The Optibus Blog
Thoughts about scheduling, planning, mass transit, technology, algorithms and more.
Optibus News: We’re Opening An NYC Office And Kevin Foreman Will Head Our North America Operations
We’re excited to announce that we’re opening an office in New York City and that Kevin Foreman will be leading our U.S. and Canada expansion as general manager for North America. In addition to opening a New York office on Madison Avenue, we’re also moving our San Francisco office to Mission Street. The new offices…
How Rosters Make A Huge Operational Difference
Roster optimization can drive efficiencies, save pay time and improve driver satisfaction. Most importantly, it reduces the ratio of overtime/total paid time, potentially saving 2-5% of all labor-related operating expenses. Rosters also have a profound impact on operators: how many routes they drive, start times, days off, a 4-day or 5-day workweek and more. It’s…
How Better Bus Routes And Service Quality Doubled Ridership In This City
When the affluent Israeli coastal city of Herzliya, just north of Tel Aviv, was preparing to overhaul its bus service, urban planners and city officials were hoping to attract more passengers – maybe ridership would increase 10% or even 20%, they figured. But the upgrade, led by transportation planner and Optibus adviser Dr. Robert Ishaq…
Can You Schedule A Shared Service Taxi?
Introduction: a private service that provides much needed frequency along routes Long before Ford’s Chariot service was announced, operated and then shut down, Israeli commuters have had access to a unique shared taxi service, called “moniyot sherut” (the name is a play on “shared route” and also means “service taxi”). These shared taxis run along…
How Tower Transit Singapore Uses Optibus
Using Optibus, Tower Transit managed to make the workflow quicker, resulting in better operational results. Thomas reports that “Optibus give us quite good financial and operational results compared to the previous system we had used, reflecting significant savings for the company.”
Relief Vehicle Scheduling: The Forgotten Optimization Dimension
When we talk about scheduling optimization, we often focus on vehicles and drivers and forget an important factor: relief vehicles. Relief vehicle scheduling is about how to move drivers between “pieces of work” - the trips each driver is responsible for.
MV Transportation: Improving Efficiencies
Watch this video to learn how MV Transportation's Transportation Planning Manager, Elizabeth Stayner uses the Optibus platform and the changes they have seen in their scheduling and planning process.
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…
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