May 6, 2025 • 26 mins
The traffic management centers across the United States are mission control for our highway systems, working 24/7 to detect incidents and coordinate emergency responses to keep traffic flowing.
• Behind-the-scenes look at a Traffic Management Center (TMC) that monitors interstate highways with 300+ cameras
• Overview of how TMCs detect traffic incidents using radar and probe-based data from cell phones
• Insight into the emergency response process when incidents are identified
• Discussion of technology innovations like JAWS (Julie's Automated Waste Removal System) that uses snowplows to clear debris safely
• Explanation of how TMCs coordinate with multiple agencies for weather events and major gatherings
• Details on how Waze reports are automatically integrated into DOT maintenance systems
• Discussion of connected vehicle technology that alerts drivers to emergency vehicles ahead
• Ride-along experience with an emergency responder assisting stranded motorists
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Doors are closing.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Public transit that's my way to roll On the metro.
I'm taking control my stop'strain tracks, it's my daily
grind.
Public transit, it's the rhythmof my life.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
On this episode of Transit Tangents, we get an
exclusive look behind the scenesat how departments of
transportation manage traffic onthe highway system.
We'll take you inside a trafficmanagement center and on a ride
along with an emergencyresponder to learn how they keep
traffic moving.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Can you tell us what is happening behind us?
There are a ton of screens andall kinds of things going on
Sure.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
All right.
So yeah, this is the heart andsoul of our operations.
This is a Traffic ManagementCenter, Kind of staggered like
NASA, right, but yeah, so right,here is going to be our video
wall.
We're kind of I like to saywe're a proactive TMC, so we're
constantly looking for incidentsin the metro and one of the
resources we use and tools isgoing to be our video wall going
(01:03):
to be our video wall.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
This week we talk about our recent visit to the
Traffic Management Center inKansas City.
Traffic Management Centers, orTMCs like this, are all across
the United States helping tokeep interstate highways moving.
We got a sneak peek behind thescenes to learn how this TMC
operates, as well as to go on aride along with a Missouri DOT
emergency responder.
To start us off, kelly Alvarez,the KC Scout Traffic System
Supervisor, shows us a few ofthe ways that this TMC detects
(01:26):
potential incidents in theirservice area.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Kind of an overview, kind of start with.
Something that is probablygoing to be familiar with is
going to be vehicle detection.
So anywhere it's green, it'straffic's flowing.
If it's white, it's our radaris out at that location.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
So does it do it based on speed like radar speeds
, then?
Speaker 4 (01:46):
that location.
So does it do it based on speed, like radar speeds then?
Okay, so well, I guess it'skind of a combination.
So on the Missouri, in themetro, here it's going to be
radar, but as you get outside,depending on which side of the
state you're on, it couldtransition to probe-based data.
So our Northland is going to beprobe-ase data, and then all
the routes, the rural routesthat stretch out on I-70, there
(02:09):
3529, that's going to be probasevehicle detection.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
When you say probase as a non-industry person, what
is it?
Speaker 4 (02:19):
So it's like cell phone data.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Gotcha, okay.
So similar to what Google Mapsor something would be using.
Yes, okay, okay.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
So similar to like what Google Maps or?
Speaker 1 (02:24):
something would be using.
Okay, cool.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Looking at the actual icons on the camera.
So we track road work, sothat's a pretty good indicator
right there.
And then for us, all of ourcameras are going to be all
these green dots.
So every little icon like thisis going to be a camera.
So, again, highly concentratedon the metro dots.
So every little icon like thisis going to be a camera.
So, again, highly concentratedon the metro.
(02:47):
We have about 300 cameras thereand then we do corridor
management.
So after you get outside the KCmetro you'll see cameras that
turn over from green and go toblue and those are cameras that
belong to DOT.
So we manage those and borrowthose traffic cameras on those
(03:08):
routes.
So while those aren't CaseyScout devices, we have access to
them through DOT to providetraffic incident management on
those routes for the DOTs.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
So folks who are working in here right now
essentially are watching thesecameras, watching what's
happening on these screens.
If they see red, start to popup, investigating further to see
what it is Correct and then ifyou need to dispatch, then you
dispatch whatever needs to gothere.
Yep, we'll go back inside theTMC again soon, but first we
asked Kelly and Marcus, who isthe KC Scout Incident Management
(03:39):
Coordinator, to walk us throughwhat happens next once an
incident has been identified.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Once we know of an incident, an operator will
immediately classify what anincident is.
It will just go like a crash.
So if it's a crash, how manyvehicles are involved, how many
lanes are blocked so quickly,within a couple, within, I would
say, less than 30 seconds?
They are putting it into oursystem and making those
determinations, because whatthey put into our system
(04:06):
automatically puts, reflects onthe board.
So our boards are tailored towhat's input into our system.
So for us it's like thelocation it's going to be, the
lanes blocked, and then whattype of incident it is, and that
information, within a fewclicks of our system it gets
automatically posted on thosemessage boards and then the real
(04:28):
work kind of starts to begin atthat point because then at that
point, once we had it in oursystem, it's like how do you
manage that?
What's the appropriate response?
And then that kind of, we startpulling Marcus's team in at
that point on if it needs it.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
Go to resources and, like she said, and all of that's
just in the detection.
Now we need to.
Who do we need to notify who'son scene, who needs to go.
That process then occurs andluckily, having so many trucks,
as you said, just proactivelypatrolling, they're usually
pretty close so we can get therein a reasonable amount of time.
And then we give a windshieldreport, initially when we get
(05:01):
there and then every 15 minutesor so, as things change, we call
back into the TMC to ensurethat the right personnel got
there, if we need differentpeople there or if they left or
someone else has come on scene.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
So very fluid, yeah.
And when you say boards, isthat like an internal?
That's like internally sharingthe data amongst teams here and
then inside?
We were talking about, too, too, how that data then gets shared
out externally as well.
Can you talk about that process?
Speaker 4 (05:29):
as well.
So I mean, the first thing isgoing to be those message boards
on the side of the highway, butI mean we push out information
in other ways.
