Fortunately, March Networks® hybrid recorder and server-based technologies are designed to operate seamlessly on a com-mon platform, allowing Pierce Transit to take advantage of leading edge, all-IP video sur-veillance technology without having to retire its earlier generation equipment.

“We have March Networks hybrid recorders, four Video Management System (VMS) servers, third-party analog cameras and March Networks IP cameras,” said Paul Strozewski, Pierce Transit Security Sergeant. “Everything integrates and works well together, so we can move forward and upgrade as budgets allow.”

Pierce Transit, the second largest transit agency in the state of Washington, operates a fleet of 272 buses and provides transporta-tion for close to 18 million passengers a year. Several of its transit centers interconnect with commuter rail services linking Tacoma to other communities, including Seattle, 35 miles to the north. The agency also oper-ates two multi-story parking garages accom-modating a total of 2,500 vehicles.

Only two of its transit centers were equipped with video surveillance prior to the

Pierce Transit, a transportation agency serving Tacoma, Washington and

neighboring communities in Pierce County, purchased its first hybrid

recorder-based video surveillance system from March Networks in 2002

for one of its nine transit centers. Five years later, when a decision was

made to equip all of its transit centers with video surveillance systems, the

technology had evolved to include all-IP, server-based solutions.

Pierce Transit Serves 18 Million Passengers a Year

VMS SolutionOffers Transit Agency System-Wide Oversight

REPRINTED FROM March Networks News © 2011 • www.marchnetworks.com • 1-800-563-5564 • 1-613-591-8181

March Networks News

REPRINTED FROM March Networks News © 2011 • www.marchnetworks.com • 1-800-563-5564 • 1-613-591-8181

recent system expansion. One was a March Networks hybrid recorder system. The other was from a competing vendor.

“When we began our planning, we decided to go with one platform instead of using two, or buying a third one,” recalled Strozewski. “Of the two systems we had, the March Networks system was definitely the easiest one to work with, so the decision was easy.”

The primary reason for going with a single enterprise-wide platform is ease of use, he said.

“With one system, everyone knows how to use it and all your video is saved in one location. It just makes life so much easier. With two systems, you have two different ways of doing things.”

As the March Networks video surveil-lance system was deployed at transit centers that hadn’t previously been covered, “the problem people” found other places to hang out, and calls to the Pierce Transit security department fell by 50 per cent.

Video surveillance also provides the evi-dence the agency needs to dispense with false liability claims. “A little over a year ago, for example, somebody claimed they were hit by a vehicle at one of our transit cen-ters,” recalled Strozewski. “We pulled up the video and were able to prove that the vehicle never came within 10 feet of the person, so video surveillance definitely helps to mitigate potential liability payouts.”

Pierce Transit’s enterprise-wide March Networks video surveillance system includes SiteManager software and decode stations, allowing security staff to monitor activity at the transit centers from a central location.

“That allows us to dispatch security staff based on information from the cam-eras,” said Strozewski. “If we see something going on, we can send out security officers as required, saving us time and manpower.”

The video surveillance technology plays an important role in supporting the overall mission of all three divisions of the Department of Public Safety, including the Uniformed Security Division, said Rod Baker, Pierce Transit Chief of Public Safety and Transit Police.

In 2010, the Pierce Transit security team pulled video to document 178 inci-dents. Finding the video clips required to document so many incidents can be slow and grueling work with some systems, but using the motion histogram in March Networks’ Evidence Reviewer software, security staff can quickly zero in on periods of increased activity.

Another feature of the Evidence Reviewer that security staff like is the capability of following a person or vehicle captured by a series of cameras.

“If someone’s driving through the park-ing garage and going from one camera to another, you just hit pause, switch cameras and it holds the time, so when you bring it up on the next camera, it continues playing from the time you paused on the previous one,” said Strozewski. “This feature lets you follow someone right through the garage and saves hours of work.”

Strozewski also looks forward to taking advantage of March Networks’ video ana-lytic software to alert security staff to vehicles driving up to the top level of the agency’s parking garages late in the afternoon.

“They probably aren’t there to park because most of the garage is empty at that time, so an alarm would go off and we would make sure to watch that particular vehicle,” he said. “There’s a lot of movement to keep track of between the transit centers and the two parking garages, so having that analytic in place would help us monitor things easier.”

Pierce Transit relied on Convergint Technologies, a March Networks Certified Solution Provider, to install the system and provide support locally.

“They’ve been really good about responding to any issues we’ve had,” said Strozewski. “If I have a question, I can call them up and have access to any one of four or five people who participated in the instal-lation.”

Getting the security team up to speed on the March Networks system was easy.

“Once I was trained on how to use it, I was able to teach everyone else,” said Strozewski. “You do it one time and you pick it up.”

Pierce Transit is the second largest

transportation agency in the state of

Washington. Based in Tacoma, the agency

provides service throughout Pierce County

with a fleet of 272 buses, public vanpools

and a SHUTTLE service for people with

disabilities. Pierce Transit carried 18 million

passengers in 2009.

www.piercetransit.orgwww.piercetransit.org

Pierce Transit

Convergint Technologies is a North

American systems integrator with a

dedicated focus on electronic security,

fire alarm and life safety, and building

automation systems. Convergint employs

hundreds of professionals in locations

throughout North America, and was

recently recognized by SDM Magazine

as the 10th largest systems integrator in

North America. www.convergint.com

Convergint Technologies

“We have March Networks hybrid recorders, four Video Management System (VMS) servers, third-party analog cameras and March Networks IP cameras. Everything integrates and works well together, so we can move forward and upgrade as budgets allow.”

— Paul StrozewskiPierce Transit Security Sergeant

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