The Optibus Blog
Thoughts about scheduling, planning, mass transit, technology, algorithms and more.
Reducing Bus Bunching on BRT Systems
Bus Bunching is a Vicious Cycle If you’ve ever waited for what seems like hours at a bus stop, only to have 3 buses arrive at the same time, you’ve experienced bus bunching. Although schedulers plan for routes to operate on even headways according to desired frequencies, subpar operation and traffic conditions can cause buses…
Understanding the Algorithmic Challenges of EV Optimization
Why EV Public Transit Scheduling is Different The global drive to decrease fossil fuel dependency and resulting policy measures have pushed transit agencies to replace diesel and natural gas fleets with electric vehicles (EVs). Although the high capital costs of EVs present a significant hurdle for agencies, the successful adoption of EVs is much more…
How Multi-Route Planning Can Unclog Urban Arteries
When the body’s arteries get clogged, blood flow declines and the heart struggles to pump enough blood at a nice steady pace. And when the arteries that get clogged are those of a city – its main thoroughfares, the high-traffic corridors through which vast numbers of people and vehicles pass each day – then those…
How To Tell Which Cloud-Based Scheduling Platform Is Right For You
You’ve decided you are going to use a cloud-based platform for your planning and scheduling needs. Rest assured: You’ve made the right decision! You’ve opted for modern software because: It’s future proof It is easy to learn and has a great interface It can improve agency performance though quick scenario planning and better operations It…
PTAs & PTOs, Don’t Lose Sight Of The Whole Picture: Why Sequential Scheduling Is A Thing Of The Past
It’s nice when steps are clearly laid out – complete step 1, move on to step 2, finish with step 3, and you’re done. Historically, this is how the transit planning process has gone. First you make the routes and set the timetable, then you assign vehicles to those routes (vehicle scheduling or blocking), and…
Quick Scheduling Decisions At Keolis North America
https://vimeo.com/347979748 Keolis develops public transport solutions worldwide, and commits to a sustainable and connected mobility. We spoke to CJ Bright, senior operations planner at Keolis North America on how Keolis uses Optibus. Why Optibus Prior to using the Optibus platform, Bright and fellow schedulers and planners at Keolis created run cuts by hand, a…
Webinar Recap: Next Generation Scheduling With Optibus At Nassau Inter-County Express
On June 5th, we hosted a webinar with the Director of Planning and Scheduling at the Nassau Intercounty Express, Jon Feldman. A replay of the webinar can be accessed here. Feldman began with an overview of the NICE (Nassau Intercounty Express) transit system: 38 bus routes 85,000 average weekday boardings He expressed Nassau’s unique position…
Webinar Recap: What MaaS Means For The Transportation Industry & How Transit Agencies Can Prepare For It
For decades we had a fixed way to navigate a city in Europe and in the States. We could drive, take a taxi, bus, train, walk or bike. It was essentially a choice between transit and walking. However in the last 10-15 years, there was an explosion of new mobility services; car-share, bike share, electric bike share, scooters, microtransit ride hail etc..
Defining “Future-Proof” In The Context Of Public Transit Software
While the words “fireproof” and “bulletproof” appear in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “future-proof” still hasn’t made it to the list of new words in the dictionary. What exactly is future-proof? Techopedia defines it thus: “Future proof is a buzzword that describes a product, service or technological system that will not need to be significantly updated as…
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