So it's going to be everythingfrom.
We have an app that pushes outthat information, waze gets that
information and puts it outthrough their platform, we have
a website, and then again, ifit's a big enough incident, then
(05:50):
it may need some internalcoordination and notification.
So we're required to put thatinformation out internally and
let our partners know what'sgoing on as well.
Speaker 5 (06:02):
And that's when we work closely with like OGL.
An incident occurs on theinterstate and you have to force
them all and now the ramps areoverloaded.
The signals you know you haveto adjust the timing.
Having them in the building isvery handy.
Her and her staff can drop thema note and say, hey, have you
guys noticed this?
And they're like we're on it.
Now let's adjust some signaltiming to try to alleviate some
(06:23):
of that traffic, can you?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
OGL just for the.
Operation Greenlight you alllive in a land of three-letter
acronyms, the.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
DOTs.
Yeah, so many acronyms, but yes, operation Greenlight, it's.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Operation Greenlight.
There, like you said, they'rekind of helping manage signals
and adding signal priority whereit's needed to help manage the
traffic flow.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
So, as an example, if there's an accident backing up
a highway ramp, that traffic isbacking up onto the highway,
they can then essentially go inand manually say we need to give
the highway more green lightsfor folks to get off to clear
the area.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
Exactly.
That's pretty cool that thattechnology is there and that you
all are able to coordinate.
I tell you, law enforcementloves it.
Years ago they'd have to go toa signal cabinet and actually
manually do it or flat Stand inthe road Right.
So now it's a lot safer and youdon't necessarily need that
personnel right there at the box.
They can be on scene at thatincident trying to get the road
(07:17):
back open.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
If we have an incident and the way we have our
incidents tracked so this isgoing to be an incident right
here, a crash, so an emergencyvehicle and then a stall.
So if I bring up the camera andjust click, it brings up the
camera and then this camera isnot being used for that incident
.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
so probably not a really good example, but we're
not hoping for it, but if it'sthere, Well, here's maybe one
Report of debris in the roadway.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Oh, there he is.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
So it is debris.
He's using a plow.
Knock it off to the leftshoulder.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
You just heard Marcus mention that the responding
truck to this incident was usinga plow to push debris to the
side of the road.
Later in our conversation heelaborated a bit more on this.
What are some of the bigtechnological changes that
you've seen doing this?
Speaker 5 (08:11):
I would say I mean you've got a whole thing with
your ER program that's beenchanged and updated.
Man.
I tell you what it's a movingtarget.
I will say that what we dorealize is that those tried and
proven methods, man, they're allreliable, right.
However, man technology, frommy standpoint, allows us to not
(08:32):
only be more efficient, but safe.
Fortunate enough, back in 2016or so, I was challenged with how
do I keep my people from havingto run across the highway and
pick up debris?
You watched the camera earlier.
Had a snowplow on it.
Ain't snowing today.
I bought a snowplow and peoplewere like you're crazy You're
(08:53):
running a snowplow during theday.
Well, once I saw the resultsand how often we used it, I was
lucky enough to come up with anidea Jaws.
We named it after an employeethat had been hit and killed
while moving debris back in 2004, julie's Automated Waste
Removal System.
Now I tell you what.
Not often do you get theopportunity to build something
(09:16):
and be the brains behind it, butI was truly blessed in that,
because I came in one nightwhile I was figuring it and I
had one of my operatorsdisappear on camera and I was
like I got to do something.
I got to do it now, so wepushed that out and since
putting that out on the streetsin 2016, 2017, you now have lane
(09:37):
debris items like that.
Well, there are differentcompanies now making things to
keep our people from having towalk and pick up debris.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Yeah, that's amazing, because I mean it is any time
of the day that's so dangerous.
I mean cars are going wayfaster than posted speed limits
oftentimes, and how many timeshave you looked at a vehicle
like man?
Speaker 5 (09:55):
they need to tie that down.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
You know something's loose and I tell you we're
honored and we're blessed thatit originated here.
As part of our visit, we alsohad a chance to do a ride along
with an emergency responder whois dispatched from this TMC to
get a feel for what it's likepatrolling on the interstates.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
All right, my name is Torrey Kennedy.
I am an emergency responder forthe state of Missouri
Department of Transportation.
I've been here 10 years andwhat I normally do throughout
the day is I just assistmotorists on the highway and the
interstate major interstates.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
So as we were driving down the highway on the
opposite side, we saw this carpulled over, so we turned around
at the next exit and now we'reseeing well, we're not seeing,
but Tori is seeing what's goingon.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Hey how you guys doing Need some help.
This lady's going to need a tow, so I'm gonna give her a tow
list.
She doesn't have a tow, so I'mgonna help her out with a tow
list, All right.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Not long after our first incident, we ran into
another.
This time a man with a pickuptruck and a trailer were off in
the shoulder pickup truck and atrailer were off in the trailer.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Oh, they didn't tow it.
They wouldn't tow it.
So you gotta ask somebody and Iain't about to be my trailer,
so you gotta ask somebody tocome and get the trailer.
They're on the way.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
It's a little hard to hear exactly what's going on on
the side of the highway, butall in all, in just an hour or
two we responded to threeincidents on the side of the
road.
In two cases we just providedinformation to drivers for tow
trucks, and in one we actuallygave the driver a ride to a
nearby gas station.
It was a slower time of the day, but now that you have an idea
of what it's like going out onthe road, let's jump back into
(12:04):
our conversation with Marcus andKelly.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
To be honest, before coming here I didn't know a lot
about Kansas City, but I wasaware that Kansas City is no
stranger to big events.
I mean, it is a sports town.
Maybe we don't talk about theSuper Bowl right now.
But it is a sports town.
There's a lot of people here, alot of events happening.
You have World Cup coming up,but also you're in a part of the
(12:27):
country where you have severeweather events, whether it's
tornado, snow, extreme rainevents, kind of.
How does all that coordinationreally work together?
What challenges do you havewhen you have these big events
and these big disruptions?
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Oh man, I think it's a lot to do with you know,
trying to.
