Fred Regional Transit

[N4VKF]

https://www.fredericksburgva.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/13029?fileID=10184

On call: Fredericksburg transit buses to share radio with police, fire - NewsBreak

At their most recent meeting, the Stafford County Board of Supervisors approved an agreement that would allow the Fredericksburg Regional Transit system to use the county’s Emergency Radio Communications System. According to county documents, FRED Transit will have better access to Fredericksburg...

www.newsbreak.com

Looks like Fred transit is using the P25 trunked system. This is the city council agenda from March of 2021. I would not be surprised if more city agencies join in the coming years.

 

[fredva]

I couldn't access the article but I read the document from the city. I thought this sentence was interesting: "FRED’s current system provider has notified FRED that it intends on transitioning from leasing radio/communications space on its tower." That could mean some businesses in the area will be migrating to different systems as well.

 

[KC4ASF]

I had basically given up on the old VHF freqs for the city sometime ago.

 

[dtscho]

I've been listening to the Stafford P25 system for a good amount of time this afternoon, and haven't heard the FRED buses. They must not have migrated to the system yet.

Dave

 

[dtscho]

I've tried to observe the buses (and the other FRED cars, which may be for the supervisors) carefully over the last several days, and the whip antenna looks like a UHF, not a 700 MHz. So more evidence that they probably haven't migrated to Stafford P25.

Dave

 

[dtscho]

I'm making an educated guess that the buses are using talkgroup 21 on the Communication Specialists Cap+ system. Many of the buses start their routes at the bus station at half past the hour. This talkgroup always seems to be active around that time. Since it's encrypted, there's no way to know for certain, but it seems likely.

Dave

 

[N4VKF]

Sounds logical. I thought they were joining the Staf/Fred P25. I read that someplace in a document. Why does a public transit system need to encrypt their communications?

 

[dtscho]

Yes, I thought they were moving to the Stafford 700 MHz system as well (see first post in this thread). They're definitely not on it. Buses continue to sport UHF whip antennas.

They certainly don't need to encrypt their communications. I think if they're on the Communication Specialists system, they're encrypted because CS chooses to encrypt most of their talkgroups.

Dave

 

[N4VKF]

I read another mention about the Stafford/FXBG P25 system mentions that Fred Regional Transit had transitioned to the system. Here is a clip from the FY2024 budget document.