Sam Greaves, Head of Service Delivery at Tower Transit UK, has been in the bus industry for over 25 years. In this video he explains why Omnibus is the preferred scheduling software for his schedulers.
Intuitive. Seamless. Dynamic.
Edinburgh Trams is an award-winning operator with a fleet of 27 trams and annual ridership of 7.5 million.
Employing over 200 people across Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife, the light rail operator runs 2,000 services every week, connecting Edinburgh Airport to the heart of the city in under 35 minutes.
The operator partnered with Omnibus as the tram line continues to extend across the city.
The latest development, Trams to Newhaven Project, is a continuation of the existing tramway network and will add 2.91 miles of track in both directions, connecting Leith and Newhaven to the current end of the line at York Place with eight new stops by 2023.
Edinburgh Trams required a tool to produce the most efficient crew duties, model scenarios and operating patterns to forecast and budget for future operational costs. The solution had to meet the local labour agreements and be workable on the ground. Therefore, any scheduling solution had to enable the following timetable changes:
CrewPLAN is Omnibus’ next-generation automatic crew scheduling tool. It uses advanced algorithms to find the best possible solution within the parameters defined by the user. It is used throughout the passenger transport industry to quickly model multiple scenarios as well as forecast and budget for future operational costs.
“Omnibus has been key for developing a sustainable transport strategy which includes the Trams to Newhaven project. CrewPLAN will provide us with the level of control and accuracy we need to ensure optimised shift patterns. It offers tools for medium-term and long-term crew scheduling based on our organisation’s legal frameworks and guidelines” – Sarah Singh, Operations Manager, Edinburgh Trams
Edinburgh Trams has a flexible and user-friendly solution designed by schedulers who understand the UK passenger transport industry. Since adopting CrewPLAN, the operator has succeeded in:
Edinburgh Trams “work collaboratively with colleagues as much as possible on any project” and positive feedback from their Scheduling Manager was “absolutely important” when choosing the Omnibus solution.
1 September 2021 – Edinburgh Trams has extended its partnership with Omnibus by deploying the next-generation automatic crew scheduling tool CrewPLAN – and said it is on track to improve efficiency.
The operator needed a user-friendly solution to create robust schedules and forecast for future operational costs as new stops are added to the city’s tram network by 2023.
With its powerful algorithms CrewPLAN was the operator’s first choice to replace its previous system, and this was confirmed on a fact-finding mission to Blackpool Transport.
Edinburgh Trams has successfully been using the Omnibus software to test numerous scenarios and operating patterns to build a realistic picture of the resources that may be required in the future.
Sarah Singh, Operations Manager at Edinburgh Trams, said: “Omnibus has been key for developing a sustainable transport strategy which includes the Trams to Newhaven project. CrewPLAN will provide us with the level of control and accuracy we need to ensure optimised shift patterns. It offers tools for medium-term and long-term crew scheduling based on our organisation’s legal frameworks and guidelines.”
Peter Crichton, Managing Director at Omnibus, said: “Edinburgh Trams’ deployment of CrewPLAN is a testament to the positive achievements of the partnership and demonstrates the strength of the Omnibus software in meeting the needs of the passenger transport market.
“With our software, Edinburgh Trams can better understand the current and future operational needs of the business and can optimise crew schedules ensuring an efficient and reliable service to customers.”
Construction on the extension, called Trams to Newhaven, started in 2019. It will add 2.91 miles of track in both directions, connecting Leith and Newhaven to the current end of the Edinburgh tram line at York Place with eight new stops.
The operator has been utilising Omnibus’ intuitive scheduling solutions, OmniTIMES and OmniBASE, and depot allocation software, OmniDAS, since 2020. CrewPLAN has been adopted last month along with TransXChange Exporter and mobile app myDAS Touch, which allows drivers to view and request changes to their upcoming work.
Keith Burnett, Scheduling Manager at Edinburgh Trams, said: “Operational efficiency is a key driver on our tram networks, having worked with the Omnibus solutions and the results achieved, we are confident moving from our old crewing system to CrewPLAN, we are adopting a platform which will support us in maximising the efficiency of duties and paid hours.”
Aiden Proctor, Product Owner – Scheduling Suite at Omnibus, said: “Our team is proud to extend our relationship with Edinburgh Trams.