It's the planning that goes intoit.
So if you're fortunate I mean ifwe're fortunate enough to know
that the system's coming throughbecause we partner with the
National Weather Service it'strying to mitigate it before it
happens, right.
So we'll work with the NationalWeather Service to post weather
messages, like pre-stormmessaging, saying hey, a storm's
(13:04):
coming, limit travel or rethinkyour plans, plan ahead, sort of
thing.
So we'll proactively startputting those messages up saying
there's a storm event moving inthe metro on this particular
day, plan your trip or avoidtravel on these days.
And then for us it's like a Imean, we'll use a winter like a
winter event, like in January wehad that with a really good.
(13:25):
It might be a really goodexample.
But so we had a storm comingthrough our system.
It was pretty significant.
National Weather Service wascalling for ice and snow.
So at that point in time wecoordinate with our partners.
So again, talking about theNational Weather Service putting
those messages up, warning thetraveling public, and then kind
of getting our maintenance crewsWell, it's not our maintenance
(13:46):
crews but Modon.
KDOT's maintenance crews startprepping for that and there's
coordination meetings on what'sthe game plan there in the state
level and so forth.
So that's kind of pre-planning.
And in Kansas, on the Kansasside, Kansas Highway Patrol
practically removes vehiclesfrom the shoulder, so they'll
start towing vehicles to allowthose crews out in that area to
(14:08):
work the shoulders during theevent.
So in addition to the weathermessaging that we're posting,
we're also learning the publicon the Kansas side hey, your
vehicle is going to be towed ifit's abandoned.
So we've got those messagesrunning as well.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
And it's systematic, right?
You talk about first gettingthe alert from the National
Weather Service, right, and weget those right, and so we start
looking at it.
Whether it's through SEMA onthe Missouri side or the
National Weather Service on theKansas side, we get that
information, we push it out tothe DOTs and, as much as they
don't necessarily work for us,they definitely are looking at
(14:42):
us.
Hey, because they need ourinformation to ensure that their
traveler maps are updated.
Right, because we're out there24-7, 365.
Not only do we report, buttheir maintenance staff actually
does the same thing.
So it's an information highway.
It's actually going back andforth, back and forth.
A lot of pre-planning goes intoit as it relates to who to
(15:05):
notify, when to notify.
We have long lists that weproactively go down.
Okay, it's time to notify thisperson or that person, because
we're now seeing this.
So it actually works prettygood.
Missouri benefits more from theweather because everything
typically goes from west to east, right, but then, as it relates
to a lot of the tornadicactivity, for some odd reason it
(15:28):
doesn't matter, right, it canbe on either side of the state
line.
So, by having those open linesof communication just on a
regular sunny day like this,because those avenues are open
right now.
We just plug into them a lotmore so we can push that
information out on whether it'ssafe to be out, what routes are
affected and vice versa.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Yeah, what do you do for large events where you know
there's gonna be a lot of peoplein the region?
So, like, what does kind ofprep look like for that?
I think of the World Cup comingup, you're probably going to
have a lot more people.
I don't know if you know theprojections for how many people
are going to be in town.
But I know it's going to be alot.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
It's a moving target.
Right, Because they haven'tdecided who all is playing in
what particular area.
But again, we have so manydifferent forums or task force
on both sides of the state line,so we're plugged in with just
about every state and ormunicipality.
In Kansas state agency ormunicipality Super Bowl parades,
(16:24):
the coordination startsrelatively early.
Right, it's usually spearheadedby law enforcement, but that's
because they've got the nudgefrom the mayor's office or
things like that.
We get plugged into thosemeetings extremely early and we
start discussing how the influxof people in a particular area
could affect mobility.
(16:45):
Right, Definitely don't wantthem parking on highways or
crossing highways, but you'd besurprised what people will try
to do if you let them.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
Oh, I'm not that surprised.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
So we have those target areas where we know we're
going to get a lot of folks,whether it's egress, vice versa.
So we definitely keep playersin the area so that we can keep
traffic free flowing.
But again, those coordinationmeetings, we have them weekly,
if not monthly already.
So when the big events come, wejust rely heavily on those work
(17:18):
groups or those talk groups.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
And it seems like, yeah, it's just there are a lot
of players in play.
Like communication is soimportant with all of it, so
that you know the highways canstay, you know, as free flowing
as possible, Coordinating withthe traffic lights and
intersections in areas wherethey are I'm sure they're
playing with signal timing andwhatnot.
If there's a big event andeveryone's coming in at one time
(17:40):
, coming out at the other,working with law enforcement on
the ground in case there's acrash, having your teams ready
to be deployed.
Over-communicating is probablylike a really important process
in the whole thing of likeplanning for any little thing
that could you go early andoften yeah, like the running
game, right I mean, and it's Imean because having a team
that's been fortunate enough tobe pretty popular.
Speaker 5 (18:01):
Now, man, we've always had an influx in the last
10 years or so, so so it'sdefinitely good planning and
preparation, as you said, withFIFA coming up.
What happens now is that archis now a little bit broader,
right, because we don't know howmany people the conversations
that we typically have withMissouri staff we're now having
(18:22):
with Kansas staff, and whatwe're doing we're not siloing it
, we're bringing both sidestogether.
So I think through thesespecial events it just makes our
efficiency and trafficmanagement so much better,
because now we're preparing orwe're planning for these.
And if we're planning for a bigevent, why can't we do it every
day?
Speaker 3 (18:40):
right, yeah, yeah, that's cool and I'm excited for
this episode too, because Ithink a lot of people and I
mentioned this in the roomearlier I think a lot of people
don't realize how much work isgoing into protecting the
highways, making sure thattraffic is free-flowing, making
sure that you're safe on theroadway, big events like this,
big weather events, all thiscoordination.
So the work you guys do here isincredibly important.
(19:00):
I think more people reallyshould be aware of the amount of
effort and care that goes into,you know, keeping these systems
going.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
Yeah, it doesn't Like you say, on that day, everybody
remembers that day, but, man,it could be months, if not years
, of preparation.
