Live Map provides easy monitoring tools for Operations staff and other agency members, as preferred. It displays real time data from vehicles, uses color-coding to assist in differentiating between routes in service. Stops also share colors according to the routes they are serviced by. Each vehicle card displays service information, the next three stops (intentional sharing data between online tools used by riders and dispatch in Operations), OTP updates, off route notices, and quick access to disruption tools, fuel/charge information, and more.
When the user clicks on the Live Map card, the system will load all of the routes and the associated vehicles on the routes.
Live Map Communications
The Live Map feature can also include your communications. The video below describes in detail, how to use the Comms feature embedded on Live Map.
IMPORTANT: In software versions of 10.2 and up, a reauthentication feature is included in ETMS. This feature maintains Avail's SOC2 compliance, while removing the 'timed out' condition noted in earlier software versions. *Earlier software versions include a 'time out' function, which is enabled after 30 minutes of inactivity.
NOTE: The re-authentication dialog appears after the configured period of inactivity, prompting you to enter your password or PIN to resume your session. The dialog no longer displays a countdown timer. While you are actively using Live Map, your authenticated session is automatically renewed so the re-authentication dialog does not interrupt your work. If the re-authentication dialog remains open for two hours without action, the session is automatically closed.
- If you use the browser's Back or Forward buttons while the re-authentication dialog is open, the dialog remains visible and navigation proceeds as expected.
- If you refresh the browser while the re-authentication dialog is displayed, you will be logged out and must sign in again. Note end.
Search Menu
Click the Search icon in the upper-left corner of Live Map to open the search and map filtering options. The Search menu allows you to find vehicles, stops, and operators and control which routes, stops, vehicles, and other map elements are displayed.
The top of the panel displays a summary of the filters currently applied to the map. By default, all routes are displayed and stops are hidden. Use Reset Filters to return the map to its default settings.
Search
Use the Find on map field to search for vehicles, stops, or operators.
Searching for an Operator
When searching for an operator, enter the operator's first or last name. Operator results display the operator's full name. Select an operator from the search results to open the Vehicle Card for the vehicle the operator is currently logged into. This provides quick access to the operator's associated vehicle and available communication options.
Searching for a Vehicle
Use the Vehicles section to control which vehicles are displayed on Live Map. You can filter vehicles by Service State, Vehicle Type, and Fuel Type to focus the map on the vehicles relevant to your current work.
The Service State options allow you to display vehicles according to their current operating status:
- Assigned – Vehicles that are logged into work and actively performing work on a route.
- Unassigned – Vehicles that are logged into work but are not currently on a route.
- Not logged in – Vehicles that are reporting AVL data but are not logged into work.
These filters can be turned on or off independently, and the map updates to display vehicles matching the selected service states.
Use Vehicle Type to further filter the map by available vehicle types, such as Fixed Route, Fixed Route Training, Maintenance, Para Transit, or Supervisor. Fuel Type can also be used to narrow the displayed vehicles by fuel type.
Turn on the Vehicle labels toggle to display vehicle IDs directly on Live Map without having to select individual vehicle icons. Vehicle labels provide an at-a-glance way to identify vehicles when multiple vehicles are displayed in the same area.
Vehicle labels are dependent on the map's zoom level. When the map is zoomed out, labels may be hidden to prevent overlapping text and visual clutter. Zoom in to display labels for individual vehicles. You can turn Vehicle labels on or off as needed.
Routes
Use the Routes section to control which routes are displayed on Live Map. Routes are displayed by default.
Use the All Routes toggle to quickly show or hide all routes. This provides a faster way to change route visibility without selecting or clearing each route individually.
Stops
Use the Stops section to control which stops are displayed on Live Map. Stops are hidden by default.
When Stops are enabled, select one of the following options:
- Timepoint stops only – Displays only stops identified as timepoints.
- All stops – Displays all available stops.
Timepoint stops are used for scheduled service and on-time performance calculations. Selecting Timepoint stops only can reduce map clutter when you only need to view these key stops.
Clicking on the Reset Filters button will reset/deselect all the picked options, and the map will show no routes.
