PT03: Dynamic Transit Operations
The Dynamic Transit Operations service package allows travelers to request trips and obtain itineraries using a personal device such as a smart phone, tablet, or personal computer. The trips and itineraries cover multiple transportation services (public transportation modes, private transportation services, shared-ride, walking and biking). This service package builds on existing technology systems such as computer-aided dispatch/ automated vehicle location (CAD/AVL) systems and automated scheduling software, providing a coordination function within and between transit providers that would dynamically schedule and dispatch or modify the route of an in-service vehicle by matching compatible trips together. TI06 covers other shared use transportation options.
Relevant Regions: Australia, Canada, European Union, and United States
Physical
The physical diagram can be viewed in SVG or PNG format and the current format is SVG.SVG Diagram
PNG Diagram
Includes Physical Objects:
| Physical Object | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Transit Vehicle | Vehicle | The 'Basic Transit Vehicle' represents the transit vehicle that hosts the on-board equipment that provides ITS functions. It includes a specialized and extended databus that is subject to different vehicle databus standards and hosts a broad range of components that are unique to a transit vehicle including the farebox and associated electronics, passenger counters, and transit security systems. The Transit Vehicle may represent a bus, paratransit vehicle, light rail vehicle, or other vehicle designed to carry passengers. |
| Maint and Constr Management Center | Center | The 'Maint and Constr Management Center' monitors and manages roadway infrastructure construction and maintenance activities. Representing both public agencies and private contractors that provide these functions, this physical object manages fleets of maintenance, construction, or special service vehicles (e.g., snow and ice control equipment). The physical object receives a wide range of status information from these vehicles and performs vehicle dispatch, routing, and resource management for the vehicle fleets and associated equipment. The physical object participates in incident response by deploying maintenance and construction resources to an incident scene, in coordination with other center physical objects. The physical object manages equipment at the roadside, including environmental sensors and automated systems that monitor and mitigate adverse road and surface weather conditions. It manages the repair and maintenance of both non-ITS and ITS equipment including the traffic controllers, detectors, dynamic message signs, signals, and other equipment associated with the roadway infrastructure. Weather information is collected and fused with other data sources and used to support advanced decision support systems. The physical object remotely monitors and manages ITS capabilities in work zones, gathering, storing, and disseminating work zone information to other systems. It manages traffic in the vicinity of the work zone and advises drivers of work zone status (either directly at the roadside or through an interface with the Transportation Information Center or Traffic Management Center physical objects.) Construction and maintenance activities are tracked and coordinated with other systems, improving the quality and accuracy of information available regarding closures and other roadway construction and maintenance activities. |
| Personal Information Device | Personal | The 'Personal Information Device' provides the capability for travelers to receive formatted traveler information wherever they are. Capabilities include traveler information, trip planning, and route guidance. Frequently a smart phone, the Personal Information Device provides travelers with the capability to receive route planning and other personally focused transportation services from the infrastructure in the field, at home, at work, or while en-route. Personal Information Devices may operate independently or may be linked with vehicle on-board equipment. This subsystem also supports safety related services with the capability to broadcast safety messages and initiate a distress signal or request for help. |
| Traffic Management Center | Center | The 'Traffic Management Center' monitors and controls traffic and the road network. It represents centers that manage a broad range of transportation facilities including freeway systems, rural and suburban highway systems, and urban and suburban traffic control systems. It communicates with ITS Roadway Equipment and Connected Vehicle Roadside Equipment (RSE) to monitor and manage traffic flow and monitor the condition of the roadway, surrounding environmental conditions, and field equipment status. It manages traffic and transportation resources to support allied agencies in responding to, and recovering from, incidents ranging from minor traffic incidents through major disasters. |
| Transit Management Center | Center | The 'Transit Management Center' manages transit vehicle fleets and coordinates with other modes and transportation services. It provides operations, maintenance, customer information, planning and management functions for the transit property. It spans distinct central dispatch and garage management systems and supports the spectrum of fixed route, flexible route, paratransit services, transit rail, and bus rapid transit (BRT) service. The physical object's interfaces support communication between transit departments and with other operating entities such as emergency response services and traffic management systems. |
