Introduction


On occasion, there may be a need for a dispatcher to split out, and reassign, one or more Routes scheduled for the day, along with the Runs and Stops contained within the Route to a vehicle or employee that is available to cover that portion or portions of the original route.  

Bytecurve 360’s Dispatch module provides a feature called Route Break Apart to assist dispatchers with exactly this task for routes not yet in progress on the current day, or on future days if the need is foreseeable.  The Route can be broken apart and reassigned in one of three ways.

  1. Move selected Stops to an existing run in an existing route: 

            In this scenario, the stops will be merged with the chosen Run, and the stops will be listed in the order of                           increasing scheduled Stop times.

  1. Move selected stops to a new Run of an existing Route

           In this scenario, a new Run is created within an existing Route and the selected stops are moved to this new Run.                The user is given the option to place this new Run in the desired sequence among the existing Runs of the Route.

  1. Move selected stops to a new Route

          Create a new temporary Route and Run and move the selected stops to this new Route/Run.


Preconditions

  • Routes/Runs have been established and exist in the master schedule for the current day and are visible in the 'Daily Dispatch' screen for the date you wish to perform a Route Break Apart.
  • It has been determined by a dispatcher or other staff that an existing route needs to be reassigned to a different task/employee/vehicle.


Performing a Route Break Apart


For this article, it has been determined that Task 021 has a driver shortage for it’s first Route of the AM dispatch and another vehicle and driver are needed to cover this Run and Stops.  The driver assigned to Task 027 is not scheduled to depart the bus yard until 7:29AM, making this a good candidate as the target for the routes we will perform a Route Break Apart on for Task 021 to alleviate the driver shortage.


To begin the Route Break Apart process, select the More Actions icon Icon Description automatically generated on the row for Task 021, and select Route Break Apart from the drop down menu.



Next, the Route Break Apart popup UI will appear, displaying all scheduled Runs and Stops scheduled for the selected task on the date selected in the dispatch interface.



As previously mentioned, we have determined that we need to reassign the first run, RT# 21 MIDDLE SCHOOL – AM and all the associated stops to another vehicle due to a hypothetical driver shortage.

We can quickly select the RT# 21 MIDDLE SCHOOL – AM Run and all stops by selecting the check box next to the Run name.  A check box will then be placed next to the Run name, and each stop as shown below.



Next, we need to select the target Task Name to which we will be assigning this Run and its Stops.  We are provided with several options for filtering our search results in the dark grey search box at the right side of the Route Break Apart interface.

For this example, we will use Route ID and AM dispatch to find the Route associated with Task 027 which we have previously determined is available to cover this Run.  After selecting the appropriate filters and clicking the Submit button we will be provided with a matching Route ID which can be chosen as the target for the RT# 21 MIDDLE SCHOOL – AM Route and Stops.



For our scenario, we are going to execute the scenario described in the introduction; Move selected stops to a new Run of an existing Route.


Select Route 027 by placing a check in the box next to the Route ID and selecting New Run from the dropdown menu and click Submit. 


Note:  You will also notice that all other Runs assigned to this route for the day are displayed in the dropdown menu, allowing you to append the routes you are breaking apart into an existing Run as described in scenario 1 in the introduction.

 

 

After clicking Submit the user will be notified that the selected stops will be moved to a new Run with a randomly generated name, prefixed with “RBA” (Route Break Apart) and assigned to Route 027.  The user is then given a chance to preview the new look of Route 027 with the newly added Run and Stops inherited from Route 021.



After clicking Preview a proposed itinerary for Route 027 is proposed, showing the inheritance of the stops from RT# 21 MIDDLE SCHOOL – AM under the previously shown randomly generated Run Name.


Additionally, as we scroll through the proposed itinerary, we can observe that Route 027 has still retained its regularly scheduled work for the day, a Run with two pick up stops and a drop off at Anytown Elementary School at 8:10 AM.



Once we are satisfied with the proposed changes, click the Confirm button to save the changes.  The user will be presented with a Success! message and you will notice that the Stops previously assigned to RT# 21 MIDDLE SCHOOL – AM are shaded in red, as they have been “broken apart” and assigned to a new Run for Route 027.


Finally, We can confirm the new look of Route 027 with the inherited stops by clicking on the More Actions icon Icon Description automatically generatedand selecting the Locate option.

This concludes the knowledge base article on Route Break Apart.  For further assistance, please contact Bytecurve Support.