Map Layers
Detours
Active detours can be displayed directly on Live Map to help dispatchers identify current service disruptions and temporary route changes. Detours are displayed by default.
When a detour is active, the affected portion of the route trace displays the detoured path on the map. The detoured portion of the route is shown in blue, while the remainder of the route retains its normal route color. The detour area is also displayed on the map.
Use the Detours section to show or hide active detours. Select a detour from the list to move the map to the affected area. You can also open the detour for a more detailed view or select View Detours List to access the full list of active detours.
When a detour becomes active, its visualization is added to Live Map; when the detour expires, the route returns to its regular path.
Clicking on the Arrow icon will open the Edit Detour page where you can see or edit the detour information.
Clicking View Detours List will open the Detours page where you can see the whole list of all the detours in the system.
Map Tools - Cursor Coordinates
Live Map allows you to view and copy latitude and longitude coordinates directly from the map.
Enable Cursor coordinates in the map tools. When enabled, move the cursor over the map to display the latitude and longitude for that location. Click the desired location to copy the coordinates to your clipboard. You can then paste the coordinates into an incident, message, or other location as needed.
Coordinates are also available from Vehicle and Stop Cards. Select the copy option next to the displayed coordinates to copy the latitude and longitude to your clipboard.
Traffic
There are a couple of additional layers that can be added to the map. One of them is a traffic overlay. Switching the Traffic toggle will show busy areas highlighted in red. See Live Map Legend for more detail.
Light/Dark Mode
Use the Light/Dark Mode control on the map to switch the map display between light and dark modes. This allows you to select the map appearance that provides the best visibility for your environment.
The setting changes the appearance of the map area while preserving the route and map information displayed on it. The same map display option is also available when working with maps in Detours.
The Light/Dark mode setting remains as it was last used. If the previous user selected Dark mode, the next user who logs in will see Dark mode, and vice versa for Light mode.
The Satellite control remains available next to the Light/Dark Mode control and can be used independently to switch the map to satellite imagery.
Zoom in
There are 3 different levels of zoom views. The furthest shows routes and vehicles.
When you start zooming in, small icons for stops will start coming up on the map.
And if you zoom in even closer, you will see larger icons for stops and distinctions between stop and route colors. Some stop icons will show two, three, or even more colors representing their use across different routes.
Stops and Vehicle Icons
Stops that are serviced by only one route display in a singular color. Stops that service two routes will display in two colors. Stops that are serviced by more than two routes will display a rainbow of colors.
The stop information card will show the list of all the routes that share a stop. Below, we selected the stop at the Transit Center, which is serviced by all routes.
Charging stops are shown with a black plug displayed in the middle of the icon.
Clicking on the Charging stop will show the information card for that stop with the same charging icon in the left top corner of the card.
When viewing routes, a vehicle's icon now shows the vehicle’s current heading.
See Live Map Legend for definitions of all the Live Map icons, including different fuel types, alerts, and stops.
If the charge is too low on an electric bus, you can alert the vehicle operator. Click the button on the Vehicle's card and select ALERT THE BUS DRIVER.
Cluster of Vehicles
If there are several vehicles in one spot, the map will show the bubble with the number on it indicating the number of vehicles clustered together in that location. This makes it easier to quickly see at-a-glance where there is a high density of vehicles in a particular location. Clicking on the icon quickly zooms into that area to view the individual vehicles' icons.
Vehicle Card
Clicking on the vehicle icon will show the card with the vehicle info: Bus #, Route, Driver, Block #, Run #, Trip #, Direction, Speed, Load Capacity, Charge %, Charge Reminder (if applicable), Lat/Long coordinates, Upcoming Stops, etc. At the bottom of the card the user can select Call or Message to make a call or send a message, as well as clicking links will lead the user to the Add Incident page, Decision Support section or Route Ladder functionality.
LOAD shows the number of filled seats out of the total number of seats on the bus (example, 38 filled, 40 total). The load status bar also indicates how full the bus is by changing color. Green is less than 50% full, orange is 50-90% full, and red greater than 90% full.
TIPS: Enter vehicle capacities on the Fleets Card > Transit Assets. Set thresholds for capacity on the Routes Card.
