Many transit agencies have implemented automatic vehicle location (AVL)/computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems to manage real-time bus operations. Such systems generate large quantities of data, while dispatchers typically do not have sufficient time to digest the data for decision making or recognize patters of operational problems in a normal operating environment.

A solution to this overflow of information is a decision support tool for dispatchers: Transit Operations Decision Support Systems (TODSS). This system supports dispatchers during real-time bus operations management in response to incidents, special events, and other changing conditions to help restore service when disruptions occur.

Trapeze ITS (formerly Continental/Siemens VDO Public Transit Solutions) developed TransitMaster Intelligent Decision Support (IDS) together with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office (JPO), Booz Allen Hamilton, and Pace Suburban Bus in Arlington Heights, IL, as the next generation of CAD/AVL systems. The major improvements of IDS in relation to current CAD/AVL implementations are the abilities to:
* Include external sources of information with the CAD/AVL messages to provide a complete “operational picture”;
* Define and set the threshold and priority level for service disruptions;
* Implement various service restoration options and strategies to be associated with each service disruption type; and
* Work with a user interface that automatically provides a prioritized list of identified service disruptions including associated service restoration options.

TransitMaster IDS continuously monitors various sources of information, such as CAD system messages, web, RSS feeds, and e-mail, displaying only those events that require dispatcher attention. When incidents are selected, the system guides the dispatcher through the CAD/AVL system to quickly gain situational awareness. IDS then provides a checklist of action items to perform to resolve the incident.

IDS service restoration options include an easy link to associated dispatch reference documents such as service memorandum, policy and procedure manuals, or related material.

Following the implementation, participants saw significant results. All levels of management personnel and dispatchers have confirmed that the TransitMaster IDS functions have improved service performance, dispatcher response times, the quality of the dispatcher responses, uniformity of action among dispatchers, and real-time operations communications beyond the dispatch center. Some concrete examples:
* The number of data messages displayed to dispatchers decreased by more than 60 percent because only incidents requiring attention were shown;
* Voice communications between drivers and dispatchers declined 30 percent because drivers received better assistance from the dispatchers; and
* Incident reports decreased 36 percent due to automated e-mail notifications to decision makers. Integrated internet and e-mail capabilities provide more immediate internal and external communications, where management becomes more directly informed and involved in day-to-day operations.

TransitMaster IDS is a successful implementation of TODSS, improving service performance and real-time operations management. The next steps will be to integrate real-time data intelligently with executive decision-making tools within other ITS efforts such as Integrated Corridor Management and others.

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