Detour Management SOP 0011

Purpose

This procedure provides information for your agency staff to ensure that:

• Vehicle miles and hours attributed to detours is accurate and accounted for
• Ridership is aware of schedule changes

Operational Impact and Metrics

1. Ridership information accuracy on public tools - myStop applications
2. Reporting metrics accuracy
3. Vehicle mileage/time attributed to detours for reporting metric needs
4. Avoid off route challenges and misinformation on myStop
5. Operator behavior - ensure they use built-in turn by turn directions on MDT

Definitions

Frequency

This procedure should be performed when:

1. The detour affects ridership behavior/travel trends
2. The detour affects your revenue data and vehicle miles collection for NTD reporting
3. Detour is longer-term, affecting multiple routes, runs, and/or blocks over time
4. Use this tool anytime it affects multiple trips on a single route

Positions and Responsibilities

Implementation of this procedure is the primary responsibility of: Operations staff

• Dispatchers
• Supervisors
• Dispatch/Marketing - Public Messaging

Procedure

This procedure describes the high-level steps involved:

1. Open the Detour Tab
2. Select the green plus sign to create a new detour

Detour Name

1. Enter a Detour Name. This is a required step as this information is used for myStop applications to notify ridership (General Transit Specifications Feed)

Cause

1. Enter the cause for the detour. This is a required step. The GTFS Real-time feed displays this reason on myStop applications.

• • • GTFS = General Transit Specification Feed

Effect

1. Enter the effect of the detour. This is a required step. The GTFS Real-time feed displays this information for ridership. 

Active

1. Leave as 'Active', or use the slider to inactivate the detour, if a review is required before activating 

Date and Time Range

1. Use the menus or type into each field to select the data and time range. The Date and Time ranges are separate values, to allow customization.

• • • The default setting is "all day".

Days of Week

1. By default, all days are all set to ON and these are customizable. Select the days needed, or leave the default setting. Some detours are only valid during certain days of the week, such as Monday through Saturday.

Define the Geographic Area - the affected area on the map

Create Detour Zone Polygon

1. Important - Use the zoom buttons/arrows/mouse scroll wheel to first locate the impact area on the map
2. Click directly on the map to identify the first point of the line segment for the detour
3. Continue clicking around affected stop/s to extend the segments until the polygon is closed
4. When the ‘hand’ appears on the screen, this prompts you to close the polygon
5. Software then generates all affected routes and stops in a list on the right of the screen
6. Each affected segment (drive path) and effected stops display on the right of the screen

Edit Segments

1. Edit each effected segment stop to stop distance for each direction (vehicle drive path)
2. Redraw each segment for each direction/stop to stop distances by moving the path on the map to roads to use instead and save each edited segment 

Impacted by Detour

Deviation - Review the drive time adjustment and use the deviation menu to provide additional/ reduced drive time for the vehicle (optional use).

1. If drive time is adjusted in the 'Deviation' field, the information feeds to myStop to inform riders. In many cases, a detour creates additional/reduced drive time, which will adjust depart times on GTFS tools
2. Save each updated segment (what the driver does in the bus). Edited segments display the 'Edit' button in green to alert you
3. Review the turn by turn directions for all segments. These populate on the MDT and are stored in the MDT INBOX for the vehicle operator- press 'Save'

Affected Stops

1. Press the 'Edit' button that appears next to an affected stop to move it if you wish to include it as serviceable during the detour 
2. Stop displays on map highlighted. Drag the stop marker to the path the vehicle will use instead
3. Optional - if the stop has an assigned stop announcement, you can use the dropdown menu to find and assign it, so it plays at the new location
4. Press 'Save'
5. Press the 'Save' button, located at the top right of the screen to save the detour (popup confirms saved detour)
6. Screen takes you back to ETMS home screen

Operator Messages

1. Dispatch/Supervisor/Marketing - Navigate back to Detour tab to define the public messages for ridership, and to save operator messages 
   • • Vehicle operators get 2 messages- the 1st is at login to the MDT to alert them they are performing a detour on their run/ block/route 
     • the 2nd operator message is the turn by turn directions in the MDT INBOX
2. Edit Messages - Press the icon on the detour itself (paper with a blue spot) to open and review messages - column will indicate 0-0 messages until all messages are defined and saved 
3. Review all operator messages, adjust if preferred, then save each individual messages (one for each direction per route)

Public Messaging

1. Review public messages - this is the area we want to modify to ensure riders get the full message - what is different due to the detour? Did you move a stop, for example? “Please board at Main & 3^rd.” 
2. Perform a final 'Save' for all included messages, this activates the full detour 

Best Practice

1. Confirm message display on myStop is correct 
2. Inform vehicle operators of changes

Tips:

• You can reactivate a detour but you must use the original polygon. If you need a different location, it is required to draw a new polygon to create a new detour.
• The 'Copy' feature allows you to modify the upper menus, messages, date and time only.
• Use the Expiry icon (hour glass) to expire a detour that is no longer needed.
• Passenger Information - Moved stops should be included in the messaging so ridership is aware of the temporary location
• Moved stops are visible on myStop applications
• Reuse expired detours by pressing the 'copy' icon on the Expired Detours tab
• Expired detours are auto-removed from your system after 90 days

Supporting Documents

Dispatch Route Monitoring 

System Adjustments 

Detour Management