Stops and routes with planned times
Put every stop on the map with a radius. Build pickup, drop and shuttle routes with the stops in order and a planned time at each. Each route has its usual vehicle, driver, helper, working days and seats.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- Routes live in a register at the transport desk, and only one person knows the stop order.
- The bus is due at 7:35, but nobody wrote that down, so parents guess.
- A new driver does not know where a stop is.
- Saturday routes and weekday routes get mixed up.
How it works
- Add your stops under Transport > Configuration > Vehicles and Routes > Stops: name, address, position and a radius, 100 metres to start with.
- From Growth, press Find on map on a stop: search the address, drag the pin to where the bus halts, and Confirm.
- Add a route under Transport > Configuration > Vehicles and Routes > Routes. Choose Pickup, Drop or Shuttle, and the usual vehicle, driver and helper.
- On the Stops tab, add the stops in order with the planned time at each. Drag a row by its handle to change the order.
- Tick the days the route works: Monday to Friday to start with. Save, and the route's runs are planned every working day from then on.
Everything it does
Stops
- Name, address, latitude, longitude and Radius (m): the vehicle is at the stop within this distance (100 to start with)
- Find on map (Growth): address search, a pin you drag, Confirm sets the position
- Without a position a stop still works for planning, but arrival there cannot be found from GPS
- A stop can be on many routes, once per route
- Kept in an editable list; archive a stop you no longer use
Routes
- Name and a short code (unique within the Entity), such as R1-AM
- Kind: Pickup (to the campus or office), Drop (home) or Shuttle (neither, for example between two campuses)
- Usual vehicle, driver and helper; each day's run starts with them and can be changed for that day only
- Capacity: riders the route can take, 0 for the vehicle's seats
- Working days Monday to Sunday; Monday to Friday ticked to start with
- Stops in order, each with a planned time; the first time is the run's planned start
Lists and history
- The routes list shows each route's vehicle, driver and number of riders
- Group routes by type, vehicle, driver or Entity; search by name, code, vehicle or driver
- Archive a route to stop it: no more runs are made for it
- Routes keep a change history: what changed, from what, by whom and when
What the stops and routes feed
- The daily runs, with each stop's planned time on the run
- Arrival at a stop found from GPS when the vehicle enters the radius (Growth)
- The stop and the bus on the Rider app map (Growth); the riders' web page shows the times
- Best stop order and re-planning on the fewest vehicles (Scale)
Who uses it
Transport officeAdds and changes stops and routes, and sets the usual vehicle and crew.
Transport administratorSets the average road speed used for arrival times and route planning.
Driver or helperSees the stops and times of their runs.
Rider or parentSees their stop and its planned time (and the bus on a map from Growth).
Where you use it
- Web: Transport > Configuration > Vehicles and Routes > Stops and Routes
- Rider and parent web page: My transport shows the times at the stop, from Growth. The bus and the stop on a map are in the Rider app
- The SmartMy Transit Crew and Rider apps show each run's stops and times (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not drawn as a line: there is no map of a whole route; each stop has its own pin
What you control
Settings
- Radius (m) per stop: 100 to start with
- Working days per route: Monday to Friday to start with
- Capacity per route: 0 means the vehicle's seats
- Average Road Speed (km/h) on the Entity: 25 to start with
Questions
Is a morning and evening route one route or two?
Two. Make one route of kind Pickup and one of kind Drop. Each has its own stops, times, vehicle and crew, and each rider has a pickup route and a drop route.What happens if more riders are put on a route than it can take?
It is not refused. The routes list shows how many riders each route has, so you can compare it with the capacity and move riders.Can the bus or driver change for one day only?
Yes. Change the vehicle, driver or helper on that day's run. The route keeps its usual ones.Do we need GPS to use stops and routes?
No. Stops, routes and runs work without GPS. With GPS (Growth), the system also marks a stop as reached when the vehicle enters its radius.Can we load our existing routes instead of typing them?
Yes. Stops, routes and the stops of each route with their times load from one Excel workbook. Route working days are not in the workbook; tick Saturday or Sunday on each route that needs it.Related features
DAILY RUNSDaily runs planned by themselvesEvery route gets its run for today and the coming days by itself: vehicle, crew, stops, times and that day's riders. The driver starts it, each stop records the delay, and the run ends or is cancelled.STOPS, ROUTES, RIDERSRiders with their route, stop and daysEach rider has their service (pickup, drop or both), the route and stop for each leg, and the days they ride. You choose who is told about each rider, the rider, a parent or a guardian, topic by topic.ROUTE PLANNINGRoute planning on the fewest vehiclesPut one route's stops in the best order, or re-plan all the pickup or drop routes of a leg. The plan uses the fewest vehicles, within their seats and a longest ride time. You see the suggestion first and change nothing until you press Apply.ARRIVAL TIMESExpected arrival times that learn from real runsEvery stop of a running run gets an expected arrival time, worked out again every minute from where the vehicle is. Arrival and departure are recorded by themselves when the vehicle enters and leaves the stop's circle. The times between stops learn from the route's recent runs on the same weekday.SET-UP HELP AND OTHER LINKSImport stops, routes and riders from a spreadsheetBring your stops, routes, each route's stops with their times, and your riders in from one Excel workbook. Every row is checked first; with a single error nothing is written, and you get the workbook back with the errors marked.DAILY RUNSNo-transport days for holidays and strikesMark holidays, exam days and strike days once, for every route or only some. No runs are planned on those days, runs already planned are cancelled with your reason, and from Growth riders and parents are told why.
See your own routes on the map.
Send us your stops and routes and we will show you a demo with them.