“With the current extension being built, Edinburgh Trams required a tool to produce the most efficient crew duties. CrewPLAN is a flexible crew scheduling tool that uses advanced algorithms to find the best possible solution for today and tomorrow within the parameters defined by the user.
“Also, due to a change in the RTPI supplier to City of Edinburgh Council there was a need for Edinburgh Trams to provide their own timetable data to the RTPI supplier. Our TXC Exporter enables users to export data directly from their timetable system (OmniTIMES) and provide it directly to downstream stakeholders such as the RTPI supplier. It’s an easy-to-use export process that can quickly produce timetable data in an industry-standard format.”
Edinburgh Trams added they “work collaboratively with colleagues as much as possible on any project” and feedback from Keith was “absolutely important” when choosing a solution.
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Press contact
Harminder Sangha
harminder.sangha@epm-bus.com
07538 935 568
Intuitive. Seamless. Dynamic.
7th July 2021 – Cardiff Bus has reduced its driver costs through the adoption of the new CrewPLAN – the system designed to automate the production of efficient crew schedules – from leading operational transport software supplier, Omnibus.
CrewPLAN uses a powerful algorithm to make crew scheduling more efficient, while enhanced functionality enables users to tackle large and complex problems instantly and explore alternative scenarios to discover which works best – saving both time and money.
Cardiff Bus has been able to take advantage of the updated CrewPLAN features which allow the user to be highly specific about the results they want to achieve. Constraints can now be included to specify the types and average length of duties within set parameters, giving much more flexibility. There is also an enhanced penalty feature to minimise undesirable features, such as changeovers during peak times.
Nigel Tarrant, Commercial Manager for Cardiff Bus, comments: “We weren’t getting the results we were looking for and driver agreements can be quite complex which can make scheduling particularly challenging. With the new powerful capability developed in the latest version of CrewPLAN, this now gives us the flexibility and ease to play around with different scheduling scenarios and get the results we want very quickly and save on costs.”
He continued “We have really been able to explore its capabilities and the multi-run feature in particular is excellent at maximising the efficiency of duties and paid hours. The speed we receive results in is more efficient and certainly saves the scheduling team a vast amount of time.”
Peter Crichton, Managing Director at Omnibus, comments: “Our software solutions are built from the ground up with a real deep understanding of the issues facing schedulers and the complexities in planning and managing resources in public transport.
“We continually listen to our customers and develop scheduling solutions which improve operational efficiency and profitability, as well as driver compliance remaining front and centre.”
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Press contact:
Harmi Sangha
07538 935 568
Harminder.sangha@epm-bus.com
Empowering you with technology to develop efficient and optimised schedules
7 Dec 2020 – Omnibus works around the clock to support Buslines in Australia to support company growth
Omnibus has been working with Australian bus operator Buslines to automate its processes and facilitate the company’s continued expansion. Buslines operates a fleet of 380 buses, servicing a network of bus routes in major regional towns throughout New South Wales (NSW). The Group’s operations carry over 10 million customers annually and employ more than 500 staff.
Buslines has adopted Omnibus scheduling software to replace its previous manual system for creating shifts and rosters. The aim was to digitalise the process to allow for continued growth of the business and build a scheduling capability within Buslines’ existing employees who have long term operational, planning and scheduling experience. To facilitate this, training for Buslines schedulers was conducted remotely by the Omnibus team in Australian local time.
David D’Apuzzo, Management Accountant for Buslines, comments: “We had heard through other operators about the excellent software and support offered by Omnibus, and after meeting Peter Crichton at a conference in Canberra, we invited them to provide a demonstration.” David was particularly impressed with how user-friendly the Omnibus software is: “It is obvious that it has been written by people with a scheduling background rather than software engineers trying to write a program. Also, it was refreshing to deal with software providers that showed a genuine interest in improving our business, so it was a simple choice in picking Omnibus.”
Both parties worked together to overcome the time difference, as David explains: “We initially arranged meetings at the beginning of the UK working day and the end of ours, but the training needed to be conducted during our normal business hours, which led to some very late nights for the dedicated Omnibus team!”
The company is already looking at adding OmniDAS, the market-leading driver and vehicle allocation system.
David concludes: “Peter and team have been great to work with. They’ve shown a genuine interest in helping us improve as a business. No task has been too difficult and whenever we’ve raised a question they’ve come up with a solution.”
