How to dispatch any trip?
Scope: An hour prior to the commencement of each trip, the assigned driver needs to login to the OurBus Drivers application through their android device and then needs to start that certain trip in the application to facilitate the live tracking of the trip.
Service Level Agreement (SLA): 2-3 minutes
Tools: Android device, Vonage, email.
Roles & Responsibilities :
RACI Model for Process Execution: Please read R as Responsible; A as Accountable; C as Consulted ; I as Informed
*Dispatch Operations: DO; Transport Provider : TP; Bus Driver: BD; Customer: CX*
Table 1.0 (Driver has android device & will login)
RACI Model for Process Execution: Please read R as Responsible; A as Accountable; C as Consulted ; I as Informed
* Customer Service: CS; Dispatch Operations: DO; Transport Provider : TP; Bus Driver: BD; Customer: CX*
Table 2.0 (Driver doesn’t have android device & won’t login)
Process:
One hour prior to the actual start time of the trip, refresh the ‘Live Trips’ page on the admin panel and check if the driver has come live or not.
If the driver has already come live:
Tap on the trip ID and it will take you to the trip of the driver that we want to check. The red ‘circle-like’ options show you how much time it will take the driver, ideally, to reach the destination.
Keep tracking the driver on the admin panel and ensure that the driver reaches the destination at or before the departure time, if not before 15 minutes to the departure time.
If you find that there is going to be any delay in the spotting of the bus at the departure stop, then inform it in the ‘Now_Delay_Notification’ channel of slack in the format ‘Trip ID / Stop name / delayed spot time’
If the driver hasn’t come live:
Get the driver's number from ‘Full Schedule’ in the admin panel, and drop a text message to the driver, asking them to log in to the trip in the OurBus Drivers app.
Check after 5 minutes to see if the driver has come online or not.
If you see the driver live, follow step 2.
If the driver doesn't come live on the admin panel, after 5 minutes, then call the dispatch team of the transport provider and tell them to ask their driver to login to the app.
Dispatch team says that the driver will login, then wait for 10 minutes and check if the trip is live now. If the trip shows live, follow step 2.
Dispatch team says that the driver will come live but the driver hasn’t come live in the next 10 minutes, then follow up with the dispatch team again. If they mention that the driver is facing some issue in logging in, then call up the driver and assist them in resolving the issue that they are facing in logging in. If the issue is resolved and the driver is live, follow step 2.
If the issue in logging in doesn’t get resolved and the driver can’t login then follow the next steps.
If the Dispatch team mentions that the driver will not be able to login, or the driver is facing some issue in logging in to the app, which isn’t getting resolved, then send the passenger list to the driver, via text message.
But if their dispatch says that the driver will not login, ask them for an update 30 minutes before the departure time. (Update about the ETA to the first pickup location)
After departure from the first location, if the driver gives you the headcount, then it's fine, otherwise call the operator's dispatch office and ask for the headcount.
For intermediate pickup locations, set the alarm in the timer sheet for 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time and call the operator's dispatch office when the alarm rings and confirm the ETA of the driver to the next stop. If there is any delay to the next stop, then inform it in the ‘Now_Delay_Notification’ channel of slack in the format ‘Trip ID / Stop name / delayed by how many minutes'.
It is always advisable to first contact the dispatch operators of the Transport Providers, before directly reaching out to the drivers via call. But, being said so, if at any point, after multiple attempts, the dispatcher isn’t able to get a hold of the transport provider, then write them an email "Hi operator. We tried calling you to get an update about the driver's ETA to the next stop but couldn't reach you. Please provide the correct ETA"
Even then, if there’s no response, then consider calling the driver to know their ETA to the next stop.
TRACKING DELAYS:
When driver is live:
Tap on the trip ID, the trip route will show up on the map, on the live trips section in the admin panel. Upcoming stops are highlighted in the form of red circles. The digits mentioned on the red circle show how much time will the bus take to reach at that next stop. For e.g., ‘00:26’ means 26 minutes to the next stop, ‘01:15’ means 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the next stop. These are called ATA’s - Actual Time of Arrival.
Also, if we tap on the red-circles at, it will show us the name of the stop along with the ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival).
If at any point of tracking, you find that ATA > ETA, then the bus is delayed by (ATA-ETA) minutes.
Inform the delay in the ‘Now_Delay_Notification’ channel of slack in the format ‘Trip ID / Stop name / delayed by how many minutes'
When driver isn’t live:
In the timer sheet, set an alarm for 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time and call the operator's dispatch office when the alarm rings and confirm the ETA of the driver to the next stop. If there is any delay to the next stop, then inform it in the ‘Now_Delay_Notification’ channel of slack in the format ‘Trip ID / Stop name / delayed by how many minutes'.