And I think the training thatwe do, especially as it relates
to traffic incident management,we don't just train the DOTs,
right, we have to train lawenforcement fire TORs, ems.
We have to train lawenforcement fire towers, ems.
I mean we even train or invitethe ME's office, right?
(19:33):
You're thinking, why do theyneed to know?
Well, they need to be able toget to the scene so we can get
roads open, unfortunately, whenfatalities do occur.
So the media, we invite them toour traffic incident management
classes.
Anybody and everybody that's aplayer on the road we invite in
so that it's not something new.
The day of right.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
What are some of the big technological changes that
you've seen doing this?
Speaker 5 (19:58):
As I told you with cell phones, right, distracted
driving we hate it, but if youcan't beat them, you have to
figure out how to join them anddo it safely.
So what we did was we startedputting the highest transponders
in our MAV trucks and our ERtrucks.
And what's that do?
If you have that phone or youhave a platform in your vehicle,
it alerts you with an audibletone or a message that says
(20:21):
emergency vehicles ahead.
To me a game changer, right,say, you're coming to the top of
a hill and there's an incidenton the other side, but now you
know about it and maybe you knewabout it four miles down the
road.
That type of technology, to me,is a game changer as far as the
data and the collection of it inhere.
A lot of that's more behind thescenes.
(20:42):
Right, we have bigger screens,we have curved monitors, but our
cameras are better Pantel zoomsand things like that.
We're trying to have the bestsystem we possibly can to help
our operators actually pinpointand spot those things out there.
Now, I'm sure there's some morethings that have happened.
I'm a boots on the ground kindof guy, so I spend a lot of time
out there trying to proactivelyfind ways.
(21:02):
But I rely on Kelly and hergroup to give me that more
robust data in here, becausethey're my eyes.
A lot of places I go.
I can't see my operators butthey can Right.
So it's, we love it.
We want cameras everywhere.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
Yeah, I think from just the TMC perspective.
You know, like that, you talkedabout Haas and and, and I've
talked about Waze and I thinkone of the things that recently
has come out a huge partnershipwith that is is pothole
reporting.
So that's, that's somethingthat we've automated in our
background, so we get those Wazereports and then potholes is
(21:41):
one of them.
So that's been a technology,that's been a pretty cool
innovation that's come out sothat's literally people.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
if you're using Waze on your phone and you report a
pothole on your drive, it isgetting sent somewhere.
Yeah, so yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
It is now I love it yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
So, yeah, if you do that, it doesn't hit my team,
but it hits our infrastructure.
And we take that informationand we share it with the DOTs,
so it gets delivered intoMoDOT's customer service.
They put it into this, it'sautomated.
So it's not even they put itinto it, they're aware of it,
and then it just gets populatedinto MoDOT's system so
(22:16):
maintenance can respond quicklyand efficiently.
Very cool.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
And I assume these are probably older technologies,
but I think a lot of peopledon't realize.
You have radar on the roadwaythat's monitoring the traffic
flow.
You have the cameras that arelooking out.
Are there new technologies sortof on the horizon that you've
sort of demoed or that you'relooking into adding into the
system, whether it's anythingwith AI or automated incident
detection, anything like that?
Speaker 4 (22:40):
I think that there's a desire to, but we're really
kind of at the helm of DOT, soit's kind of right now.
I think it's a shiny newconcept and you can take it a
lot of ways.
But I think DOT at least forthe Kansas and Missouri DOT it's
kind of like waiting andformulating and basing policy.
(23:01):
So put the policy first andthen start engaging in AI
application.
So I think at this time there'snot really much movement
because I think they're taking aconservative approach to make
sure that all their bases arecovered in the system and our
network is set up for it, right.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
And in a world where, I mean, a big takeaway in this
conversation for me has beencommunication and communication
between agencies and the peoplein these agencies and whatnot, I
think that there's probably arole to play for AI, but the
human element of this I meandispatching actual drivers and
like hey, I saw this on thecamera, keep an eye out for it.
There is a world where AI maybeplays a role in that in the
(23:40):
future, but it also seems likethere could be a good risk in
rolling something like that outtoo soon.
Oh yeah, from your all'sperspective, is there anything
that we're missing that youthink is really interesting or
something that you would want toshare?
I mean, you know more than wedo.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
You guys have hit pretty much everything.
I think our uniqueness herewith KC Scout is just the fact
that it's by state right.
What it teaches you is what youtouched on a lot about
communication.
You have to be able tocommunicate effectively with
individuals that don'tnecessarily work for you, right?
(24:21):
So the power of persuasion, thepower of reason and being able
to have data or information thatyou can actually show them that
says, hey, this is why this maybe a good idea, that's why I
lean so heavily the truckmounted attenuators, the TMA
trucks that are following thatpothole operation or sweeping,
(24:42):
or whatever the case may be.
I can pull numbers and see wheremaybe we're having a lot of
hits or we're having a lot ofclose calls and I can present
that to either DOT.
Right, there's just so muchthat you can use the technology
for.
I'm more of a safety guy, moreof an efficiency guy.
They go hand in hand.
You know, I always use a.
(25:02):
There's a NASCAR analogy in thetrainings that we do and we
talk about how slow it was backin 1960s and 70s and how fast it
is now.
And why is it?
Well, because of technology andbecause of training.
So we do that early and we doit often right.
We do a lot of training and wetry to find out what technology
is out there, and then we kindof push the rock uphill, so to
(25:25):
speak, and push it out so thatothers can look at it and see if
it's something that we couldbenefit from, if it helps move
the needle and makes thingssafer.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Huge thanks to the Missouri Department of
Transportation.
Huge thanks to KC Scout and toKelly and Marcus and to Tori for
driving us around.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Yeah, it was pretty awesome to be able to get the
full picture of what it lookslike inside the facility, how
the calls are reported, and thenactually being able to go out
and ride and do a ride along andsee what the response is like.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Yeah, it's really cool.
It's a great service that Idon't think a lot of people
realize is out there.
But you know, whenever you arestranded on the side of the road
and you need help, it's reallycool to see what services are
available.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
And now you know where the end of all of the
traffic cameras everywhere end.
