From automatic notifications to turn-by-turn directions for operators, Vontas Disruption Management keeps you on top of the situation.
In this episode of Inside Vontas, Tris Hussey, Producer of Transit Unplugged and I chat with Matt Goedken about Disruption Management and how Vontas OnRoute smooths out the bumps in the service disruption road.
Listen to the chat or read the summary below:
There is no one-size-fits-all disruption
There are only three guarantees in life: death, taxes, and (transit) service disruptions. Whether it’s a football game, construction, or a global pandemic, service disruptions happen all the time. While service planners create ideal-scenario schedules based on a tremendous amount of data, something always happens to throw a wrench into those plans. And when plans don’t work out, planners need to deal with them on the fly.
There is more than one way to manage accidents, construction, weather, events, or whatever is thrown at planners. Agencies need solutions with tools like:
- Automatic notifications to drivers and riders
- Flexibly to create new routes, bus bridges, and deploying extra vehicles as needed.
- Turn-by-turn navigation for alternate routes
- Saving frequently used disruption plans to use over and over
And these tools need to be integrated into Yard Management, Workforce Management, and even EAM, so everyone knows what’s going on and what’s needed to manage the disruption.
Paper and pencil won’t cut it
You can’t manage disruptions on the back of an envelope. There are too many different moving pieces to keep everything running smoothly. Most agencies still do a lot of manual work and use outdated systems that are simply not capable of handling disruptions the way OnRoute can. I find a lot of agencies were still using spreadsheets or handwritten notes to create plans and then calling drivers to let them know what to do. OnRoute makes disruption management seamless and easy for everyone: drivers, planners, dispatchers, and riders.
Managing expected, and unexpected, disruptions
There are the things you know are going to disrupt service: construction, events, maintenance. Then there is the rest of the stuff. COVID-19 which forced transit agencies to reduce service at a moment’s notice and plan new capacity-limited routes. It became a balancing act to figure out how many buses to run and keep capacities low for safety. A sudden surge would require quickly deploying more buses onto a route and then readjust when it tapered off. As things have returned to “normal” agencies are running buses and trains at full capacity, but they still have to manage the usual disruption suspects.
How Vontas OnRoute and ITS make your life easier
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Automation, presets, communications, and directions are incredible tools that Vontas OnRoute and ITS provide so agencies can adjust service on the fly. Whether it’s adding or cancelling a service, drawing a quick detour, or notifying drivers, Vontas has what you need to manage disruption. We found once that agencies embrace the new technology, they quickly see how much it makes their job’s easier. We can schedule Q&As, on-site or Zoom demos for you to show OnRoute Disruption Management in action. Existing customers can take advantage of onsite training to get up to speed faster and learn all the ins and outs of the tools. You can find information on our website Vontas.com or reach out to myself and our technical solutions team.