Acron Aviation reaches agreement to acquire Trakka Systems.

TransitSim™ Busing Simulator

The Acron Aviation TransitSim™ Bus Simulator offers a flexible platform for training fixed-route bus operators to learn basic skill development, situation awareness, decision-making, judgment training and vehicle operations. Bus simulators enable trainers to supplement behind-the-wheel training to promote the safe and efficient operation of a standard fixed-route transit bus.

The Driver Training Solutions Transit Bus Simulator
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TransitSim™ Bus Driver Training Simulator benefits

Students are introduced and challenged on various transit operator skills including references to pivot point, push-pull steering, momentary floor-mounted turn signals (now known as ‘directionals’), leaning technique, and other aspects of operating a fixed route bus. These skills will likely be foreign concepts to the new hire candidate, yet they must be learned and mastered during the early stages of the training process. This process challenges each student operator to learn a core set of skills, behaviors, and techniques that will enable them to operate the bus safely and effectively.

Transit simulation training allows practice of critical decision-making skills and reinforces positive decision making, situation and spacial awareness in a realistic, risk-free environment.

Simulation-based training enhances initial bus operator training, periodic refresher training, and driver assessments allowing you to conduct practical real world training, in different mass transit scenarios and for different road and atmospheric conditions. Simulation based training with Acron Aviation driving simulators reinforces positive decision making, situation and spatial awareness, and promotes mastery of core skills through training in a realistic, risk-free environment with repeatable scenarios. Our experts work directly with your local instructional teams to ensure the desired skills and safe driving behaviors transfer into observable daily habits.

Practical training

Enhances initial bus driver training, periodic training and driver assessments allowing you to conduct practical real world training, on different terrains and for different road and atmospheric conditions.

Reduce accidents

Our customers have significantly reduced preventable accidents as well as the severity of accidents.

Improve fuel efficiency

Lower operational costs through better fuel efficiency. Realize fuel savings through better fuel management training.

Reduce vehicle costs

Minimize maintenance and damage to company-owned vehicles. Training on the simulator keeps your vehicles on the road and earning revenue.

Improve driver retention

Complete, consistent, objective feedback on performance gives bus and transit operators the skills and confidence to drive more safely and more efficiently.

Flexible delivery options

Includes fixed-site installation in a building or fully mobile training unit in a trailer or truck. Trailer options available to outfit in a mobile driver training unit complete with on-site classroom and instructors.

Best-in-class simulation-based training for bus drivers

Our transit bus simulator is designed to promote an effective end-to-end training platform for both new hire candidates and veteran bus drivers.

The TransitSim™ driving simulator features fully operational passenger doors, an industry-leading field-of-view, adjustable pillar columns to replicate temporary blockages, configurable dash layouts to accommodate fleet diversity and physical mirrors to promote effective leaning technique.

Best-in-class simulator features

  • Enables training on multiple vehicle configurations, regardless of availability of real equipment
  • Improves driver competency and reduces costs associated with vehicle damage
  • By employing simulators for training, vehicles are spared heavy use, require less maintenance and last longer overall
  • Resembles the driver’s area of an actual transit bus, with seat, steering wheel, brake and accelerator pedal, plus simulated gauges in a glass dash
  • Provides practice on using controls, making turns, maneuvering through city and highway traffic, intersections and railroad crossings
  • Trainees learn proper mirror setup, utilization techniques and core driving skills in the safety of the classroom
  • Create and define scenarios to simulate the performance characteristics of a wide range of fixed routes
  • Allows practice of critical decision-making skills in a risk-free environment

High fidelity visual systems

  • Realistic driving environments train drivers how to recognize and anticipate hazardous driving situations
  • Multiple display and field-of-view arrangements are available (180° standard) with full HD resolution (1920x1080) and refresh rates
  • High refresh and update rates provide smooth image flow during any drive at common speeds, creating a comfortable training environment for transit operators
  • Glass dash in the simulator adds greater flexibility in replicating various types of vehicle gauges
  • The Glass Console allows the instructor control of the simulator via touch screen at the operators console (OpCon) and gives operators simple and quick control to change vehicle type
  • Transit operator training environment; seat, steering wheel, brake, clutch and accelerator pedals, enhancing retention and application to the road
  • Ask us about our comprehensive driver training solutions that offer a blended approach to training that combine instructor led, computer-based and simulation-based training to create an immersive training environment that engages the student to learn skills faster and retain them for longer periods of time

