Use Cases
Some common use cases are:
- As a dispatcher I’d want to monitor bus spacing by routes so that I can take the appropriate action to adjust operations.
- As a dispatcher I’d want to monitor bus state by routes so that I can determine if I need to intervene.
- As a dispatcher I’d want to get a quick picture of where a bus is on a route to provide information to internal personnel.
- As a customer support I’d want to get a quick picture of where a bus is on a route so I can provide feedback to a customer.
Known Limitations
Some known limitations are:
- Loops are split arbitrarily. This can cause buses to jump from end of one direction to the other without hitting the last stop.
- Route ladder uses a superset of patterns. This means it is not pattern specific. This can cause multiples of the same stop. This can cause stops to look skipped.
Selecting Routes
Clicking on the Route Ladder card will bring the user to the Route Ladder application. To see the list of available routes, the user will need to click on the hamburger icon and then on the Routes.
Selecting couple of Routes from the list will show these routes in the Route Ladder format to the right of the Menu.
The directions for each Route are split in two: forward and back. This allows the user to see which vehicles are traveling in a given direction and where the vehicles are positioned relative to one another.
The top line represents the first route of the day or the first direction trip of the day and the line below it is the other direction of the route.
The rectangular icon to the left of each Route represents that Route and is of a specific color. Colors can be adjusted/picked in the Settings section. Clicking on the X on that Route icon will remove that Route from the map. The pattern’s destination name (destination from the schedule) for that route will also be always displayed on both directions.
Each line displays time points hovering over which will show the stop ID and the stop name.
Hovering over a vehicle will show the vehicle and block IDs.
The displayed view isn’t live to the minute, but the vehicles still will update every time they hit a stop. Stops are not displayed but are there in the system in an invisible manner.
The amount of distance that a vehicle would travel is determined by how many stops are between each of those time points.
The vehicle that looks like it passed the end line represents a vehicle that's in layover between the two directions.
When a vehicle hits the end of one direction it goes into the Layover Layer until the next trip start time.
Live Map Integration
Clicking on the Live Map link to the left of the Route will open the second tab and load that route on the Live Map application with that route enabled and centered on the map.
Zoom in/Zoom out
To zoom in/out it is recommended to use the browser zoom, the view will scale accordingly.
Zoom in view
Zoom out view
Time Point Card
Clicking on the time point will display the card showing all the time point details: Stop #, Name, bus Route, Direction, Bus, Destination, EDT, Status, as well as the link to the Live Map application.
Clicking on the Live Map link will open the second tab that will bring up the Live Map with the stop in focus, as well as any routes that hit this stop.
Stop
Routes going through that Stop
Clicking on a vehicle will bring up the vehicle card that will show detailed vehicle information. From here, the user can create a new incident, go to Decisions Support section or launch the Live Map.
Vehicle Card
Clicking on the Vehicle will display the Vehicle card showing detailed information: bus ID, Route, Status, Driver’s Name, Block, Run, Trip, Speed, Load, Charge, Upcoming stops, and Last Updated.
Links at the bottom of the card allow the user to add an Incident, go to the Decisions Support section or launch the Live Map.
Clicking on the Live Map link on the Vehicle will show the vehicle on the map with the associated route that the user navigated from.
On the Vehicle card from the Live Map, clicking on the Route Ladder link will get the user back to the Route Ladder application showing that Route.
If there happens to be 2 vehicles at the same stop, they will be overlapping.
If there is an interline between two routes, vehicles will jump lanes at the end of the trip.