They all end here.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
They all end right here, right here outside of
Kansas City, Missouri.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Yeah, big thanks to everyone for the episode.
Without further ado, we'll wrapit up.
Thank you all so much forwatching and enjoy the rest of
your Transit.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Tangents Tuesday and enjoy the rest of your Transit
Tangents Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Bonus is that it's actually Tuesday right now.
Oh yeah.
Doors are closing.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Public transit that's my way to roll On the metro.
I'm taking control my stop'strain tracks, it's my daily
grind.
Public transit, it's the rhythmof my life.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
On this episode of Transit Tangents, we get an
exclusive look behind the scenesat how departments of
transportation manage traffic onthe highway system.
We'll take you inside a trafficmanagement center and on a ride
along with an emergencyresponder to learn how they keep
traffic moving.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Can you tell us what is happening behind us?
There are a ton of screens andall kinds of things going on
Sure.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
All right.
So yeah, this is the heart andsoul of our operations.
This is a Traffic ManagementCenter, Kind of staggered like
NASA, right, but yeah, so right,here is going to be our video
wall.
We're kind of I like to saywe're a proactive TMC, so we're
constantly looking for incidentsin the metro and one of the
resources we use and tools isgoing to be our video wall going
(01:03):
to be our video wall.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
This week we talk about our recent visit to the
Traffic Management Center inKansas City.
Traffic Management Centers, orTMCs like this, are all across
the United States helping tokeep interstate highways moving.
We got a sneak peek behind thescenes to learn how this TMC
operates, as well as to go on aride along with a Missouri DOT
emergency responder.
To start us off, kelly Alvarez,the KC Scout Traffic System
Supervisor, shows us a few ofthe ways that this TMC detects
(01:26):
potential incidents in theirservice area.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Kind of an overview, kind of start with.
Something that is probablygoing to be familiar with is
going to be vehicle detection.
So anywhere it's green, it'straffic's flowing.
If it's white, it's our radaris out at that location.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
So does it do it based on speed like radar speeds
, then?
Speaker 4 (01:46):
that location.
So does it do it based on speed, like radar speeds then?
Okay, so well, I guess it'skind of a combination.
So on the Missouri, in themetro, here it's going to be
radar, but as you get outside,depending on which side of the
state you're on, it couldtransition to probe-based data.
So our Northland is going to beprobe-ase data, and then all
the routes, the rural routesthat stretch out on I-70, there
(02:09):
3529, that's going to be probasevehicle detection.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
When you say probase as a non-industry person, what
is it?
Speaker 4 (02:19):
So it's like cell phone data.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Gotcha, okay.
So similar to what Google Mapsor something would be using.
Yes, okay, okay.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
So similar to like what Google Maps or?
Speaker 1 (02:24):
something would be using.
Okay, cool.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Looking at the actual icons on the camera.
So we track road work, sothat's a pretty good indicator
right there.
And then for us, all of ourcameras are going to be all
these green dots.
So every little icon like thisis going to be a camera.
So, again, highly concentratedon the metro dots.
So every little icon like thisis going to be a camera.
So, again, highly concentratedon the metro.
(02:47):
We have about 300 cameras thereand then we do corridor
management.
So after you get outside the KCmetro you'll see cameras that
turn over from green and go toblue and those are cameras that
belong to DOT.
So we manage those and borrowthose traffic cameras on those
(03:08):
routes.
So while those aren't CaseyScout devices, we have access to
them through DOT to providetraffic incident management on
those routes for the DOTs.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
So folks who are working in here right now
essentially are watching thesecameras, watching what's
happening on these screens.
If they see red, start to popup, investigating further to see
what it is Correct and then ifyou need to dispatch, then you
dispatch whatever needs to gothere.
Yep, we'll go back inside theTMC again soon, but first we
asked Kelly and Marcus, who isthe KC Scout Incident Management
(03:39):
Coordinator, to walk us throughwhat happens next once an
incident has been identified.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Once we know of an incident, an operator will
immediately classify what anincident is.
It will just go like a crash.
So if it's a crash, how manyvehicles are involved, how many
lanes are blocked so quickly,within a couple, within, I would
say, less than 30 seconds?
They are putting it into oursystem and making those
determinations, because whatthey put into our system
(04:06):
automatically puts, reflects onthe board.
So our boards are tailored towhat's input into our system.
So for us it's like thelocation it's going to be, the
lanes blocked, and then whattype of incident it is, and that
information, within a fewclicks of our system it gets
automatically posted on thosemessage boards and then the real
(04:28):
work kind of starts to begin atthat point because then at that
point, once we had it in oursystem, it's like how do you
manage that?
What's the appropriate response?
And then that kind of, we startpulling Marcus's team in at
that point on if it needs it.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
Go to resources and, like she said, and all of that's
just in the detection.
Now we need to.
Who do we need to notify who'son scene, who needs to go.
That process then occurs andluckily, having so many trucks,
as you said, just proactivelypatrolling, they're usually
pretty close so we can get therein a reasonable amount of time.
And then we give a windshieldreport, initially when we get
(05:01):
there and then every 15 minutesor so, as things change, we call
back into the TMC to ensurethat the right personnel got
there, if we need differentpeople there or if they left or
someone else has come on scene.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
So very fluid, yeah.
And when you say boards, isthat like an internal?
That's like internally sharingthe data amongst teams here and
then inside?
We were talking about, too, too, how that data then gets shared
out externally as well.
Can you talk about that process?
Speaker 4 (05:29):
as well.
So I mean, the first thing isgoing to be those message boards
on the side of the highway, butI mean we push out information
in other ways.
So it's going to be everythingfrom.
We have an app that pushes outthat information, waze gets that
information and puts it outthrough their platform, we have
a website, and then again, ifit's a big enough incident, then
(05:50):
it may need some internalcoordination and notification.
So we're required to put thatinformation out internally and
let our partners know what'sgoing on as well.
Speaker 5 (06:02):
And that's when we work closely with like OGL.
An incident occurs on theinterstate and you have to force
them all and now the ramps areoverloaded.
