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SamTrans > News Archive - 2003 > New Bus Simulator Thrusts SamTrans' Training Into Video Realm
New Bus Simulator Thrusts SamTrans' Training Into Video Realm
What offers more realistic graphics than a Microsoft X-Box, the look and feel of a
Gillig bus, and the potential to save the San Mateo County Transit District hundreds
of thousands of dollars? The cutting-edge bus simulator that was recently installed
at the transit district's training facility.
SamTrans is the first transit district in the Western United States to use the
high-tech bus simulator for operator training. The simulator uses computer-generated
imagery and will be used for basic and advanced driving skill training.
Based on statistics offered by other transit agencies using the simulator, the
district expects to improve training programs and to reduce incidents of preventable
accidents, ultimately resulting in reduced operational costs.
The simulator, which cost almost $460,000, is a fully interactive video display that
is assembled to replicate SamTrans' current fleet of buses. The simulator's
performance characteristics including acceleration, turning radius, breaking and
cornering, are calibrated to exactly mimic the district's fleet.
With the new bus simulator, SamTrans trainers can control every element of the
training situation, including traffic density, aggressiveness of drivers, road
conditions, weather conditions, and even another vehicle or pedestrian behavior.
"Instructors can operate a vehicle and maneuver a pedestrian to put trainees through
situations that would be much more dangerous than what we would experience on the
street," said Transportation Operations Training Manager Jeff Johnson. "This
simulator is great because it allows instructors to control the environment while
teaching, rather than trying to manage an uncontrolled environment on the road."
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