Preparation of vehicles for duty

Description / objective

This function involves the assignment of specific vehicles to the scheduled duties in accordance with their availability, and the dispatch of the vehicles from their depots or other operating facilities to the network at the appropriate time to start service.

On completion of the duty, there are post-service technical checks, any operational data transfers, downloading of fare-box collections (where applicable), and then fuelling, washing and interior cleaning. Finally vehicles are stabled and kept secure until their next duty or technical intervention.

ITS applications

There are no direct ITS applications in this functional area. However the allocation of specific vehicles to duties can be an ITS-facilitated function in some application suites, and the data and cash transfers may be integral parts of in-vehicle data capture and fare collection systems respectively.

Advantages and cautions

Automation of vehicle allocation may introduce an unnecessary level of complexity in other than the largest of operating depots.