Originally published July 26, 2023. Updated July 24, 2024.
Better data for more reliable service.
If you ask the typical transit rider what keeps them riding the bus, they’re unlikely to say “public wifi,” “contactless payment,” or even “free fares.” What riders say they value, again and again, is something simpler yet often far more difficult to achieve: service reliability. A recent Mineta Transportation Institute study found a significant correlation between better on-time percentage and higher ridership; the correlation was even stronger at bus stops near light rail stations, suggesting that riders are particularly sensitive to reliability when planning intermodal trips.
To this end, Remix and Swiftly are thrilled to announce that Swiftly’s real-world, stop-by-stop run-time data is now available directly within Remix’s intuitive timetable interface. With this data at their fingertips, planners and schedulers can see at a glance when buses are chronically late — reducing passenger trust and ridership — or chronically early, indicating slack in the schedule and a potential cost-saving opportunity. An early user at the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG), called out the option to view segment times as especially useful.
“Some portions of the trip have heavier traffic so you can use this to make up time…without changing the trip itself.”
— Megan Ross, Transit Planner, BCDCOG
Agencies have long used Swiftly’s Run-Times product to access highly accurate observed running times, down to the stop-to-stop level, for every historical trip they make. Swiftly leverages GPS data from multiple AVL sources to determine when a vehicle actually arrives and departs a given stop, then uses auto-assignment technology to ensure complete datasets and create high-fidelity data. Taken together, these make Swiftly's run-time data a transformative resource for transit agencies across the country; one agency executive even referred to Swiftly as its “data therapist.”
Now, Swiftly’s industry-leading observational data is available directly within Remix’s intuitive interface for building and optimizing schedules. With this integration, we’re empowering planners and schedulers to see where and when actual bus departures differ from planned departures — right within the same interface they use to create and update timetables, so changes are just a click away.
Visual cues give planners an overview of regularly delayed departures, as well as the severity of the delay, helping them spot problems with each line at a glance.
How you can use it.
Let’s say Springfield Transit Agency (STA) planners have heard intermittent reports about inconsistent bus arrival times on Route 1. Without any automated integration between operational data and their planning software, STA’s planners only get information like this anecdotally, from bus operators or dispatchers, or in a rider survey. By the time they realize there is a problem on Route 1 that warrants intervention, the bus may have been running late for months, or even years.
With the Swiftly and Remix Run-Times integration, STA’s planners can spot discrepancies between scheduled and observed run-times in Remix, immediately, and without toggling between multiple applications. STA’s planners can also dig into the specifics of schedule discrepancies to hone their understanding of the cause:
- Let’s say STA’s planners find that Route 1 runs late at a few stops, but only during rush hour. They suspect this delay may be caused by overcrowding and excessive dwell times, and so recommend adding another bus to increase frequency during rush hour.
- If, on the other hand, STA’s planners find that some stops are seeing early departures throughout the day, they might recommend removing slack from the schedule, saving time and resources while improving on-time performance.
Whatever the proposed intervention, they can then use Remix to invite team members across STA to view and comment — most critically, the operations staff who will be directly affected by the change. Once the team has made the necessary adjustments to runtimes, they can go into Remix’s blocking tool to assign vehicles and see the most accurate and up-to-date costs for their new service.
The end result? STA can address the inconsistent arrival times before they cause sustained problems for drivers or staff, helping to maintain rider trust in the bus system.
Excitement is building.
Both Remix and Swiftly leadership are thrilled with the potential this integration represents. “We’re excited to continue our close partnership with Remix by Via to bring Swiftly’s industry-leading Run-Times data within Remix’s timetable interface to help agencies improve service reliability and decrease operational costs,” said Jonny Simkin, CEO and co-founder at Swiftly. “We believe that agencies can greatly benefit from removing data silos and promoting system interoperability – the ability to easily share data between systems they already use. Swiftly’s partnership with Via is a great example of how a collaboration between two modern, cloud-native companies can help push the broader transit industry forward.”
Caitlin Hewitt Proctor, Vice President of Product at Remix, hailed the collaboration as a step toward ever more rider-friendly transit. “This powerful integration bridges the gap between an agency's planners and its operators by making the latest arrivals and departures data actionable in Remix,” she said. “The Runtime Analyzer with Swiftly Run-Times Data will empower agencies to create the most rider-friendly and efficient transit networks.”
Early users agree — and especially praise the feature’s usability.
“It's very pretty and very user friendly.”
— Mandi Renshaw, Planning and Marketing Manager, SolTrans
Want to learn more about Runtimes Analyzer?
Drop us a line below or contact your Remix Partner Success Manager to learn more.
