Knowledge & Communication Solutions

SOP For Emergency Management

Scope: As soon as any mechanical or technical issue is reported by the operator, the emergency starts. DO is responsible to take decisions on which option to be chosen between alternate transport or relief bus/cab/mechanic/OurBus existing trips arrangements. 

Alternate transportation is out of the scope for this SOP and CS is responsible & accountable for it.

Service Level Agreement (SLA): Decision Making - 10 minutes

                          Relief Arrangements - 20 minutes

Tools:

1.    Admin Panel (Live trips/full schedule) -  Live Trips & Full Schedule

2.           Ourbus official booking site - OurBus Website

3.           Google Maps - https://www.google.com/maps

4.           Google Chrome - https://www.google.com/

5.           Refer to Axel’s Feedback emails

6.           Relief Bus Arrangement Project (TBD)

7.           Slack - Code Red Channel

8.           Gmail/ Freshdesk Fresh Caller - https://rallybus.freshdesk.com/a/dashboard/default

9.     Bus Companies Map

10.   Emergency reporting form - Emergency form

11.   Code Red Call Notes - Code Red Review Doc/Code Red Call 

Sources: There are 3 sources to become aware of emergencies.

1. DO tracks some issues with buses & reports if it’s an emergency.

Issues can be categorized as:

·       Driver skipping any stop while tracking in live trips.

·       Driver departing early from any pickup stop (especially without picking up all passengers).

·       Bus breaking down in between the trip.

·       Driver dropping off passengers in different stop locations without giving dispatch any prior information about it.

·      Unexpected (or on short notice) trip cancellation due to either bus breakdown or discrepancy in schedule confirmation.

2. CX informs CS about an emergency.

Issues can be categorized as:

·      Emergency with any passenger.

·      Passenger calls and informs about bus issues or drop off stop issues or about not being able to locate the bus, and such queries.

3. TP informs DO about mechanical/technical issues.

Process (Becoming aware of the emergency & informing it on Slack channel) :

1. Report the Emergency on the slack channel #now_code-red (DO/CS), along with the complete information that we are aware of at that given moment which should include the following

• Name of the bus company

• Trip ID

• Trip Route (New York - Binghamton, NY - Ithaca, NY, etc)

• type of emergency

• How many passengers are on the bus (or scheduled to be on the bus) at that time (Look at pick/drop stops and attendance carefully for this)

  • Destination and count of the different passengers going to each location on the trip

• What is the exact location of the bus? This needs to be shared in any of the following manners:

  • Screenshot of the address on the maps 

  • OR Screenshot from the tracking with the bus marked on it 

  • Note: Advisable to share this information as you type it rather than creating one large text with all the information. This will alert others faster.

2. While dispatching, if DO tracks some issues with buses then after confirming with TP or driver, instantly it should be reported in #now_code-red if it’s an emergency. 

Note: Sometimes there might be a heating issue with the bus. So, it requires the driver to stop the bus for 25-30 minutes, to allow the bus to cool down. 

Even though it might go smoothly and the bus might be back rolling, in the next hour or so, we still have to inform in now_code_red by starting the text with FYI - as it could be a possible emergency if it didn't get fixed.

3. Do immediate follow-up about the situation to know the exact location of the Emergency (DO should call TP or check live tracking if trip is live or we can try contacting the driver)

4. Post the Location on the Slack channel  #now_code-red. If the driver is live please take the screenshot as well and paste it.

5. Alternate scenario: when emergency is notified either passengers or transport providers - 

   1. DO should communicate thoroughly with TP’s Dispatch to enquire about the situation. Also, rather than calling them frequently and creating confusion, we can look forward to calling them once every 30 minutes for regular updates.

   2. TP informs DO about the following issues:

   3. DO reports emergency on Slack

      1. DO should be hinting the CS team regarding what information to be processed to the passengers on-board about the ongoing emergency. [Note- Alternate Transportation option to be explored by CS & send communication to the CX every 10-15 minutes.]

Process - Decision Making:

1. Primary task is to identify Emergency Zones

   1. Emergency Zones: Get the exact location of the emergency either by calling the Dispatch/ Driver of the Operator OR 

Go to ‘Live Trips’ on the Admin Panel, maximize the map to the exact location, drag the pegman to the location.

Look into the Street View and take the exact location from top left corner of the map and share on the Slack channel #now code-red

1. DO tracks some issues with buses & reports if it’s an emergency.

   1. DO calls TP’s Dispatch to enquire about the situation. 

   2. Search the TP’s dispatch number in freshcaller.

   3. Contact them. Take the details about what plan of action they are suggesting, if they are sending a mechanic, or sending a relief bus, etc., & how much is the estimated delay as per the TP. 

2. Possible reasons for the Emergency:

   1. Mechanical Issue

   2. Last minute operator’s cancellation

   3. Driver lost/no show/no response

   4. Alternate Transportation 

   5. Weather conditions

   6. Street Closure Issue

   7. Parade Issue

   8. Medical Issue

   9. Policy Issue

   10. Planning Team Issue

   11. Passenger Issue

First plan of action:

Identify if we have any alternative OurBus trip which is running in the same direction as the location of emergency. 

If any such trip is available, then check if the trip is nearby to the location of emergency and how long might it take for the other bus to arrive there. Any ETA under an approximation of 1 hour is acceptable. 