INCIDENT REPORTING & FOLLOW UP :
During a trip, there can be various types of incidents that might occur, which might hamper the journey experience of the passengers. We try to maintain a detailed log of these incidents, and take proper follow-up about why these occurred, how can we minimize or eradicate these incidents in the future trips, what better way could it have been handled, and so on.
Some of the high-priority incidents include, drivers departing from a stop prior to their departure time, driver taking long hauls at unannounced stops, driver skipping any intermediate stop and moving ahead, and such.
While live tracking, if we ever come across any such incident, then it should be posted in the ‘Now_Dispatch’ channel of Slack, at the earliest.
Then, the dispatch operator should make a call to the dispatch office of the Transport Provider to make them aware of the situation, to understand why this incident occurred and coordinated communication should be done with the transport provider to get it resolved.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT:
During an emergency situation, always call the operator dispatch first to understand why the emergency occurred and what is the plan of action.
If they don't answer, then call the driver to get an update about the situation.
After the emergency is resolved, write an email to the operator, stating that ‘We tried reaching out to you during the emergency but couldn't reach you and that's why we directly called the driver.’
DRIVER SUPPORT (INBOUND CALLS)
Sometimes, during the course of a trip, the dispatcher might get inbound calls from the driver, wherein they might be needing assistance related to some query/confusion in regard to the trip that they are covering.
It is essential to pay keen attention while answering these calls and guiding the drivers through their confusion, to simplify the process for them.
Some of the frequent yet important questions that some drivers might come up with are - assistance needed in logging in to the drivers app, some passengers asking to board the bus but their name doesn’t show up on the passenger list, confusion related to departure time from the intermediate stops, and so on.\
FOLLOW-UP & OFFLINE SUPPORT:
For every incident, query, confusion or information that is needed by the driver or their dispatch team, it is necessary that we have correct follow-up in the form of inbound/outbound calls and emails.
DRIVER APP TECH SUPPORT:
Sometimes, the drivers might face some trouble in logging in to the OurBus drivers application.
This otherwise seemingly tedious process can be easily resolved by calling up the driver and guiding them and resolving the issue.
Some common mistakes that usually drivers make while logging in are - not using the registered mobile number as username, confusion about the login password, forgetting to hit the ‘Slide to start’ button after selecting the trip, downloading the wrong application from the playstore, and so on.
Having a driver online in the admin portal, gives us the flexibility of tracking the driver in real-time, staying updated about what route the driver is taking, when is he/she departing from each stop, saves us the hassle of repeatedly having to call the transport provider’s dispatch office to know the whereabouts of the trip.
Hence, sincere efforts should be made towards assisting the driver in logging in to the OurBus Drivers app.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE:
It is a precautionary habit, wherein we try to jot down scheduled trip for the upcoming week, with each one of our operators/transport providers, from the ‘Full Schedule’ section of the admin panel; and then mail each Transport provider/operator, their next week’s schedule in advance. The mail contains the details schedule with the date, trip ID, trip route and start and end time of the trips.
This practice ensures that both OurBus dispatchers as well as the Transport provider/operator’s dispatchers are on the same page about their next week's trips and their schedules.
SMS TO DRIVERS:
If at all any information needs to be relayed to the driver during their journey, then it is advisable to first contact their dispatch, or else drop a text message to the driver, which they can check at their convenience. Calling a driver while they are driving is not a suitable option.
Note:
Credentials for driver to login -
Username - Driver’s registered phone number (check for the registered phone number of the driver in our admin portal)
Password - 123456
Execution model: Based on RACI Model
Quality Check (QC): NA
Compliance Assessment (CA): Yes/No, if no, what's the reason - No
Business Continuity Plan (BCP): NA
Work-Load assessment: 6 minutes
Process to be followed from planning a trip to executing it:-
Planning team plans a trip and adds it to the admin panel. (Show demo if required)
I get an email regarding the same.
I add that trip to the sheet ‘Planned Trips Assignment 2020’.
Next step is to contact the bus companies. For reference we have “Bus Companies Locations map’ https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1GtfMOukvOoyVFv8VVEab1pfe285HyQZG&ll=42.18866729139977%2C-72.8219597019531&z=8
I send emails to the listed companies asking them if they have buses available for the required date and what will be the cost.
After I receive a confirmation from the bus company, I publish the trip on the website to start the ticket sales.
