Executive summary

When Javier Trilla first joined Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA), its staff had little real-time visibility, and riders often had even less. Historical performance reports lived in out-of-date spreadsheets, and real-time information was non-existent. Staff were overwhelmed. Riders were frustrated. 

As DCTA’s Vice President of Innovation & IT, Javier knew that modernizing operations meant delivering on key outcomes people could feel: more accurate passenger information, more reliable service, less chaos during detours, and cleaner data for federal reporting. 

With Swiftly, DCTA started by fixing the foundation. Then, once reliable real-time and historical data were flowing through the core platform, the team extended that same engine to power onboard systems such as Onboard App guidance for operators, automatic passenger counters (APCs), automatic voice announcement systems (AVAS), and more—all without procuring a traditional CAD/AVL system.

The results: on-time performance rose by 18.6%, early departures dropped by 55%, and leadership had data they could stand behind. Plus, riders had real-time information they could trust.

Key outcomes:

• On-time performance increased by 18.6%
• Early departures reduced by 55%
• NTD reporting time reduced from weeks to days
• All-time ridership record of 3.2M passenger trips in 2024—a 45% increase
• 50% reduction in incident investigation
• A common, real-time view of service shared by dispatch, riders, and operators
• Informed service planning decisions through confident, data-driven budget discussions with the board

Mastering the art of stretched resources with Swiftly

Denton County blends big-city momentum with small-town charm across its three member cities of Denton, Lewisville, and Highland Village, TX. United through a comprehensive transit network, these cities connect thousands of residents, students, and visitors every day to jobs, schools, and cultural destinations across North Texas.

But like many smaller transit agencies, DCTA relies on a lean team and tight budgets to get riders where they need and want to go. 

For years, this meant working with an outdated tool set and spartan technical capabilities. Operators filled out paper logs, and dispatch tracked buses by radioing vehicles. Customer complaints were their only reliability metrics. 

Realizing the limitations of these tools pushed DCTA to find a solution that could produce results for safe, reliable service for riders. “We had no real-time tracking of our vehicles,” says Javier Trilla, DCTA’s Vice President of Innovation & IT. “Even customer service didn’t know where the vehicles were. It was kind of chaotic.” 

That’s when DCTA enlisted the help of Swiftly for real-time passenger information, vehicle tracking, and historical insights, providing staff much of the visibility they’d been missing. 

Fleet visibility shot up from 30% to 100% of vehicles; and armed with accurate real-time passenger information, customer service calls dropped by more than 20%.

“Swiftly took away manual work from people’s lives. It freed us up to do better things.”
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—Javier Trilla, Vice Presidentof Innovation & IT at DCTA

Expanding Swiftly improves on-time performance by 18.6%

DCTA’s initial deployment of Swiftly was so transformative that the agency decided to expand to Swiftly’s full suite of onboard systems—including Onboard App, automatic passenger counter (APC) systems and automatic voice announcement systems (AVAS)—as well as Hopthru Ridership by Swiftly for NTD reporting and ridership analytics.

The agency explored traditional CAD/AVL systems but determined they wouldn’t provide the flexibility or depth of insight needed to meet future goals. Instead, DCTA built on the Swiftly platform already in place—expanding its capabilities to improve operations and customer experience while ensuring scalability for years to come.

The results showed up fast. On-time performance improved by 18.6%, and early departures dropped by 55%—all without a traditional CAD/AVL solution.

“Expanding our Swiftly footprint was a breakthrough,” says Javier. “It was like being stuck in the ‘90s then being brought into the present.”

And because DCTA staff already used the Swiftly platform, they simply unlocked new capabilities within the ecosystem they already knew and loved. There was no need to learn a new system or transfer their data elsewhere.

“Staff were already familiar with the product,” Javier says.

“Dispatch already had Swiftly on their screens at all times. Expanding our footprint with APCs and AVAS—there was basically no learning curve.”

Efficiency improvements for the whole team

Just as importantly, staff across the agency have felt the shift. The improved systems allowed teams to work frictionlessly from the same playbook, built on the same highly accurate transit data.

“Swiftly has allowed us to completely level up and get away from menial tasks,” Javier says. “There are quality-of-life impacts for everyone.”

Outcomes include:

Dispatchers manage and adjust service in real time.

DCTA’s expansion of Swiftly has unlocked a new level of operational agility and consistency. Dispatchers can see buses moving in real time and intervene before small issues snowball. 

Adjusting service no longer requires manually updating spreadsheets across multiple tabs or systems. Dispatchers simply adjust service in Swiftly—enacting detours, closing stops, or making other ad hoc changes to service—and all downstream information updates automatically. Vehicle predictions, rider alerts, driver displays, and onboard systems all update instantly and in a single stroke.

Operators get real-time navigational guidance during detours, replacing printed lefts and rights.

Swiftly has also helped close the loop between dispatch and operators. Operators automatically receive real-time navigational support and schedule adherence guidance in Onboard App, including when dispatch enacts detours or stop closures. Stop announcements update automatically as well. 

“Operators see the return on investment during their shifts every day,” Javier says. “They don’t have to yell out stops or manually count riders anymore. Swiftly lets them focus on the road.”

Onboard App has even become part of DCTA’s training process for new hires, giving new operators confidence on unfamiliar routes without weeks of shadowing.

“The turn-by-turn directions in Onboard App are huge,” says Javier. “Operators appreciate that type of support, especially during detours.”

Planners have simple, trustworthy NTD metrics and ridership insights.

Federally required NTD reporting used to require weeks of staff time, spent in tedious workflows and countless spreadsheets. Now with Hopthru Ridership, DCTA has automated away the most tedious parts of the process and has ridership data they can trust. 

“Hopthru Ridership has let us finally stop relying on spreadsheets,” Javier says. “Now we can see what’s happening in real time, and we can report it confidently.”

Ridership data from APCs and Hopthru now runs on the same data as DCTA’s real-time tools. Planners have instant visibility into how service is performing and where adjustments are needed. Ridership data is now accurate, up to date, and embedded in the same ecosystem the entire team already uses every day.

Riders receive highly accurate real-time passenger information.

DCTA riders now benefit from the industry’s best prediction accuracy. And with Service Adjustments and other core features in place, Swiftly’s real-time passenger information is dynamically updated for riders during detours and disruptions.

As a result, DCTA’s system-wide prediction accuracy has increased by nearly 10%, impacting 1.2 million passenger trips annually. Riders now get the information they need to make better decisions about their commutes.

A stronger system and the confidence to grow

DCTA’s newfound operational clarity is reshaping how the agency plans for the future. Conversations about budget and investment, once reactive and uncertain, are now grounded in timely, credible data. The board has more trust in the data, and staff have more confidence in the decisions that come from it.

“With reliable data, budget conversations are clearer and more productive,” Javier says. “The board trusts the numbers we share, which has helped us protect service, boost frequency on key routes, and make the case for adding new ones down the line.”

With the right tools in place and the trust of their board, the agency is moving forward with the confidence to grow.

Javier sums it up best: “Swiftly has made new things possible. Swiftly is just a better way of doing things.”