The Demand Response Workflow

Anastassia Ash

Updated December 06, 2023 17:32

This chapter describes the myAvail in‑vehicle implementation and MDT workflow of the Demand Response service. The myAvail application gives Operators a user‑friendly interface for accurately providing customers reliable Demand Response service. The system also makes accurate Demand Response reporting possible because the MDT provides the Operator screens for easily reporting Arrival and Perform events, and optionally reporting No Show and Cancel at Door events.

Demand Response Logon

The Demand Response logon process is nearly identical to the fixed-end logon process as described in Vehicle Startup Workflow. The Operator logs on to the MDT with their Driver ID and the Demand Response Run number.

The Demand Response Manifest Screen

After the Operator logs on successfully, the Demand Response Manifest screen appears as shown below. This is the Demand Response Home screen.
The image below shows an example of a populated manifest list.
The manifest list displays Demand Response events by the scheduled event order.
The manifest may not list all future events for a Run; it depends on how many there are and what time they are scheduled to take place. The system will update the manifest as events are Performed and as time progresses.
If the property deletes trips, adds trips, or modifies your Run manifest, the MDT may popup a message to notify the Operator of the changes. The manifest will add an asterisk * to any event that was modified by the property.
Each manifest event shows the estimated event time.
All passenger events display location addresses.
Passenger events display passenger names.
Each event begins with a bold event code. The main event codes are:
- PO Pullout from the garage
- PU Pickup of a passenger
- DO Dropoff of a passenger
- PI Pullin to the garage
- A Arrive to a location, after pressing the Arrive button.
- C Canceled trip
- NS No Show
- Your property may have event codes for Lunch Break, Break, Refuel, etc.
The action buttons ARRIVE, MAP TO and DETAILS are disabled and grayed‑out until a manifest event is selected.
The Call Out button is disabled and grayed‑out until a "Pickup With Callout" event is selected. Selecting any other type of event will leave the Call Out button disabled.
The PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN buttons are used to scroll up or down the manifest list.
When an event is selected, the event is outlined in blue, and the event area expands for displaying its comments. Comments include information about building access codes, the passenger, or anything the driver needs to be aware of. Not all events will have comments.
With an event selected, press the DETAILS button to display the event Details screen as shown below. This screen will display event details such as event Code (PU, DO, ...), event ID, Estimated arrival time (EST), and Scheduled arrival time(SCH), Address, Phone Number, Fare cost, Mobility code(s), Space code(s), Load Time (LT) in minutes, and Comments. Demand Response drivers are trained to know their property’s Mobility and Space codes.

Each event may have more than one passenger, with each passenger identified by a passenger type code. Demand Response drivers are trained to know their property’s passenger type codes. For each passenger type in the event, the event Details screen displays the passenger type and their count in the bottom‑right of the Details screen.

For example, if CLI is a passenger type code for “Client”. CLI:1 indicates that one Client is associated with the event; CLI:2 indicates two Clients.

You can press the Close or Home button in the Details screen to go back to the manifest.

You can also press the Arrive button in the Details screen to open the Perform screen. Arrive and Perform actions will be discussed in the next section.

Executing a Demand Response Trip

The example steps below show how an Operator can use the myAvail in‑vehicle application to execute a Demand Response passenger trip for pickup and dropoff.

After you have pulled up to the pickup location, select the PU event for the passenger to be picked up. This example is for the PU 04:15 PM pickup of Otha Mae.
From the manifest screen, press the ARRIVE button. This button should be pressed before you exit the vehicle to assist passengers. This will open the Perform screen as shown below. We will discuss this screen in more detail below.

You can press the Home button from the Perform screen to go back to the manifest screen. You might want to go back to the manifest screen after pressing the Arrive button so that you don’t accidently Send the Perform before interacting with the passenger.

If you do go back to the manifest screen after pressing the Arrive button, you will notice that the information for the pickup event changed slightly. The event code changes to an A to indicate that you pressed the Arrive button for the pickup. Also, if the arrived pickup event is selected, the Perform button will become enabled. You can press the Perform button to open the Perform screen as shown previously.
After pressing the Arrive button in the Perform screen, or the Perform button in the manifest screen for an arrived pickup, the MDT displays the Perform screen as shown below.
- If the passenger is available for pickup, wait until the passenger is onboard, then verify the fare, verify or update the odometer, and when ready press the SEND button.
  * The fare and odometer fields may be disabled depending on system configuration.
- If the passenger does not show up for the ride, refer to your agency’s policies for pressing the NO SHOW button. (This button may be disabled.)
- If after arriving at the pickup location the passenger no longer wants or needs the ride, refer to your agency’s policies for pressing the CANCEL AT DOOR button. (This button may be disabled.)
  
  NOTE: Arrive time and Perform time are key indicators for customer satisfaction and on-time performance. These times are recorded and reported when you press the Arrive button and one of the three buttons on the Perform screen. Be sure to press the buttons at the correct times, to accurately include the amount of time it takes to board the client.
If the Operator presses the SEND button on the Perform screen, the pickup event is removed from the manifest. Note that the MDT Status text box will display PERFRM DLVD to indicate that the pickup event’s Perform was delivered.

If the Operator presses the CANCEL AT DOOR button on the Perform screen, the MDT manifest event code is changed to a C to indicate “Cancelled”. Some agencies consider a Cancel at Door action sufficient to close out the passenger trip, in which case the passenger pickup and dropoff events will be removed from MDT manifest. Refer to your agency’s cancel at door policy.

If the Operator presses the NO SHOW button on the Performance screen, the event displays in the manifest with a code NS to indicate “No Show”. A No Show event may also result in the removal of the passenger pickup and dropoff events from the MDT manifest.
When you arrive at the dropoff location, select the DU dropoff event for the passenger.

The Details screen for a dropoff event is similar to the Details screen for a pickup event:
When you arrive at the dropoff location for your passenger, either select the pickup event from the manifest scree or open its Details scree. Then, press the Arrive button. This will open the Perform screen for the dropoff event as shown below.
Update the Odometer, if applicable, and then when ready press the Send button to Perform the dropoff. The MDT will return to the Home manifest screen as shown below, and the dropoff event will be removed from the manifest.

The Operator can use the MDT to Perform other events like Pullouts (PO), Pullin (PI), Operator breaks, and refuels. The steps are similar to those described above for pickups and dropoffs.

Making Call Outs

Selecting manifest events that have the event code PC enables the CALL OUT button. When the CALL OUT button is pressed, the myAvail application sends a message to the property’s demand response software. This software then automatically calls the client to inform them of the upcoming arrival within a configurable set of minutes. The CALL OUT button then changes to disabled and greyed‑out, and the event code for the event updates to PU.

Recognizing Lift Required Trips

Lift Required manifest events are denoted by a wheelchair icon .

This icon informs the Operator in advance that they need to park the vehicle in such a way as to allow the lift extra space to operate properly.

Menu Map To Button

On the “Menu” page, there is a “Map To” button that is always enabled while the user is logged on. If the user presses this button, the navigation application will be brought to the foreground with no destination. This will allow users to manually navigate to any address they please.

The Pick-up/Drop-Off trips will show up as star icons on this screen.