Mass Transit - 30

GRAFFITI SHIELD'S multi-layer product
can be removed without damaging
the display.

Graffiti Shield

Making a safe and
comfortable stop

A part of making bus shelters, stations and stops more
attractive to users is providing a safe and clean environment.
By Maile Rudebusch, contributor

S

HELTERS AND STATIONS ARE
an essential part of an agency's operation. Providing amenities and
additional technology at bus stops
to make users feel more comfortable can increase ridership.

Utilizing remote
technology

With solar energy being an increasingly
popular option for stops, OutdoorLink,
Inc. works to not only manage them
through its SmartLink system, but manage
them in a fashion that is easier for agencies.
"[SmartLink] gives the operator the
opportunity to remotely control the lighting on the billboard to check in and see
if it is working, to get alerts and [allows
advertisers the ability] to say the lights are
working how they are supposed to. It also
allows you to reset schedules all through
a web-based and app-based program,"
said Doug Pew, vice president transit

30 |

products, OutdoorLink, Inc. "It's really
revolutionized the outdoor advertising
industry, including the digital side."
SmartLink is now being utilized
in transit operations. The company's
software offers remote monitoring of
displays, which no longer requires that
transit maintenance departments be on
site to check a display's performance.
Pew explained that SmartLink offers
both AC and solar access for its shelters, but that solar is becoming more
prominent. Pew himself was a part of
increasing SmartLink's solar activity.
"In the shelter world, one of the things
that I was really part of was bringing solar
lighting to shelters. [Now you can have]
the ability to have control and monitor
when your lights are working, if they're
working, if your battery is charged, if
your solar panel is providing solar as it's
supposed to. You can register if it is your
lights, your signs or your USB charging

Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | JUNE 2019

port - which is a newer thing that has
been implemented in shelters, as well.
We're able to monitor all of that and
tell the agency if they need service," explained Pew. "Historically, in the shelter
side of things and the shelter industry,
maintenance departments have to go out
and manually check a lighting package to
see if it's working or they wait for a call
from a user or rider to hear if the light is
working or not. We're giving agencies the
ability to make it much more secure and
offer much more protection."
Agencies are given the benefit of ensuring both public security, as well as
remote control.
"The ability to control remotely and
to know when your lights are working
or if there is a problem and your power
is out, it's really [offered] a lot of benefits
to the maintenance side of the industry
to know when you have a problem and
when you need to service it," said Pew.
Pew explained that different agencies located in the U.S. in the west, as
well as the south are turning to solar
energy. Pew added that SmartLink's
system offers the choice to be implemented in a current system. The system
also offers additional resources that are
unique to the company.
"Our device is a controller, so it can
work with any existing system that is in
the field today. We made it to retrofit and
then we're also working with OEM's to
work with them to put it in to their solar
lighting packages for the agencies," said
Pew. "There really is nothing else like it
where you can look at your cell phone and
tell that your lights are working or that
you need to change the times on these
lights simply through an app or from
your desktop. Since it is all through cell
technology, it is up to date to real time,
there is no need to adjust for daylight
savings [time], which, for the most part,
every other controller in the market has
to do, you have to go out there and have
someone change times to be up to date."
Pew explained that while it is a newer
system, the company has several agencies
that have started implementing it into
their operations.
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