advance of the meeting and posted to Hampton Roads Transit’s SCIC website. The Action Items and 2019 HRT Technology Accomplishments were distributed at the meeting.

Agenda – January 17, 2020

  1. Old Business
    1. Updates on Local Smart Cities Initiatives
  2. New Business
    1. IT Governance/Costs
    2. On-demand Transit Solutions
  3. Adjournment
Opening Remarks

Commissioner McClellan initiated discussion from the Fare Collection Working Group. Erin Glenn provided details from the recently completed mobile ticketing pilot program, technical/funding options moving forward and the competitive market for potential providers. She noted some of the potential challenges in hardware/software portability between carriers.

1. Old Business
  1. Updates on Local Smart Cities Initiatives
    GTFS/Real-Time Transit
    • Ms. Glenn briefly discussed ongoing website work in preparation for real-time data.

    Broadband

    • In response to Commissioner Dr. Woodbury inquiry on the status of the southside’s broadband project, she was advised that five cities have voted in favor and currently pending State corporate commission to provide the paperwork; expectation of RFP award for design build by March.

    Mobile First / Mobile Payments

    • Ms. Glenn reported on one of the demos she attended in which the vendor offered mobile ticketing as well as the ability for stored value. Commissioner Gray added that this should be implemented system-wide, across all modes when this is available; Ms. Glenn agreed, noting that the goal is to have one solution for all modes.
    • Discussion ensued on necessity of external assistance to draft RFP that has a high degree of complexity and detail since HRT does not currently have resources available for this effort. Comm. Woodbury advised that it should be streamlined to the extent possible. Conner Burns and Brian Smith noted that a similar process was undertaken with the paratransit RFP to leverage expertise from market consultant and add value from experience of other transit agencies.
    • Mr. Burns detailed the expected award and execution timeframe as well as the duration for grant funding. He and Dr. Smith will research the funding structure and provide a firm answer at the February SCIC meeting.
    • Dr. Smith confirmed the Federal and local funding for mobile ticketing is not yet 100% funded. He will discuss this funding with Grants Administration and DBE Officer for reporting at the next meeting.

    Microtransit

    • Comm. McClellan provided an overview of the microtransit presentation that was given by RideCo at the conclusion of the Dec. SCIC meeting for those that were unable to attend.
      • Dr. Smith provided an update on strategic planning effort for microtransit services. Workshop members reviewed and scored seven criteria that would indicate a high probability of success for this type of service and identified eight preliminary pilot zones. Two of the initial sites are in Newport News and Virginia Beach.
      • Pursuing special State grant funding for this demo project that is very data driven; cautiously optimistic that this demo could be operational the latter half of next fiscal year.
    • Comm. McClellan discussed her participation and recent presentation at the Norfolk Commission for Persons with Disabilities, noting that there is organization that provides paratransit and microtransit services. After interest was expressed from SCIC members, Comm. McClellan asked the SCIC administrative liaison to facilitate upcoming visits from microtransit providers to present to the SCIC in March or April.
      • Dr. Smith will confer with HRT legal counsel to ensure the timing of their visit precedes any possible solicitation actions.
      • Mr. Burns will address solicitation parameters with HRT Procurement.
    • Brief review and discussion of the microtransit/personal mobility services as presented in the report from Sam Sink, HRT Planning & Development ensued. She found only one instance of a transit agency with a formal partnership with an e-scooter company and noted that these providers are receptive to an agreement with HRT. She advised that clear policy language for differentiating upright e-scooters from personal mobility devices which are protected under ADA would be needed.

    AV/EV/Alternative Transportation

    • Comm. McClellan requested that Ray Amoruso provide an update on the autonomous bus pilot at an upcoming SCIC meeting.
2. New Business
  1. Other Smart City Initiatives
    Commissioner McClellan noted that data scientists are starting to dig into how data works within smart cities for a local, upcoming initiative with CityLab:
    A Data-Driven Future
  2. HRT Technology 2019 Accomplishments
    Ms. Glenn noted several of the IT advancements and accomplishments achieved last year that will be included in an upcoming HRT Marketing report.
Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 12:57 p.m.

The next SCIC meeting will be on Thursday, February 13 at noon in HRT’s Norfolk Office.

Meeting Date

January 17, 2020 12:00pm



View Smart Cities & Innovation

Location