Automatic vehicle monitoring: A tool for vehicle fleet operations

Automatic vehicle monitoring (AVM) is an electronic means of gathering data and effecting command and control over a land vehicle fleet. While data on vehicle location are required for effective control, such systems are totally dependent upon refiable dedicated communications systems. By presenting a dispatcher or computer with information on each vehicle´s location, decisions concerning the fleet´s dispersion and operational readiness can be made. The Department of Transportation´s Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) is developing such a system which will be evaluated in actual transit operations and offers potential application in traffic control operations.