Operations Management
Operations Management Applications provide the core ITS Applications for bus transportation. They enable the Operator to visualise where their vehicles are positioned at any given time, both in terms of actual location and relative to their scheduled location.
Dispatchers based in Operations Control Centres or at depots can use this information to monitor the service performance. They can intervene as required to ensure that the planned service is performed, and to respond to disruptions or incidents. Transport Authorities can also use the information to monitor the daily performance. In real-time, they can direct the Operators to carry out corrective measures, or the Authority can intervene directly (e.g. in case of major disruption).
The data generated by the Operations Management Applications are used extensively for post-event analysis. The Operator uses the information to fine-tune the planned service, and to monitor driver performance. The Authority uses the information to monitor service performance and service contract compliance.
Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) is part of the CAD/AVM Application. This is the most fundamental element of ITS for bus operations. The location data generated by the AVL is used by a wide range of real-time and post-event Applications, including Operations Management, Traveller Information, Fare Collection, Traffic Management, Demand Responsive Transport and Scheduling.
The Operations Management cluster consists of seven Applications:
- Computer-Aided Dispatch / Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (CAD/AVM)
- Route Condition Monitoring
- Schedule Adherence Support
- Service Contract compliance
- Driving-standards compliance
- Emergency/incident management
- Dynamic rescheduling