https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com


Database technology moves Bay area

Database technology moves Bay area

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District is composed of 150 miles of track that carry trains transporting approximately 300,000 passengers
  • Written by Mark Smith
  • 1st February 1998

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District is composed of 150 miles of track that carry trains transporting approximately 300,000 passengers every day. Keeping the trains running smoothly and maintaining the highest levels of passenger safety is a big job. But BART manages to do just that with only one employee aboard each train.

That’s because BART is fully automated and has been since shortly after World War II. Still, the computer system that had been running the show for 50 years did not allow for the geographic expansion necessary to extend the line to San Francisco International Airport, which will be completed in the year 2000. Nor did it allow for any increase in passenger capacity. Additionally, its 20-year-old computers were no longer being built or serviced by the manufacturers.

These limitations proved critical in San Francisco, which is located in one of the fastest growing areas of the country. City officials, consequently, decided an upgrade was in order.

“Seven years ago we decided to upgrade BART’s computing environment and move to a distributed, open and scalable environment,” BART System Engineering Group Manager David Warwick says. “We also wanted a system that was independent of hardware manufacturers.

“We knew these were important factors in saving both time and money,” he says. “The upgrade allowed for the system to grow and improve, as well as ensuring the safety and efficiency of our passengers.”

Now, BART uses its database management system as the foundation upon which all the application software operates. The system has an automatic fare collection mechanism, which includes the convenience of debit/credit ticket purchasing to help passengers buy and redeem their tickets every day. It also handles BART’s network management (BARTnet data communication system) and telecommunications needs, including dispatch and radio communications.

Passenger safety was one of the primary motivations behind the $200 million upgrades. To ensure maximum safety for all its passengers, BART has a main control room that monitors the action across the entire system. Transbay Tube, the 6-mile main tunnel that runs under San Francisco Bay, is monitored by the system, and the data is displayed graphically on color monitors that are watched 24 hours a day.

Designing and implementing the control center was expected to take approximately four years. However, BART developed the software in-house and was able to install both the display and electric boards in half the allotted time.

The police and maintenance dispatchers, located in the main control center, monitor board displays of information from 30,000 data points that are polled every 23 milliseconds. The data points check the locations of all 54 trains and monitor: * whether doors are open or closed; * whether emergency telephones are working; * whether tracks are occupied; * whether direction control switches are locked and aligned; and * whether exhaust and tunnel ventilation fans and circuit breakers are operating properly.

If a problem such as a fire in the tunnel or an inoperable phone arises, the command staff can respond within seconds, correcting the situation with a single key stroke.

Future plans for the system include upgrading the network to a SONET fiber-optic backbone, which will create a higher capacity in performance between stations. “We are always upgrading and maintaining the system,” Warwick says. “And we are always looking for ways to make it easier and more convenient.”

Tags:

Most Recent


  • citizen experience
    Centering the citizen experience through digital transformations in government
    Technology as it intersects with the citizen experience at its best goes unnoticed, and at its worst betrays a failing on the part of the government to effectively anticipate the needs of its people. In every city there are thousands of nodes through which a citizen population interacts with their government, and some of those […]
  • Nevada police department, medical school, partner to train officers in emergency first aid
    Amid the disturbing rise of mass shootings over the last few decades (most recently, the tragedy in Highland Park, Ill. over the holiday weekend), police and law enforcement organizations across the United States—regardless of size—are at the front line of defense. Standard operating procedures and training norms have likewise evolved to meet the modern day […]
  • Supreme Court ruling on EPA greenhouse gas regulation will impact cities
    On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court handcuffed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s regulation power by ruling that the federal government cannot use the 1970 Clean Air Act to restrict greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. By a 6-3 decision, the decision is notable for city and county administrators because greenhouse gas emissions aren’t contained within […]
  • sustainability
    Sustainability initiatives take center stage in Florida county
    Palm Beach County, Fla. (2022 estimated population: 1,538,450), is the second largest county in Florida by land area and the third largest by population. County leaders have been implementing resiliency and sustainability initiatives for more than a decade, says Melissa McKinlay, commissioner of Palm Beach County District 6. “However, a few years ago, the Board […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • North Texas alliance partners with Marketplace.city on smart government solutions
  • Harris County deploys next-generation security in 150 public buildings
  • Public procurement can be transformative for stakeholders in a community
  • The 10 Most Sustainable Large U.S. Cities

White papers


How to Assemble a Rockstar Website Redesign Steering Committee

7th June 2022

Hand Hygiene: Compliance Matters

23rd May 2022

What it Takes to Build a Winning Esports Program

23rd May 2022
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

Centering the citizen experience through digital transformations in government dlvr.it/STPSyV

5th July 2022
AmerCityCounty

Nevada police department, medical school, partner to train officers in emergency first aid dlvr.it/STPJ2k

5th July 2022
AmerCityCounty

Supreme Court ruling on EPA greenhouse gas regulation will impact cities dlvr.it/STBwkw

1st July 2022
AmerCityCounty

Sustainability initiatives take center stage in Florida county dlvr.it/STBvwN

1st July 2022
AmerCityCounty

10 best cities for July Fourth celebrations dlvr.it/STBfHt

1st July 2022
AmerCityCounty

The Missing Link in Cloud Security dlvr.it/STBXNL

1st July 2022
AmerCityCounty

Improving Productivity with Employee Engagement | Aug. 4, 2022 at 2 PM ET dlvr.it/STBCD5

1st July 2022
AmerCityCounty

We want to hear from you! Please take this brief survey and let us know how your organization is managing your budg… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

30th June 2022

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X