|
One senior citizen standing at a bus stop turns to
another and says, “What time does the 11A bus come this
way?”
“Well,” says the other. “I’m not sure. I usually catch
the number 17. It takes me to meet up with the number
six bus, so I can get home in time for my soap opera.
But if I miss the 17 at the half hour mark, it’s another
hour before I can meet up with the six. I can also take
the number 13, but that leaves me having to transfer two
more times instead of just one. So, I make sure I’m here
five minutes early for the 17, because sometimes he’s
here early.”
“I see,” says the first octogenarian. “So, when did you
say the 11A stops here?”
Bus routes and other transportation schedules are math
problems that only transportation software can
solve. Depending on the size of the system, the
frequency of running times and the needs of the people
using the transportation in question, this type of
scheduling can be a nightmare. It’s a complicated
system no human should be expected to tackle without the
use of automated software.
Even if the system is not as massive as some city bus
schedules, it’s still useful. Public transit, Para
transit, dial-a-ride, rideshare, welfare-to-work, and
medical transportation can all benefit from a finely
tuned system developed by software. It can also help
businesses needing to schedule duty and crew planning,
which could be a math puzzle all on its own. By making
the scheduling process less complicated, the schedules
themselves become easy for anyone to follow. There’s no
way anyone should try to lay out a complete and doable
transportation schedule without the help of computer
software |