Buslines operates across 13 locations in rural and regional NSW: Berrima, Picton, Ulladulla, Lithgow, Bathurst, Orange, Dubbo, Griffith, Tamworth, Forster, Wingham, Ballina and Northern Rivers.
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Press Contact:
Harmi Sangha
Marketing Manager – Omnibus and EPM Bus Solutions
07538 935 568
Harminder.sangha@epm-bus.com
4 June 2020 – Plymouth Citybus has found it easier to navigate the challenges presented by social distancing and managing driver duties during the pandemic, by utilising some innovative features developed by Omnibus.
To support operators the Omnibus development team, all working from home, has launched several new initiatives to help them adapt to a new way of working.
Plymouth Citybus has been running CrewPLAN to compile duties as each new challenge arises. Mark Collins, Head of Commercial for Plymouth Citybus, explains: “We’ve been able to instantly generate a workable set of duties in a matter of moments. This really has been absolutely invaluable to us in recent weeks; knowing that we have the software at hand to be able to tackle whatever challenge comes next.”
Mark continues: “To be able to run CrewPLAN on a schedule, and get a workable, efficient and reliable answer, all agreed with our Trade Union representatives in less than an hour, is absolutely fantastic.”
In order to manage social distancing at break times, Plymouth Citybus has also been using the new feature of Mealbreak Graphs, which shows how many duties are on break at any given time. This feature enables Plymouth Citybus Operations Managers to plan additional facilities at the busiest times of day.
Mark concludes: “ In these changing times, where we don’t know what will happen from one minute to the next, the Omnibus software has been invaluable in enabling us to plan and respond quickly as things change.”
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Press Contact:
Harmi Sangha
Marketing Manager – Omnibus and EPM Bus Solutions
07538 935 568
Harminder.sangha@epm-bus.com
Mark Collins
Head of Commercial for Plymouth Citybus
We’ve been able to instantly generate a workable set of duties in a matter of moments. This really has been absolutely invaluable to us in recent weeks; knowing that we have the software at hand to be able to tackle whatever challenge comes next.”
5 Jun 2019 – Several customers are now testing the latest version of CrewPLAN from Omnibus – the system designed to automate the production of efficient crew schedules – and they’re already benefitting from its powerful new features.
CrewPLAN has an unrivalled pedigree with research-based algorithms that are robust and proven in use. Omnibus developers are finalising a range of enhancements to make the software even more dynamic, flexible and powerful.
CrewPLAN now uses a much more powerful methodology to make scheduling more dynamic. Enhanced functionality has been added to better tackle large and complex problems using a newly-developed iterative process.
New features include the ability for the user to be highly specific about the results that they want to achieve. Constraints can now be included to specify the types and average length of duties operators want to achieve, within set parameters, giving much more flexibility. There is also now an enhanced penalty feature to minimise but not totally eliminate undesirable features, such as changeovers during peak times.
Graham Atkins, Network & Schedules Planner for Yellow Buses in Bournemouth, is working with Omnibus to test the enhanced version of CrewPLAN. He says that it has already saved him and his company many hours: “The bottom line is that it all comes down to cost savings.”
Yellow Buses has a very strict set of union guidelines, which make creating duties highly complex and time consuming. Although CrewPLAN can create any number of highly efficient duties, the complexities of the additional parameters had previously meant that Graham had to spend many hours manually manipulating the results to get a set of duties that worked for them, and that would be approved by the union.
“CrewPLAN is a very powerful package, which allows me to crew up all the bus workings in whichever way I want. I can add in various different parameters and run multiple scenarios to present both to the unions and to the finance department” explains Graham. “Now at least 90% of the duties get approved immediately, which is a huge improvement.”
The savings have been almost instant, and not just on Graham’s time creating the duties. He explains: “I can cherry pick from each of the scenarios to create the best possible, workable outcome with much less manual input. Often I can save at least 10 hours in the duties per day, more often than not saving a duty or two. Across a year that really adds up.
“It’s a little bit of magic!.”
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Press Contact:
Harmi Sangha
Marketing Manager – Omnibus and EPM Bus Solutions
07538 935 568
Harminder.sangha@epm-bus.com
Graham Atkins
Network & Schedules Planner for Yellow Buses
CrewPLAN is a very powerful package, which allows me to crew up all the bus workings in whichever way I want. I can add in various different parameters and run multiple scenarios to present both to the unions and to the finance department. Now at least 90% of the duties get approved immediately, which is a huge improvement”