Today, Optibus announced the launch of the Optibus Calendar, which makes it easier for transportation agencies and operators to view and manage all of their operational plans in one place.
With the Optibus Calendar, users gain greater visibility and insight into their operation and services. The user-friendly interface offers an easy-to-understand yet comprehensive view of operational plans, special service days, total key performance indicators (KPIs) such as costs, deadheads, distance, and more for their desired time frame. Service plans and operational details can be analyzed at all levels, be it a high-level monthly or quarterly overview or a more detailed day-to-day view.
“With the Calendar, there is no confusion about services. It's all right there in front of us. It is simple and easy to use, which is just what you want,” said Paul Borthwick, Operations and Systems Supervisor at West Coast Motors, a bus and coach operator in Scotland.
The Optibus Calendar allows users to manage and adjust all their operational plans in a calendar view, so they always know what's ahead. They can easily add their operational plans for the entire month (or longer) in a single click.
By viewing everything in one place, users save significant time and effort, stay informed about what’s ahead, and can take immediate action to improve services.
"The Calendar allows us to quickly see which schedules are linked to what we're going to export, which is super helpful for troubleshooting. Also, being able to just click the day, change the schedule, and go - that is a far simpler approach to special service days. This Calendar will really help our operation. I can't wait to use it,” said Joe Berry, Data Communications Technician at the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTA) in Pennsylvania, USA.
With the Optibus Calendar, users can easily view special service days, such as holidays, election days, and more.
All the high-level and granular detail in the Calendar is easy to extract and analyze. Users can quickly extract data and plans using Optibus’ Calendar API and use that information to build reports and operational assessments.
"The Calendar is going to save us a lot of time and work by replacing our manual operational planning process," said Duarte Cunha, Planning and Operational Control Manager at Transportes Sul do Tejo (TST), an Arriva company based in Portugal.
"The Calendar will allow us to improve the way we share schedule information in Optibus within the business and across departments. It gives other users access to the correct schedules and data, avoiding the need for the schedules team to always have to provide this data," said Alastair Willis, Head Of Commercial at Abellio London.
View KPIs for any given time frame, including total mileage, total costs, deadhead mileage, and more.
The Calendar was designed with operators and agencies in mind with the help of design partners and beta users worldwide, including Abellio (London, UK), Transportes Sul do Tejo (Portugal), Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority - LANTA (Pennsylvania, USA), and West Coast Motors (Scotland).
“People on the ground using the product are the ones who should be heard and involved in making the software. It has been great in every kind of way to be involved in Optibus' product development and shape the future,” said Paul.
The Calendar is now available at no additional cost to users of Optibus’ Scheduling product, which uses advanced optimization algorithms and machine learning to help make vehicle and crew scheduling faster and more efficient.