Visual display

  • Simulator Cab
  • Modern, Realistic
  • Transit Vehicle Design
  • Users can choose from a variety of predefined delivery fleet vehicle configurations
  • Force-loaded steering provides real-time feedback to augment muscle memory in situations such as a tire blowing, hitting the curb or ice on the road.
  • Realistic transit fleet vehicle transmission
  • Realistic vehicle dynamics including 21 DOF vehicle model

Additional features

Replay Studio™ After-Action Review Software

Overview

Acron Aviation Replay Studio™ gives you the tools you need to perform a thorough review of the training session while gaining valuable lessons learned.

The Replay Studio™ camera records every action, reaction, and nuance of a driver’s physical performance while training on the simulator. Once the session is complete the instructor can simultaneously replay video feedback of the driver, and scenario playback of the simulation to review how a student reacts physically as well as mentally to the situation.

Benefits

  • Video feedback of the driver, scenario playback of the simulation, vehicle state and 3D views are all synchronized for seamless replay
  • View replay on a separate system to free up the simulator for training
  • Change 3D view quickly by dragging with the mouse
  • Train one student or an entire classroom by replaying the video to illustrate proper and improper driving techniques

User interface

  • The interface is designed to give you all the information you need to assess both the driver’s performance and vehicle’s state during a training session
  • The SimTile panel reports ongoing scenario and driver information. Its vehicle indicators help assess handling dynamics. They continuously monitor steering-wheel position, brake, clutch, accelerator, speedometer, RPM and other variables
  • The detailed Play-by-Play screen lists events and violations. Clicking on the event or violation takes the replay directly to that point in the simulation, enabling the instructor to quickly move from one event to the next
  • The Sliding Rule feature gives the instructor total control of video replay. Rewind or fast forward to the exact point of interest in slow motion detail
  • Video feedback of the driver is so tightly synchronized with the 3D scenario and simulator views that there is no skipping or lag time between the two. For example: It allows an instructor to review the driver’s scanning technique - where the driver was looking at the time of an event or violation

SkillSet™ Performance Assessment

Overview

Acron Aviation SkillSet™ software tests the driver’s response to tough situations. Through proper driving assessment and training, drivers can improve their decision-making process and become skilled at recognizing and managing risk.

Benefits

  • Instantly replay, review, and discuss a driver’s performance
  • Clearly define criteria to facilitate a fair and consistent evaluation
  • Consistent, tangible results across multiple instructors
  • Tailor training to improve individual aptitude or group certification
  • Instructors spend more time training and less time capturing results
  • Group reports facilitate evaluation of individuals, relative to the group
  • Bottom line: Improved safety training will reduce accidents and increase your ROI

Assessment measurement features

  • Startup and shutdown procedure
  • Space management
  • Turning
  • Backing
  • Speed management
  • Learning management system, enabling the instructor to schedule classes, preload student data, review performance and incorporate data from other simulators

Scenario Builder™ Development Software

Overview

Create your own scenarios quickly and efficiently, with no computer programming experience needed. Acron Aviation Scenario Builder™ software allows you to customize scenarios to enhance your driver training curriculum. It’s an effective, affordable way to screen new drivers. Just click, drag, and drop. It’s that simple.

Features

  • Build customized scenarios in under 30 minutes
  • Build geotypical scenarios for accident remediation, employment prescreening for new drivers and targeted training for existing drivers
  • Easily and affordably create training content for classroom presentations
  • Add new challenges to accommodate any experience level
  • Control the sequence and timing of event triggering
  • View scenarios from any angle, including top-down view for vehicle positioning
  • Create scenarios on a separate PC and transfer the information to the simulator with a flash drive
  • Compatible with any standard desktop or notebook PC with 3D graphics capability

Benefits

  • Object library - We have an extensive library of over 300 objects for you to add to your scenarios: trucks, cars, trees, pedestrians, signage, and much more. This vast selection allows you to truly customize each training session
  • Real-world environments - Choices include suburban, freeway, rural and driving range settings. Optional environments include urban, swamp, driving track and skid pad
  • Dynamic features - To challenge your operators, choose from: vehicle types, weather patterns, visual stimuli and events