| Transit Operations Personnel | Center | 'Transit Operations Personnel' represents the people that are responsible for fleet management, maintenance operations, and scheduling activities of the transit system. These different roles represent a variety of individuals in the transit industry. Within the transit industry the person responsible for fleet management is known by many names: Street Supervisor, Starter, Dispatcher, Supervisor, Traffic Controller, Transportation Coordinator. This person actively monitors, controls, and modifies the transit fleet routes and schedules on a day to day basis (dynamic scheduling). The modifications will take account of abnormal situations such as vehicle breakdown, vehicle delay, detours around work zones or incidents (detour management, connection protection, and service restoration), and other causes of route or schedule deviations. Transit operations personnel are also responsible for demand responsive transit operation and for managing emergency situations within the transit network such as silent alarms on board transit vehicles, or the remote disabling of the vehicle. In addition the Transit Operations Personnel may be responsible for assigning vehicle operators to routes, checking vehicle operators in and out, and managing transit stop issues. This object also represents the personnel in the transit garage that are responsible for maintenance of the transit fleets, including monitoring vehicle status, matching vehicles with operators, and maintenance checking of transit vehicles. Finally, it represents the people responsible for planning, development, and management of transit routes and schedules. |
| Transit Vehicle OBE | Vehicle | The 'Transit Vehicle On-Board Equipment' (OBE) resides in a transit vehicle and provides the sensory, processing, storage, and communications functions necessary to support safe and efficient movement of passengers. The types of transit vehicles containing this physical object include buses, paratransit vehicles, light rail vehicles, other vehicles designed to carry passengers, and supervisory vehicles. It collects ridership levels and supports electronic fare collection. It supports a traffic signal prioritization function that communicates with the roadside physical object to improve on-schedule performance. Automated vehicle location enhances the information available to the transit operator enabling more efficient operations. On-board sensors support transit vehicle maintenance. The physical object supports on-board security and safety monitoring. This monitoring includes transit user or vehicle operator activated alarms (silent or audible), as well as surveillance and sensor equipment. The surveillance equipment includes video (e.g. CCTV cameras), audio systems and/or event recorder systems. It also furnishes travelers with real-time travel information, continuously updated schedules, transfer options, routes, and fares. A separate 'Vehicle OBE' physical object supports the general vehicle safety and driver information capabilities that apply to all vehicles, including transit vehicles. The Transit Vehicle OBE supplements these general capabilities with capabilities that are specific to transit vehicles. |
| Transit Vehicle Operator | Vehicle | The 'Transit Vehicle Operator' represents the person that receives and provides additional information that is specific to operating the ITS functions in all types of transit vehicles. The information received by the operator would include status of on-board systems. Additional information received depends upon the type of transit vehicle. In the case of fixed route transit vehicles, the Transit Vehicle Operator would receive operator instructions that might include actions to take to correct schedule deviations. In the case of flexible fixed routes and demand response routes the information would also include dynamic routing or passenger pickup information. |
| Transportation Information Center | Center | The 'Transportation Information Center' collects, processes, stores, and disseminates transportation information to system operators and the traveling public. The physical object can play several different roles in an integrated ITS. In one role, the TIC provides a data collection, fusing, and repackaging function, collecting information from transportation system operators and redistributing this information to other system operators in the region and other TICs. In this information redistribution role, the TIC provides a bridge between the various transportation systems that produce the information and the other TICs and their subscribers that use the information. The second role of a TIC is focused on delivery of traveler information to subscribers and the public at large. Information provided includes basic advisories, traffic and road conditions, transit schedule information, yellow pages information, ride matching information, and parking information. The TIC is commonly implemented as a website or a web-based application service, but it represents any traveler information distribution service. |
| Traveler | Personal | The 'Traveler' represents any individual who uses transportation services. The interfaces to the traveler provide general pre-trip and en-route information supporting trip planning, personal guidance, and requests for assistance in an emergency that are relevant to all transportation system users. It also represents users of a public transportation system and addresses interfaces these users have within a transit vehicle or at transit facilities such as roadside stops and transit centers. |
Includes Functional Objects:
| Functional Object | Description | Physical Object |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Trip Planning and Route Guidance | 'Personal Trip Planning and Route Guidance' provides a personalized trip plan to the traveler. The trip plan is calculated based on preferences and constraints supplied by the traveler and provided to the traveler for confirmation. Coordination may continue during the trip so that the route plan can be modified to account for new information. Many equipment configurations are possible including systems that provide a basic trip plan to the traveler as well as more sophisticated systems that can provide transition by transition guidance to the traveler along a multi-modal route with transfers. Devices represented by this functional object include desktop computers at home, work, or at major trip generation sites, plus personal devices such as tablets and smart phones. | Personal Information Device |