The signals you know you haveto adjust the timing.
Having them in the building isvery handy.
Her and her staff can drop thema note and say, hey, have you
guys noticed this?
And they're like we're on it.
Now let's adjust some signaltiming to try to alleviate some
(06:23):
of that traffic, can you?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
OGL just for the.
Operation Greenlight you alllive in a land of three-letter
acronyms, the.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
DOTs.
Yeah, so many acronyms, but yes, operation Greenlight, it's.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Operation Greenlight.
There, like you said, they'rekind of helping manage signals
and adding signal priority whereit's needed to help manage the
traffic flow.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
So, as an example, if there's an accident backing up
a highway ramp, that traffic isbacking up onto the highway,
they can then essentially go inand manually say we need to give
the highway more green lightsfor folks to get off to clear
the area.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
Exactly.
That's pretty cool that thattechnology is there and that you
all are able to coordinate.
I tell you, law enforcementloves it.
Years ago they'd have to go toa signal cabinet and actually
manually do it or flat Stand inthe road Right.
So now it's a lot safer and youdon't necessarily need that
personnel right there at the box.
They can be on scene at thatincident trying to get the road
(07:17):
back open.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
If we have an incident and the way we have our
incidents tracked so this isgoing to be an incident right
here, a crash, so an emergencyvehicle and then a stall.
So if I bring up the camera andjust click, it brings up the
camera and then this camera isnot being used for that incident
.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
so probably not a really good example, but we're
not hoping for it, but if it'sthere, Well, here's maybe one
Report of debris in the roadway.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Oh, there he is.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
So it is debris.
He's using a plow.
Knock it off to the leftshoulder.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
You just heard Marcus mention that the responding
truck to this incident was usinga plow to push debris to the
side of the road.
Later in our conversation heelaborated a bit more on this.
What are some of the bigtechnological changes that
you've seen doing this?
Speaker 5 (08:11):
I would say I mean you've got a whole thing with
your ER program that's beenchanged and updated.
Man.
I tell you what it's a movingtarget.
I will say that what we dorealize is that those tried and
proven methods, man, they're allreliable, right.
However, man technology, frommy standpoint, allows us to not
(08:32):
only be more efficient, but safe.
Fortunate enough, back in 2016or so, I was challenged with how
do I keep my people from havingto run across the highway and
pick up debris?
You watched the camera earlier.
Had a snowplow on it.
Ain't snowing today.
I bought a snowplow and peoplewere like you're crazy You're
(08:53):
running a snowplow during theday.
Well, once I saw the resultsand how often we used it, I was
lucky enough to come up with anidea Jaws.
We named it after an employeethat had been hit and killed
while moving debris back in 2004, julie's Automated Waste
Removal System.
Now I tell you what.
Not often do you get theopportunity to build something
(09:16):
and be the brains behind it, butI was truly blessed in that,
because I came in one nightwhile I was figuring it and I
had one of my operatorsdisappear on camera and I was
like I got to do something.
I got to do it now, so wepushed that out and since
putting that out on the streetsin 2016, 2017, you now have lane
(09:37):
debris items like that.
Well, there are differentcompanies now making things to
keep our people from having towalk and pick up debris.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Yeah, that's amazing, because I mean it is any time
of the day that's so dangerous.
I mean cars are going wayfaster than posted speed limits
oftentimes, and how many timeshave you looked at a vehicle
like man?
Speaker 5 (09:55):
they need to tie that down.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
You know something's loose and I tell you we're
honored and we're blessed thatit originated here.
As part of our visit, we alsohad a chance to do a ride along
with an emergency responder whois dispatched from this TMC to
get a feel for what it's likepatrolling on the interstates.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
All right, my name is Torrey Kennedy.
I am an emergency responder forthe state of Missouri
Department of Transportation.
I've been here 10 years andwhat I normally do throughout
the day is I just assistmotorists on the highway and the
interstate major interstates.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
So as we were driving down the highway on the
opposite side, we saw this carpulled over, so we turned around
at the next exit and now we'reseeing well, we're not seeing,
but Tori is seeing what's goingon.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Hey how you guys doing Need some help.
This lady's going to need a tow, so I'm gonna give her a tow
list.
She doesn't have a tow, so I'mgonna help her out with a tow
list, All right.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Not long after our first incident, we ran into
another.
This time a man with a pickuptruck and a trailer were off in
the shoulder pickup truck and atrailer were off in the trailer.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Oh, they didn't tow it.
They wouldn't tow it.
So you gotta ask somebody and Iain't about to be my trailer,
so you gotta ask somebody tocome and get the trailer.
They're on the way.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
It's a little hard to hear exactly what's going on on
the side of the highway, butall in all, in just an hour or
two we responded to threeincidents on the side of the
road.
In two cases we just providedinformation to drivers for tow
trucks, and in one we actuallygave the driver a ride to a
nearby gas station.
It was a slower time of the day, but now that you have an idea
of what it's like going out onthe road, let's jump back into
(12:04):
our conversation with Marcus andKelly.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
To be honest, before coming here I didn't know a lot
about Kansas City, but I wasaware that Kansas City is no
stranger to big events.
I mean, it is a sports town.
Maybe we don't talk about theSuper Bowl right now.
But it is a sports town.
There's a lot of people here, alot of events happening.
You have World Cup coming up,but also you're in a part of the
(12:27):
country where you have severeweather events, whether it's
tornado, snow, extreme rainevents, kind of.
How does all that coordinationreally work together?
What challenges do you havewhen you have these big events
and these big disruptions?
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Oh man, I think it's a lot to do with you know,
trying to.
It's the planning that goes intoit.
So if you're fortunate I mean ifwe're fortunate enough to know
that the system's coming throughbecause we partner with the
National Weather Service it'strying to mitigate it before it
happens, right.
So we'll work with the NationalWeather Service to post weather
messages, like pre-stormmessaging, saying hey, a storm's
(13:04):
coming, limit travel or rethinkyour plans, plan ahead, sort of
thing.