FAQs

TransitSim™ provides bus drivers with intensive, hands-on training in a safe simulator environment, which translates to safer driving on the road. By practicing hazard perception, smooth braking, and precise maneuvering in the sim, drivers dramatically reduce the chances of accidents in real life. A well-trained driver is less likely to slam the brakes or make sudden moves that could injure passengers, so riders experience a smoother, safer journey. TransitSim™ also ingrains defensive driving habits (like proper mirror usage and scanning intersections), which protects pedestrians, cyclists, and everyone sharing the road with the bus. Overall, the simulator helps create bus operators who are proactive, cautious, and prepared, leading to a significant boost in safety for all.
The cost benefits are substantial. Preventing accidents means avoiding costly bus repairs, liability claims, and service disruptions. Many agencies have seen significant improvements. For example, simulation training has been shown to decrease new-hire washout rates by 35%, saving money on recruiting and training by helping more trainees succeed. Also, using TransitSim™ for training reduces the need to take actual buses out of service (and eliminates the risk of damaging them during practice). Buses that avoid accidents also stay in operation longer and require less maintenance over time. Additionally, better-trained drivers tend to drive more efficiently, conserving fuel and reducing wear (brakes, tires, etc.), which saves on operating costs. When you factor in fewer accidents, longer vehicle life, and more retained drivers, the return on investment becomes very attractive. Many transit agencies find that the simulator pays for itself after a few years just from the reduction in accident-related expenses and improved operational efficiency.
TransitSim™ delivers a remarkably realistic driving experience for trainees. The simulator is built to replicate a real bus cockpit featuring working passenger doors, authentic dashboard gauges, a driver’s seat and wheel, turn signals, and even physical mirror setups to practice proper mirror adjustments. When drivers sit down at the TransitSim™, they feel like they’re in a bus. The visuals provide a wide field of view (standard ~180° wraparound screens) so they can see mirrors and periphery, just as on the road. The system also simulates the heft and handling of a transit bus – for instance, trainees feel the slower acceleration, longer stopping distance, and the need for careful turns. Because the simulator is so true-to-life, drivers build real skills and confidence. New drivers can master tricky concepts like the bus’s pivot point for turns or using reference points for stopping precisely at bus stops. Seasoned operators can refresh and refine their techniques (say, practicing smoother braking for passenger comfort). Feedback is immediate and objective – the simulator will, for example, flag if a turn was taken too fast or if a stop was too abrupt, allowing the driver to correct it. TransitSim™ basically condenses months of on-road experience into a shorter training period, accelerating learning in a safe way.
Yes, TransitSim™ is a flexible training platform that can adapt to various vehicles and routes. It can be configured for different bus models; whether you operate 40-foot city buses, articulated buses, or smaller shuttles, the simulator can mirror the dimensions and behavior of each. This is great for agencies with mixed fleets. On the scenario side, TransitSim™ truly shines: it allows you to train on virtually any route or situation. The system includes tools to recreate specific routes (even real GPS route profiles) and define custom scenarios. Drivers can practice dense urban routes with frequent stops, suburban or rural routes at higher speeds, highway express routes, and more. You can throw in challenging elements like road construction, detours, reckless car drivers cutting the bus off, or a panicked passenger causing a distraction. Weather and lighting are fully adjustable too – meaning you can practice a route in heavy rain, or a snowy morning, or at night to simulate low-visibility conditions. Not only that, but vehicle availability is no longer a bottleneck: with the simulator, training isn’t limited by having a spare bus out of the depot. In short, TransitSim™ equips your drivers to handle any vehicle in your fleet and any scenario on your network, making training far more comprehensive than traditional methods.
To learn more about TransitSim™, you can contact the Driver Training Solutions team. We will gladly provide additional details about the simulator’s specs, content, and success stories from other transit agencies. We understand that every transit system has unique challenges, so our team will discuss how TransitSim™ can be customized (for example, integrating your actual routes or particular hazard scenarios into the simulator). We’ll also cover practical considerations like installation (TransitSim™ can be installed in a fixed training center or even in a mobile trailer if you prefer a traveling setup). Driver Training Solutions takes a collaborative, consultative approach. Our goal is to ensure TransitSim™ truly meets your needs and delivers value. Feel free to reach out with questions or to request a quote; we’re here to help elevate your driver training program.

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