New Vehicle Tracking System Helps Charlotte County, Fla., Residents Escape Hurricane Charley

Charlotte County Transportation Department's newly installed system was used as a critical tool to help evacuate residents trying to avoid Hurricane Charley.

The Charlotte County Transportation Department runs various transportation and on-demand paratransit services for all county residents including the elderly and transportation disadvantaged. Charlotte County and its towns, such as Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, took the brunt of hurricane Charley. With their vehicles installed with the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system, Charlotte County dispatchers were able to instantly locate and dispatch their shuttle bus fleet with the utmost efficiency during the frantic and hurried evacuation.

"In that one day, the system paid for itself," stated Paul Winter of Charlotte County Emergency Management. "Not only did the AVL system help us track and dispatch our vehicles as fast as possible, but it helped us keep record of where we had responded and evacuated people -- which is priceless."

Charlotte County's system combines GPS, UHF two-way radio, and GIS mapping software. During emergency situations, it was critical that the AVL system utilized a private 2-way radio system to communicate and not a public data network such as a cellular service. Cellular systems are subject to over-flooding of calls during emergency situations, making them nearly impossible to use.