This manual will be of interest to new transit schedulers, experienced schedulers, transit planners, operating staff, and others who need to be conversant with the scheduling process. The materials clearly describe all steps in the bus and light rail scheduling process. Scheduling is a craft, whether executed manually or with computer assistance. New employees of transit scheduling departments need training in this craft to do their job, and experienced schedulers require retraining to fill gaps in their knowledge. The best known reference guide on this topic was issued in 1946; it does not reflect modern information technology or operating conditions. Therefore, a new transit scheduling manual, suitable for use in a training course, was needed by the transit industry. Under TCRP Project A-11, Transit Scheduling: A Manual with Materials, research was undertaken by Transportation Management & Design of Solana Beach, California, to prepare a transit scheduling manual that incorporates modern training techniques for bus and light rail transit scheduling. The manual consists of two sections: a basic treatment and an advanced section. The basic-level section is in an instructional format designed primarily for novice schedulers and other transit staff. The advanced section covers more complex scheduling requirements. Each section may be used sequentially or independently and is designed to integrate with agency apprenticeship and on-the-job training. To achieve the project objective of producing an updated transit scheduling manual, the researchers conducted a review of literature and existing practices to identify methods used to schedule transit vehicles and personnel; conducted site visits at a cross-section of transit agencies to establish the state of practice; prepared a glossary to define scheduling terminology and identify common synonyms; and developed a manual that outlines the steps in a model scheduling process. These steps include both manual and microcomputer applications using standard commercial spreadsheet software. The basic-level training section was evaluated at two mid-sized transit systems and at one smaller midwest university. The advanced training section was evaluated at two larger, multimodal transit systems. The findings indicate that the content and design of the manual effectively and efficiently meet a need for practical, structured and documented transit scheduling training materials applicable to both transit and non-transit participants with varying degrees of transit experience and need. (A)
Samenvatting