Coordination Issues

Computer Assisted Dispatch and Scheduling (CASD) offers the possibility of efficiency and effectiveness increases resulting from reductions in duplicated activities and optimization of vehicle and personnel assets. An optimal CASD configuration will streamline scheduling and dispatching activities by allowing multiple fleets to be coordinated by a single set of

dispatcher/schedulers, while simultaneously reducing vehicle deadhead time by increasing vehicle loading.

Modifications to the ideal may include geographically distant vehicle fleets and customer service operations supported by a single centralized CASD system. A centralized system offers the possibility of a central call receipt center responsible for manifest optimization and associated billing actions, and the potential to release employees previously involved in tedious manual administrative and support activity to customer support.

In practice, coordinated activity between paratransit sites is rare and influenced by significant political infighting, preventing meaningful cooperative efforts.

The study site’s potential has been overshadowed by political challenges, preventing a fuller implementation of coordinated activities. Recent agreements, allowing the study site to generate manifests and billing for another service provider in the area, have allowed a first step toward coordination. Actions initiated after the study conclusion have authorized a one-year experiment to assess the potential of coordinated activities, and deserves follow-up to document progress.

11. Conclusions

Feasibility

• CASD implementation is feasible in the paratransit environment. Technology is sufficiently represented in vendor product offerings to support current and future paratransit operations.

• CASD products are capable of supporting coordinated paratransit activity.

• Personnel normally assigned to paratransit activity are capable of learning and effectively using current CASD products.

• Current pricing of CASD products limits its availability to those transit operators able to secure adequate funding.

• CASD implementation is a complicated and time-consuming process, often requiring more time and technology assets than available to small paratransit managers.

Cost Effectiveness

• CASD supported paratransit is potentially more efficient and effective than manually supported organizations.

• Positive changes may be seen in vehicle optimization, on-time rates, and reductions in administrative activities, especially billing.

• Customers may see potential efficiencies as negatives, more efficient use of vehicles translates to longer ride times for passengers.

• It is unlikely that paratransit managers will experience personnel reductions because of CASD implementation, most are likely to increase personnel supporting CASD

implementations.

• Due to the short time duration of the post-implementation period, few changes in cost have been observed. If CASD were to result in reductions in cost of operations, then a longer time frame is needed to observe such changes. Cost reductions can take many years to realize, since organizational changes are required in order to reap such savings.

In addition, the reduction in passenger trips in the post-implementation period did not provide the opportunity for management to utilize the CASD to reduce per unit costs as ridership increased.

Scheduling and Dispatching Improvements

• Given unrestricted vehicle assignment, vehicle load factors may be significantly increased.

• Administrative burdens associated with scheduling and dispatching are universally reduced because of elimination of redundant paperwork.

• CASD dramatically increases the quality, timeliness and volume of management information from paratransit operations.

• Average call length to schedule a pick-up will likely decrease because passenger ride data is stored in the CASD database with easy access by the dispatcher/scheduler

Quality of Service Improvements

• The most significant impacts of CASD in this application have been on improving quality of service. A variety of service attributes have been positively affected by the CASD implementation.

• Passengers will likely experience greater on-time rates at both pick-up and drop-off.

• Ovearall satisfaction with the service has incareased.

• Customer reporting of ride denials have been reduced.

Coordination Potential

• The CASD System has the potential to aid a service coordination effort. However, significant barriers to coordination exist which are not affected by CASD implemention.

These include poltitical, turf and personality issues. Until such issues are addressed, CASD will have little impact on coordination efforts.

Report Generation

• Report generation became one of the most significant failures of the CASD

implementation. While holding the tremendous potential to give the manager access to real-time, high quality, easy to understand management information, CASD support in report generation was unexpectedly poor.

• Reports are not formatted with a non-technical manager in mind

• Standard reports are far from “standard”, and are difficult to reconfigure and interpret.

• The most useful reports to managers are often ad hoc reports containing information useful only in answering a one-time question or of only local interest. Generating

these kinds of reports requires the manager to develop knowledge of database report construction, often intimidating to a busy manager.

12. Recommendations

12.1 Productivity

• Vehicle assignment limitations must be eliminated to allow the CASD system to optimize vehicle use.

12.2 Management

• Decision-makers must require well defined and pre-formatted training delivery schedules to be included in implementation. An “Up-front” training prerequisite ensures that the accountability and funding necessary for successful implementation will be contractual requirements.

• As CASD is implemented state-wide a user group of managears should meet periodically to exchange information, explain innovations, and discuss issues that have arisin as CASD is used in paratransit operations.

12.2.1 Training

• Training package construction is far from ideal. Operators and funding administrators should not leave this important implementation aspect to chance or “The unique

dynamics of the organization. Each step of the preferred scheduling and dispatch process must be mapped and linked to the new CASD. Once mapped, so that each “old” step of the agency scheduling/dispatching cycle is linked to a specific step in the CASD, each must be assigned as a distinct training goal. Once each step of the scheduling process is identified and made a mandatory training accomplishment, both vendor and paratransit staff will take ownership of respective tasks.

• Dispatchers identified two distinct training tracks – general computer skills, and CASD specific training. General computer training covers information related to such issues as crash recovery, operating system strengths and weaknesses, and error message resolution.

CASD specific training is tightly focused on CASD features and benefits. Training that is limited to bringing a dispatcher to minimum performance in common tasks was described as restrictive and prevented exploitation of the CASD synergy possible if the total system had been introduced. The lesson from this is that a pre-defined and formal

training period must precede installation and “live” implementation of CASD. Despite initial negative comments from all participants, formal, detailed training is a prerequisite to effective use of the CASD.

• Training and reference manuals must be distributed and prominently placed at each computer terminal. Dispatcher comments indicate that manuals have not been in the hands of dispatchers months after implementation.

• Managerial training in developing and interpreting report data is the most often cited failure of CASD at the manager’s level. Vendor training for this extraordinarily

important task is virtually non-existent in our polled managers, but should become part of any implementation effort.

12.2.2 AVL and Mobile Data Terminals

Requirements for run-posting of every transaction degrade data accuracy and prevent real-time assessment of system performance. Allowing both the run-posting and vehicle/passenger time stamps to be accomplished manually works in opposition to the kind of accuracy and data

reliability expected of computer generated reporting and tracking. Allowing manual time stamps means that system performance statistics are nearly as suspect as in the pre-implementation period – the CASD in this role becomes simply a more sophisticated data storage device instead of the revolutionary management tool it potentially represents.

Concurrent implementation of AVL/MDT overcomes the problem of run-posting in that no new personnel need be hired, manifest entries are out of the control of the driver, and no

interpretation or data-entry mistakes will be entered into the system; all providing more accuracy and timeliness.

• AVL/MDT should be implemented a part of a CASD.

12.3 CASD Technology in the Long-Term

• Contract administrators must implement fixes to ensure appropriate training is received by site managers to ensure management can access and understand CASD data.

• Contract managers must ensure that project management support is provided to augment already busy paratransit managers.

• The best evaluation of CASD will follow from implementation of automatic vehicle location devices and mobile data terminals. Lacking those two important CASD

modules, CASD is little more than a customer database, limiting significant productivity changes to administrative reductions.

12.4 Quality

• Allowing unrestricted use of vehicles will impact passenger perceptions of on-time rates more favorably.

12.5 Cost – Effectiveness

• Contract managers must enforce vendor accountability to training, report construction support and software documentation to ensure the potential CASD cost-effectiveness changes.

Appendix A

Rider Survey

1. When was the last time you used the service provided by Greater Peoria Mass Transit