So we'll proactively startputting those messages up saying
there's a storm event moving inthe metro on this particular
day, plan your trip or avoidtravel on these days.
And then for us it's like a Imean, we'll use a winter like a
winter event, like in January wehad that with a really good.
(13:25):
It might be a really goodexample.
But so we had a storm comingthrough our system.
It was pretty significant.
National Weather Service wascalling for ice and snow.
So at that point in time wecoordinate with our partners.
So again, talking about theNational Weather Service putting
those messages up, warning thetraveling public, and then kind
of getting our maintenance crewsWell, it's not our maintenance
(13:46):
crews but Modon.
KDOT's maintenance crews startprepping for that and there's
coordination meetings on what'sthe game plan there in the state
level and so forth.
So that's kind of pre-planning.
And in Kansas, on the Kansasside, Kansas Highway Patrol
practically removes vehiclesfrom the shoulder, so they'll
start towing vehicles to allowthose crews out in that area to
(14:08):
work the shoulders during theevent.
So in addition to the weathermessaging that we're posting,
we're also learning the publicon the Kansas side hey, your
vehicle is going to be towed ifit's abandoned.
So we've got those messagesrunning as well.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
And it's systematic, right?
You talk about first gettingthe alert from the National
Weather Service, right, and weget those right, and so we start
looking at it.
Whether it's through SEMA onthe Missouri side or the
National Weather Service on theKansas side, we get that
information, we push it out tothe DOTs and, as much as they
don't necessarily work for us,they definitely are looking at
(14:42):
us.
Hey, because they need ourinformation to ensure that their
traveler maps are updated.
Right, because we're out there24-7, 365.
Not only do we report, buttheir maintenance staff actually
does the same thing.
So it's an information highway.
It's actually going back andforth, back and forth.
A lot of pre-planning goes intoit as it relates to who to
(15:05):
notify, when to notify.
We have long lists that weproactively go down.
Okay, it's time to notify thisperson or that person, because
we're now seeing this.
So it actually works prettygood.
Missouri benefits more from theweather because everything
typically goes from west to east, right, but then, as it relates
to a lot of the tornadicactivity, for some odd reason it
(15:28):
doesn't matter, right, it canbe on either side of the state
line.
So, by having those open linesof communication just on a
regular sunny day like this,because those avenues are open
right now.
We just plug into them a lotmore so we can push that
information out on whether it'ssafe to be out, what routes are
affected and vice versa.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Yeah, what do you do for large events where you know
there's gonna be a lot of peoplein the region?
So, like, what does kind ofprep look like for that?
I think of the World Cup comingup, you're probably going to
have a lot more people.
I don't know if you know theprojections for how many people
are going to be in town.
But I know it's going to be alot.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
It's a moving target.
Right, Because they haven'tdecided who all is playing in
what particular area.
But again, we have so manydifferent forums or task force
on both sides of the state line,so we're plugged in with just
about every state and ormunicipality.
In Kansas state agency ormunicipality Super Bowl parades,
(16:24):
the coordination startsrelatively early.
Right, it's usually spearheadedby law enforcement, but that's
because they've got the nudgefrom the mayor's office or
things like that.
We get plugged into thosemeetings extremely early and we
start discussing how the influxof people in a particular area
could affect mobility.
(16:45):
Right, Definitely don't wantthem parking on highways or
crossing highways, but you'd besurprised what people will try
to do if you let them.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
Oh, I'm not that surprised.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
So we have those target areas where we know we're
going to get a lot of folks,whether it's egress, vice versa.
So we definitely keep playersin the area so that we can keep
traffic free flowing.
But again, those coordinationmeetings, we have them weekly,
if not monthly already.
So when the big events come, wejust rely heavily on those work
(17:18):
groups or those talk groups.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
And it seems like, yeah, it's just there are a lot
of players in play.
Like communication is soimportant with all of it, so
that you know the highways canstay, you know, as free flowing
as possible, Coordinating withthe traffic lights and
intersections in areas wherethey are I'm sure they're
playing with signal timing andwhatnot.
If there's a big event andeveryone's coming in at one time
(17:40):
, coming out at the other,working with law enforcement on
the ground in case there's acrash, having your teams ready
to be deployed.
Over-communicating is probablylike a really important process
in the whole thing of likeplanning for any little thing
that could you go early andoften yeah, like the running
game, right I mean, and it's Imean because having a team
that's been fortunate enough tobe pretty popular.
Speaker 5 (18:01):
Now, man, we've always had an influx in the last
10 years or so, so so it'sdefinitely good planning and
preparation, as you said, withFIFA coming up.
What happens now is that archis now a little bit broader,
right, because we don't know howmany people the conversations
that we typically have withMissouri staff we're now having
(18:22):
with Kansas staff, and whatwe're doing we're not siloing it
, we're bringing both sidestogether.
So I think through thesespecial events it just makes our
efficiency and trafficmanagement so much better,
because now we're preparing orwe're planning for these.
And if we're planning for a bigevent, why can't we do it every
day?
Speaker 3 (18:40):
right, yeah, yeah, that's cool and I'm excited for
this episode too, because Ithink a lot of people and I
mentioned this in the roomearlier I think a lot of people
don't realize how much work isgoing into protecting the
highways, making sure thattraffic is free-flowing, making
sure that you're safe on theroadway, big events like this,
big weather events, all thiscoordination.
So the work you guys do here isincredibly important.
(19:00):
I think more people reallyshould be aware of the amount of
effort and care that goes into,you know, keeping these systems
going.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
Yeah, it doesn't Like you say, on that day, everybody
remembers that day, but, man,it could be months, if not years
, of preparation.
And I think the training thatwe do, especially as it relates
to traffic incident management,we don't just train the DOTs,
right, we have to train lawenforcement fire TORs, ems.
We have to train lawenforcement fire towers, ems.
I mean we even train or invitethe ME's office, right?
(19:33):
You're thinking, why do theyneed to know?
Well, they need to be able toget to the scene so we can get
roads open, unfortunately, whenfatalities do occur.
So the media, we invite them toour traffic incident management
classes.