| TIC Data Collection | 'TIC Data Collection' collects transportation-related data from other centers, performs data quality checks on the collected data and then consolidates, verifies, and refines the data and makes it available in a consistent format to applications that support operational data sharing between centers and deliver traveler information to end-users. A broad range of data is collected including traffic and road conditions, transit data, emergency information and advisories, weather data, special event information, traveler services, parking, multimodal data, and toll/pricing data. It also shares data with other transportation information centers. | Transportation Information Center |
| TIC Trip Planning | 'TIC Trip Planning' provides pre-trip and en route trip planning services for travelers. It receives origin, destination, constraints, and preferences and returns trip plan(s) that meet the supplied criteria. Trip plans may be based on current traffic and road conditions, transit schedule information, and other real-time traveler information. Candidate trip plans are multimodal and may include vehicle, transit, and alternate mode segments (e.g., rail, ferry, bicycle routes, and walkways) based on traveler preferences. It also confirms the trip plan for the traveler and supports reservations and advanced payment for portions of the trip. The trip plan includes specific routing information and instructions for each segment of the trip and may also include information and reservations for additional services (e.g., parking) along the route. | Transportation Information Center |
| Transit Center Operator Assignment | 'Transit Center Operator Assignment' automates and supports the assignment of transit vehicle operators to runs. It assigns operators to runs in a fair manner while minimizing labor and overtime services, considering operator preferences and qualifications, and automatically tracking and validating the number of work hours performed by each individual operator. It also provides an exception handling process for the operator assignment function to generate supplemental operator assignments when required by changes during the operating day. | Transit Management Center |
| Transit Center Paratransit Operations | 'Transit Center Paratransit Operations' manages demand responsive transit services, including paratransit services. It supports planning and scheduling of these services, allowing paratransit and other demand response transit services to plan efficient routes and better estimate arrival times. It also supports automated dispatch of paratransit vehicles and tracks passenger pick-ups and drop-offs. Customer service operator systems are updated with the most current schedule information. | Transit Management Center |
| Transit Vehicle On-Board Paratransit Operations | 'Transit Vehicle On-board Paratransit Operations' forwards paratransit and flexible-route dispatch requests to the operator and forwards acknowledgements to the center. It coordinates with, and assists the operator in managing multi-stop runs associated with demand responsive transit services including paratransit. It collects transit vehicle passenger data and makes it available to the center. | Transit Vehicle OBE |
Includes Information Flows:
| Information Flow | Description |
|---|---|
| current infrastructure restrictions | Restrictions levied on transportation asset usage based on infrastructure design, surveys, tests, or analyses. This includes standard facility design height, width, and weight restrictions, special restrictions such as spring weight restrictions, and temporary facility restrictions that are imposed during maintenance and construction. |
| demand response passenger and use data | Data collected on board a demand response vehicle relating to the picking up and discharging of passengers. |
| demand responsive transit plan | Plan regarding overall demand responsive transit schedules and deployment. |
| demand responsive transit request | Request for paratransit support. |
| host transit vehicle status | Information provided to the ITS on-board equipment from other systems on the Transit Vehicle Platform. |
| incident information | Notification of existence of incident and expected severity, location, time and nature of incident. As additional information is gathered and the incident evolves, updated incident information is provided. Incidents include any event that impacts transportation system operation ranging from routine incidents (e.g., disabled vehicle at the side of the road) through large-scale natural or human-caused disasters that involve loss of life, injuries, extensive property damage, and multi-jurisdictional response. This also includes special events, closures, and other planned events that may impact the transportation system. |
| road network conditions | Current and forecasted traffic information, road and weather conditions, and other road network status. Either raw data, processed data, or some combination of both may be provided by this flow. Information on diversions and alternate routes, closures, and special traffic restrictions (lane/shoulder use, weight restrictions, width restrictions, HOV requirements) in effect is included. |
| roadway maintenance status | Summary of maintenance fleet operations affecting the road network. This includes the status of winter maintenance (snow plow schedule and current status). |
| route assignment | Route assignment information for transit vehicle operator. |
| traffic image meta data | Meta data that describes traffic images. Traffic images (video) are in another flow. |