Now 1 week before the trip, we send ‘Weekly Schedule’ email to all the bus companies who are working in the upcoming week to make sure that we are all on the same page and there is no mismatch in the trips.
Now 1 day before the date of trip, we send emails to the bus companies asking the driver’s details for that trip, mainly the name and number of the driver.
After we receive the driver’s details, the next step is to assign the driver.
Now, on the day of the trip, the driver is supposed to log in to the application 1 hour before the departure time.
Now the next step is to track the bus and find out if it will reach on time or not to the intermediate stops. For this we use a ‘Timer Sheet’ (Excel sheet with some formulas and macros enabled).
Another step is to inform the CS team which then informs the passengers if a bus is running late for the pickup. We use Slack for this internal communication.
One last thing that is involved in this process is the use of Geo-Fencing. All our routes are geo-fenced and it gives us the following information.
Driver not logged in to the app - If a driver does not login to the app until 45 minutes before the departure time then the system sends us an email.
ETA to the pickup location - If a driver is reaching the pickup location within 10 minutes of the departure time then the system notifies us.
Early Departure - If a driver departs earlier than the actual departure time then the system notifies us.
Late Departure - If a driver does not depart within 10 minutes of the actual departure time then the system notifies us.
Stop Skipped - If a driver skips a stop, knowingly or unknowingly, then the system notifies us.
Off Route - If a driver goes 500 m out of the fenced route then the system notifies us.
Unauthorised Stop - If a driver stays at a point, which is not a pickup or drop off location, for more than 5 minutes then the system notifies us.
Invoicing:- There is a google sheet for this called ‘OBH - Outside Bus Hire’.
All the trips done on any given day are entered in the sheet along with the cost information.
This sheet is shared with the finance team and they create invoices for every trip and pay the bus companies accordingly.
Emergency Management:- Whenever a bus breakdowns (flat tre, low battery or any other mechanical issue) then we work upon it and try to resolve the situation as soon as possible.
Protocol :-
Put a message on the whatsapp emergency group stating the trip ID, trip name, bus company, current location, number of passengers onboard, type of emergency situation, solution.
Check if there is an OurBus nearby, which direction it is going to and how many seats are empty on the bus. If there are seats available on the bus, then put as many passengers as possible on that bus.
For ex. - A bus from Niagara Falls - NYC breakdowns after crossing Binghamton with 20 passengers on board. And, there is a bus from Ithaca - NYC that is yet to cross the broken down bus’ location and has 20 seats available then we will transfer the passengers to that bus.
Find a relief bus - Identify which is the closest bus company from the incident location. Call all bus companies and check for a relief bus. Confirm a relief bus if it’ll get to the location within 90 minutes. We can also use the Bus Companies Location map in this case.
Check for alternate transportation - Identify which is the closest transportation hub from the spot of the incident. This hub can be for OurBus or another bus company. We identify this hub if we need to put passengers on another bus in case none of the options mentioned above work. We can use wanderu.com or gotobus.com for this.
Book an Uber - Last option is to book Uber for the passengers from the location of incident to their respective destinations.
Cost involved in the process of resolving an emergency situation is to be incurred by the bus company.
Filling the incident and emergency forms:-
Incident Form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfrGWmgCGck9MV-neqw5eKyKaeyqb9hEfCThWwbpksTbrtFFA/formResponse
Emergency Form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeL2WP9xq6zyVZLwq1omnhWSw8jQISRNxJ9MnCY7TP8lwOBzA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1
Incidents are of 2 types:-
To be reported to the bus company - any missing amenity, rash driving, rude behaviour of the driver or any inconvenience caused to the passengers.
Not to be reported to the bus company - mainly delays due to traffic or ongoing construction or any other accidents on the way.
Purpose of filling the incident form is to exclude the trip IDs from the list when we send emails to the passengers asking their review about the trip. By doing this we make sure that we do not get any negative review on our social media handles. Incidents are reported to the bus companies then and there and a monthly scorecard is prepared from this data.
Purpose of filling the emergency form is to maintain an internal data and review it. If the number of emergencies for a particular bus company is too high then the required action is to set up a call and discuss what preventive measures are they taking to reduce the frequency.
Weather Report - Generally done in winters when the chances of snowfall are high. We keep a regular check and if the chances of weather getting extreme the next day then we reach out to the bus companies and it’s completely their decision either to operate the trip or cancel it.
Website - https://www.weather.gov/
Street Closure - This is an activity that is carried out every Wednesday or Thursday in order to find out any street closures for the weekend.
Closures in NYC are easy to be found by the website:- https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/wkndtraf.shtml