CHARGE shows the charge percentage remaining for electric buses. The charge status bar also indicates how full the battery is by changing color. Green is 30%+ full, yellow is 15%-29% full, and red 14% or less full.
LAT/LNG COORDINATES
The Vehicle Card also displays the vehicle's latitude and longitude. Select the copy option next to the coordinates to copy the location to your clipboard.
The FOLLOW/UNFOLLOW button allows the user to follow a specific vehicle for closer monitoring. This button toggles between Follow/ Unfollow. When following a vehicle, the map will pan and adjust to continue following this vehicle’s route. Press 'Unfollow' to stop following the selected vehicle.
The icon that displays on Live Map is exclusively determined by the Fleets fuel type setting.
Communications Dock
Clicking the Comms icon in the upper right expands and presents the user with the Communications dock. The Communications dock displays the Comms Queue, Queued Messages and Message History in separate tabs.
Comms Queue tab shows the items that are in the Comms queue.
Dispatch Acknowledgement Buttons
TAKE RELEASE LOG
Take, Release, Log buttons - These buttons are used by dispatch to take, release, log the communications.
Queued Msg tab shows the items that are queued to send. The Active tab shows active queued messages and the Expired tab shows only expired messages. The user can copy or edit messages here.
On the Message History tab the user can see the list of sent texts and messages.
On the Text History tab the user has to select a vehicle to view text history for the vehicle. On the Sent Messages tab the user can see the list of all sent messages. The Show Only My Messages checkbox allows to see only user's messages.
The Auto Response link in the top right corner of the page opens the Auto Response page and allows the user to select the Talk Group and Call Duration and enable it.
The Voice Call tab allows the user to select the recipient, voice call type (one-way or two-way), duration, and talk group. For VoIP enabled systems, call duration is not selectable.
For the Recipient there are several options to select from: fleet groups, vehicles, operators, runs, and routes. This gives the user the ability to broadcast the call or text message to groups of recipients if necessary.
Voice Call Duration can be set up so that the calls timeout. It makes sure the radio doesn't overheat and become damaged.
The Search section allows you to search for specific recipients. The search results will update dynamically, using pattern matching, as you make entries in the search field. Users have the option to clear the search query and revert to viewing all available recipients.
After selecting the Recipient, Call Type, Duration and Group, the user can click the Call button to place a call.
The Text Message tab allows the user to select the Recipient, choose if the message will require acknowledgement or not or if it will require a Yes/No answer, write the text message and then send it. Users are also able to select from canned text messages.
The Store & Forward checkbox allows the user to store and forward the text message with particular parameters. The Edit button allows the user to select a date, time, if it's recurring and what day of the week to repeat it.
The system will store this text message until the selected vehicle is available. Messages will be delivered during the time window if vehicles are online.
After clicking Send, the message will pop-up saying the message was sent out successfully.
Dispatcher Take, Release, Log
Only a single user can take/release an event at one time. If a user takes and logs an event and there is an error on the log the event will remain in the queue, since the log failed and will remain taken in the "Open" status for the user. If there is no error on the log the event will no longer be in the queue. If the log was successful the event will be removed from the queue.
Emergency Alarm Event Handling
In the event the driver presses the EA button an Emergency notification is displayed on the Live Map screen.
After the emergency alarm is acknowledged, the emergency event will show in the Events log. Right-clicking on the event allows dispatch to Take, Release, Log, and make a Covert Call ( if configured for the agency).
After acknowledging the emergency alarm, the Dispatcher will take the EA, which sets the blinking time colon on the MDT to a solid state. After Dispatch takes the EA they can initiate a covert call or choose to log the EA. If a covert call is initiated, the solid time colon on the MDT will disappear, indicating the vehicle is in an actively monitored covert call. The colon will return to blinking after the covert call has ended and the alarm has been logged.
VoIP Communication
On the Communications dock for VoIP the user cannot set the duration for the call but can select different voice extensions as the Recipient. The rest of the functionality remains the same as for the Radio Comms dock.
Details on the Full Screen Communication section can be found in the Communications ETMS article.