Detroit Mass Transit Takes a SMART Route to Safety

CASE Wireless Emergency Communications Comes to Even More Bus Shelters

What They Needed:
As downtown metropolitan areas and the surrounding suburbs become more populated, public transportation becomes a greater necessity for easing traffic and simplifying commuting for thousands of people. However, for people to utilize mass transit, riders must feel safe and secure – not only when onboard public transportation vehicles, but also when waiting or arriving at stops along the service route. Near Detroit, the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) wanted to make sure emergency response could be contacted from bus shelters… and CASE Blue Light Towers and CASE e-Phones were the right solution.

How CASE Responded:
In June of 2017, Detroit SMART initially asked which CASE product was best suited for bus shelter installation. Our team was happy to share the simple no-trenching, completely wireless capabilities of CASE Blue Light Towers and e-Phones. The ability to rely on a solar, cellular unit, was an attractive benefit – especially considering it offered connectivity for even the most remote bus stops along the route… ones that may have been difficult or cost-prohibitive to connect through hardwiring.

By mid-July, SMART had ordered an initial unit to test under real-life conditions, including ease of installation and day-to-day functionality.

Since the initial test unit was ordered – SMART now (at the time of writing) operates 23 units to serve existing stops and shelters. What’s more, SMART continues to grow their CASE Emergency network as new shelters are built and added around the metro-Detroit area it serves, totaling close to 100 units.

The Iron County Sheriff’s Office is very excited about the addition of these satellite phones in these remote locations. This will help all emergency services in Iron County to rapidly respond to emergencies where there is little or no cell phone coverage.

Thank you everyone, this means a lot to my department as we work toward improving public safety and officer safety. Every person who calls us from a phone box at the bottom foot paths lowers the chance of harming themselves and us getting harmed as we work to help them.

The phones are simple to use. One need only open the call box and follow the 4-step instructions. These are a unique and valuable asset to the County, and we hope that individuals will recognize their value and help us maintain and protect them so if and when they are needed, they can serve members of and visitors to our great community in times of need.

CASE Blue Light Towers and CASE e-Phones offer simple one-button activation of voice connectivity to the local police and emergency dispatch center. The operator can then assess the need and deploy the necessary first responders to the scene.

Units remain active even when power is out – a major advantage during Detroit winter storms.

Cellular units onboard the latest CASE equipment models come 4G ready and will be ahead of the 3G sunset already underway by many cellular carriers.

An optional feature of Blue Light Towers and e-Phones from CASE is public address broadcast – which allows for announcements to be made to the entire network or a portion of the network in case of transportation interruptions.

Want to speak with CASE about making your location safer?

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