Anybody and everybody that's aplayer on the road we invite in
so that it's not something new.
The day of right.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
What are some of the big technological changes that
you've seen doing this?
Speaker 5 (19:58):
As I told you with cell phones, right, distracted
driving we hate it, but if youcan't beat them, you have to
figure out how to join them anddo it safely.
So what we did was we startedputting the highest transponders
in our MAV trucks and our ERtrucks.
And what's that do?
If you have that phone or youhave a platform in your vehicle,
it alerts you with an audibletone or a message that says
(20:21):
emergency vehicles ahead.
To me a game changer, right,say, you're coming to the top of
a hill and there's an incidenton the other side, but now you
know about it and maybe you knewabout it four miles down the
road.
That type of technology, to me,is a game changer as far as the
data and the collection of it inhere.
A lot of that's more behind thescenes.
(20:42):
Right, we have bigger screens,we have curved monitors, but our
cameras are better Pantel zoomsand things like that.
We're trying to have the bestsystem we possibly can to help
our operators actually pinpointand spot those things out there.
Now, I'm sure there's some morethings that have happened.
I'm a boots on the ground kindof guy, so I spend a lot of time
out there trying to proactivelyfind ways.
(21:02):
But I rely on Kelly and hergroup to give me that more
robust data in here, becausethey're my eyes.
A lot of places I go.
I can't see my operators butthey can Right.
So it's, we love it.
We want cameras everywhere.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
Yeah, I think from just the TMC perspective.
You know, like that, you talkedabout Haas and and, and I've
talked about Waze and I thinkone of the things that recently
has come out a huge partnershipwith that is is pothole
reporting.
So that's, that's somethingthat we've automated in our
background, so we get those Wazereports and then potholes is
(21:41):
one of them.
So that's been a technology,that's been a pretty cool
innovation that's come out sothat's literally people.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
if you're using Waze on your phone and you report a
pothole on your drive, it isgetting sent somewhere.
Yeah, so yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
It is now I love it yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
So, yeah, if you do that, it doesn't hit my team,
but it hits our infrastructure.
And we take that informationand we share it with the DOTs,
so it gets delivered intoMoDOT's customer service.
They put it into this, it'sautomated.
So it's not even they put itinto it, they're aware of it,
and then it just gets populatedinto MoDOT's system so
(22:16):
maintenance can respond quicklyand efficiently.
Very cool.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
And I assume these are probably older technologies,
but I think a lot of peopledon't realize.
You have radar on the roadwaythat's monitoring the traffic
flow.
You have the cameras that arelooking out.
Are there new technologies sortof on the horizon that you've
sort of demoed or that you'relooking into adding into the
system, whether it's anythingwith AI or automated incident
detection, anything like that?
Speaker 4 (22:40):
I think that there's a desire to, but we're really
kind of at the helm of DOT, soit's kind of right now.
I think it's a shiny newconcept and you can take it a
lot of ways.
But I think DOT at least forthe Kansas and Missouri DOT it's
kind of like waiting andformulating and basing policy.
(23:01):
So put the policy first andthen start engaging in AI
application.
So I think at this time there'snot really much movement
because I think they're taking aconservative approach to make
sure that all their bases arecovered in the system and our
network is set up for it, right.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
And in a world where, I mean, a big takeaway in this
conversation for me has beencommunication and communication
between agencies and the peoplein these agencies and whatnot, I
think that there's probably arole to play for AI, but the
human element of this I meandispatching actual drivers and
like hey, I saw this on thecamera, keep an eye out for it.
There is a world where AI maybeplays a role in that in the
(23:40):
future, but it also seems likethere could be a good risk in
rolling something like that outtoo soon.
Oh yeah, from your all'sperspective, is there anything
that we're missing that youthink is really interesting or
something that you would want toshare?
I mean, you know more than wedo.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
You guys have hit pretty much everything.
I think our uniqueness herewith KC Scout is just the fact
that it's by state right.
What it teaches you is what youtouched on a lot about
communication.
You have to be able tocommunicate effectively with
individuals that don'tnecessarily work for you, right?
(24:21):
So the power of persuasion, thepower of reason and being able
to have data or information thatyou can actually show them that
says, hey, this is why this maybe a good idea, that's why I
lean so heavily the truckmounted attenuators, the TMA
trucks that are following thatpothole operation or sweeping,
(24:42):
or whatever the case may be.
I can pull numbers and see wheremaybe we're having a lot of
hits or we're having a lot ofclose calls and I can present
that to either DOT.
Right, there's just so muchthat you can use the technology
for.
I'm more of a safety guy, moreof an efficiency guy.
They go hand in hand.
You know, I always use a.
(25:02):
There's a NASCAR analogy in thetrainings that we do and we
talk about how slow it was backin 1960s and 70s and how fast it
is now.
And why is it?
Well, because of technology andbecause of training.
So we do that early and we doit often right.
We do a lot of training and wetry to find out what technology
is out there, and then we kindof push the rock uphill, so to
(25:25):
speak, and push it out so thatothers can look at it and see if
it's something that we couldbenefit from, if it helps move
the needle and makes thingssafer.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Huge thanks to the Missouri Department of
Transportation.
Huge thanks to KC Scout and toKelly and Marcus and to Tori for
driving us around.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Yeah, it was pretty awesome to be able to get the
full picture of what it lookslike inside the facility, how
the calls are reported, and thenactually being able to go out
and ride and do a ride along andsee what the response is like.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Yeah, it's really cool.
It's a great service that Idon't think a lot of people
realize is out there.
But you know, whenever you arestranded on the side of the road
and you need help, it's reallycool to see what services are
available.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
And now you know where the end of all of the
traffic cameras everywhere end.
They all end here.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
They all end right here, right here outside of
Kansas City, Missouri.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Yeah, big thanks to everyone for the episode.
Without further ado, we'll wrapit up.
Thank you all so much forwatching and enjoy the rest of
your Transit.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Tangents Tuesday and enjoy the rest of your Transit
Tangents Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Bonus is that it's actually Tuesday right now.
Oh yeah.
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