| traffic images | High fidelity, real-time traffic images suitable for surveillance monitoring by the operator or for use in machine vision applications. This flow includes the images. Meta data that describes the images is contained in another flow. |
| transit and fare schedules | Transit service information including routes, schedules, and fare information. This also includes on-demand service information. |
| transit operations personnel input | User input from transit operations personnel including instructions governing service availability, schedules, emergency response plans, transit personnel assignments, transit maintenance requirements, and other inputs that establish general system operating requirements and procedures. |
| transit operations status | Presentation of information to transit operations personnel including accumulated schedule and fare information, ridership and on-time performance information, emergency response plans, transit personnel information, maintenance records, and other information intended to support overall planning and management of a transit property. |
| transit schedule adherence information | Dynamic transit schedule adherence and transit vehicle location information. |
| transit vehicle operator availability | Transit vehicle operator availability data that can be used to develop vehicle operator assignments and detailed operations schedules. |
| transit vehicle operator display | Visual, audible, and tactile outputs to the transit vehicle operator including vehicle surveillance information, alarm information, vehicle system status, information from the operations center, and information indicating the status of all other on-board ITS services. |
| transit vehicle operator information | Transit service instructions, wide area alerts, traffic information, road conditions, and other information for both transit and paratransit operators. |
| transit vehicle operator input | Transit vehicle operator inputs to on-board ITS equipment, including tactile and verbal inputs. Includes authentication information, on-board system control, emergency requests, and fare transaction data. |
| traveler input | User input from a traveler to summon assistance, request travel information, make a reservation, or request any other traveler service. |
| traveler interface updates | Visual or audio information (e.g., routes, messages, guidance, emergency information) that is provided to the traveler. |
| trip confirmation | Acknowledgement by the driver/traveler of acceptance of a trip plan with associated personal and payment information required to confirm reservations. Conversely, this flow may also reject the proposed trip plan. Confirmations include the selected route and subsequent trip confirmation messages will be issued for route changes. |
| trip feedback | Information provided during or at the conclusion of a trip that supports performance monitoring and system optimization. Information provided may include a record of the trip including HOV/HOT lane usage and user provided feedback at the conclusion of the trip. |
| trip plan | A travel itinerary covering single or multimodal travel. The itinerary identifies a route and associated traveler information and instructions identifying recommended trip modes (including indoor and outdoor wayfinding) and transfer information, ride sharing options, and transit and parking reservation information. This flow also includes intermediate information that is provided as the trip plan is interactively created, including identification of alternatives, requests for additional information as well as amenities along the trip. |
| trip request | Request for trip planning services that identifies the trip origin, destination(s), timing, preferences, and constraints. The request may also include the requestor's location or a request for transit and parking reservations, electric charging station access, and ridesharing options associated with the trip. The trip request also covers requests to revise a previously planned trip and interim updates that are provided as the trip is interactively planned. |
| user profile | Information provided to register for a travel service and create a user account. The provided information includes personal identification, traveler preferences (e.g., travel mode, micro-mobility options, accessibility needs, and assistance needs), priorities for the preferences, device information, a user ID and password, and information to support payment transactions, if applicable. |
| work zone information | Summary of maintenance and construction work zone activities affecting the road network including the nature of the maintenance or construction activity, location, impact to the roadway, expected time(s) and duration of impact, anticipated delays, alternate routes, and suggested speed limits. This information may be augmented with images that provide a visual indication of current work zone status and traffic impacts. |
Goals and Objectives
Associated Planning Factors and Goals
| Planning Factor | Goal |
|---|---|
| D. Increase the accessibility and mobility of people and for freight; | Reduce congestion |
| F. Enhance the integration and connectivity of the transportation system, across and between modes, for people and freight; | Enhance integration and connectivity |
| G. Promote efficient system management and operation; | Improve efficiency |
| I. Improve the resiliency and reliability of the transportation system and reduce or mitigate stormwater impacts of surface transportation; | Improve resiliency and reliability |
| J. Enhance travel and tourism. | Support travel and tourism |
Associated Objective Categories 
Associated Objectives and Performance Measures
Since the mapping between objectives and service packages is not always straight-forward and often situation-dependent, these mappings should only be used as a starting point. Users should do their own analysis to identify the best service packages for their region.