The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Washoe County in Nevada operates nearly around the clock across Reno, Sparks and surrounding areas, and the agency depends heavily on road supervisors to respond quickly to service disruptions, traffic congestion, weather events and electric vehicle charging demands.
To strengthen those frontline operations, RTC implemented Vontas OnRoute FieldOps, a mobile platform designed to provide supervisors with live operational visibility and communication tools directly from smartphones and tablets. The deployment has allowed field staff to make faster decisions, improve coordination with dispatch and maintain service continuity during emergencies and rapidly changing conditions.
RTC’s operating environment presents unique challenges. Washoe County’s semi-arid climate can produce sudden weather shifts and flash flooding that disrupt routes with little warning. At the same time, supervisors often work with lean staffing levels, particularly during overnight service periods, requiring them to independently manage incidents and operational adjustments in real time.
According to the Vontas case study, road supervisors are responsible for a wide range of duties that include vehicle oversight, driver coordination, emergency response and service management. As RTC continues integrating electric vehicles into its fleet, supervisors also manage charging cycles and vehicle swaps to keep buses available for service.
Before implementing FieldOps, accessing operational data in the field often required bulkier hardware and more reliance on dispatch communication. Vontas developed FieldOps as a lightweight, web-based extension of its OnRoute platform, allowing supervisors to monitor operations and communicate remotely from mobile devices.
The system provides several core capabilities designed for field personnel, including live vehicle tracking, real-time service monitoring, dispatch communication and EV charge management. Supervisors can view route impacts as they happen, identify delayed vehicles and coordinate service adjustments directly from the field.
Vontas said the platform was designed to reduce dependence on manual coordination and radio traffic while improving response times during service disruptions. The system also digitizes processes such as detour creation and incident reporting, helping agencies streamline field operations and reduce administrative burden.
For RTC road supervisor Derek Goodwin, mobility and immediate access to information were among the biggest advantages. In the case study, Goodwin noted that the application was easy to learn and practical because it operated directly from a mobile phone already carried in the field.
The operational benefits became particularly clear during flash flood events in Washoe County. Using FieldOps, RTC supervisors gained real-time visibility into affected routes and vehicle locations, allowing them to quickly reroute operators, monitor service impacts and communicate changes as conditions evolved. Goodwin said the system’s live information helps supervisors “locate and intercept operators with little notice.”
That ability to react quickly is critical in an environment where traffic conditions, road closures and weather can shift rapidly. By giving field staff direct access to operational intelligence, RTC reduced delays and improved coordination between supervisors, drivers and dispatch personnel.
The platform also plays an important role in RTC’s growing electric vehicle operations. Managing battery-electric buses introduces additional logistical complexity, particularly when agencies must balance charging infrastructure availability with daily service requirements.
FieldOps allows RTC supervisors to monitor charge levels in real time, plan vehicle swaps and identify charging opportunities before buses become unavailable for service. Goodwin said the technology helps the agency maximize the value of its existing charging infrastructure while staying ahead of required vehicle rotations.
The deployment of FieldOps is part of RTC’s broader technology modernization efforts with Vontas. In recent years, the agency migrated its OnRoute CAD/AVL platform to the Vontas Cloud, adding cloud-based operational management and real-time passenger information capabilities. That transition reduced reliance on on-premises infrastructure while improving system scalability and remote accessibility for operational staff.
Vontas said integrating FieldOps into the larger OnRoute ecosystem allows agencies to extend real-time operational awareness beyond dispatch centers and directly into the field. Supervisors can access live mapping, service data and communication tools wherever incidents occur, enabling faster independent decision-making.
For RTC, the result has been improved operational visibility, faster response times and greater flexibility for frontline supervisors tasked with keeping service moving under demanding conditions.