1. Check the following under ‘Full Schedule’ on Admin Panel 

   1. If there’s OurBus nearby or not which is heading in the direction of the emergency location or nearby location.

   2. Check the number of empty seats available on the bus using Confirmed, Canceled & Bus Capacity.

   3. Check in ‘ourbus website’ if we have any trip which is going on the same route at the time of emergency so that we can confirm if any of our existing trips can be put to use.

   4. This can be achieved by 3 ways - checking ourbus booking website, checking full schedule & checking maps of all the live trips 

Note- While checking empty seats always understand how many seats would be available between the stops you’re looking for. The bus might be sold out between 2 stops - let’s say DC & Norfolk but the same bus might have capacity, let’s say between New Brunswick & DC 

2. If there are seats available on the OurBus heading in the same direction,DO contacts TP of that trip via call and explains the scenario.

3. If TP agrees to accommodate the passengers, DO shares the following details with TP/driver as per the bus company & urgency-

   1. Emergency Exact Location

   2. Take the Mile Marker from the driver of the Emergency trip.

   3. Number of Passengers to be accommodated.

   4. Keep taking timely follow-up with the alternative TP, so that the CS team can keep customers informed about the progress.

4. Keep posting all information obtained from the TP in # now_code-red channel in slack.   

5. Also, try to understand if the emergency is of a kind which might require us to stop any further booking to occur on that particular trip. If yes, then put the trip in stop sales mode at the earliest.

Second Scenario: 

If the distance is short, and the number of passengers is less, and we do not have any other OurBus approaching the emergency location then we need to check for ubers. Identify if it’s serving zone or non-serving zone, check on the map here

1. Serving Zones: If Uber is available then it’s serving zone.

If the passengers’ count is less than equal to 12, then send it for alternate transportation.

2. Non- Serving Zones: If Uber isn’t available then it's a non-serving zone. So, initiate the relief bus arrangement process.

If you can Uber at the cost of $25 per passenger, then directly Uber the passenger to their respective final destination

Book at least 3 passengers per Uber X

And 5-6 per Uber XL
Unless they have more luggage and it can’t fit in the car

6. Meanwhile, it is DO’s duty to check and estimate how far (in terms of travel time or miles) the bus is from all the destinations that it’s going to, because we will make a decision about Uber based on the distance to different locations that the users have to get to.

Third Scenario:

The original TP is also likely to send some other bus or some different arrangement (mechanic or repair shops nearby to location of breakdown, and similar) to fix the problem. 

If that is the case, try to understand how much time might it take for the situation to get resolved, as per the information provided by the TP. 

It is advisable to consider the actual time of arrival of a mechanic, repair person, additional bus etc., as 30-40 minutes more, in addition to what was informed by the TP, because of reasons such as time taken to search for a new driver, time taken to look for mechanics etc. 

So, it is recommended to keep the time duration well in mind while deciding whether to keep the passengers waiting or uber them, or look for the closest alternative transportation hub (use wanderu or gotobus for reference).

7. For scenarios related to early departure from stops: Never should we suggest to turn the bus around, as the first plan of action in such situations, as it is a subjective matter. Decision regarding this requires quick analysis of the situation at hand. 

If there is heavy traffic, or many passengers on-board who might get affected, then abstain from turning the bus around. A good rule of thumb is to not turn around a bus if it is more than 10 minutes away (always check if the bus is already on highway, never ask the driver to turn around)

Rather, try rescheduling the passengers. Proceed with alternate transportation / rescheduling / booking uber / refund (as the situation requires)

8. For all types of emergencies, if there's neither an Action Plan shared by the TP nor we have any OurBus heading in the same direction/ nearby the emergency location, look for Relief Bus.

9. Relief Bus

   1. Identify which is the closest bus company from the incident location, using this map. 

2. How to search relief bus companies using the map:

• Take the exact location of the bus breakdown. 

• Search the location in the ‘search bar’ of the map.

• Check the closest available operators.

3. DO calls all nearby bus companies and checks for relief bus availability. 

[Note- Any bus quote under $50 per passenger is automatically approved or contact Axel for approval.]

4. DO confirms if the relief bus will get to the emergency location within 90 minutes from the time that the emergency started. 

5. Keep the information posted in the Slack channel about the correct ETA so that we can keep passengers informed.  

6. If the bus is broken, we cannot wait more than 60 minutes for a tow truck to arrive. 

7. If the ETA of the tow truck is over 60 minutes, proceed with relief bus/alternative transportation. Always tell the bus company how many passengers need to be transported because the company might be able to send a sprinter or a minibus if the passenger count is low.

Follow-up Pointers for the Emergency Trip:

While the emergency is ongoing, make sure to keep the Code Red Review Doc/Code Red Call Notes document open and keep filling the progress in the emergency situation in real-time to facilitate detailed record-keeping of the emergency.

Documents to be filled for the Emergency trip:

Also, after the emergency is over, make sure to fill the Emergency Form by providing all the correct details, on the same day of the emergency.

Roles & Responsibilities : 

RACI Model for Process Execution: Please read R as Responsible; A as Accountable; C as Consulted ; I as Informed

*Planning: PN; Customer Service: CS; Accounting Finance : AT; Dispatch Operations: DO; Transport Provider : TP; Bus Operations: BO; Customers: CU*

Execution model:

Quality Check (QC):

Compliance Assessment (CA): Yes/No, if no what’s the reason?

Business Continuity Plan (BCP):