Case study overview
Auto Viação Alpha, a bus operator from Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil, used Optibus’ Planning and Scheduling products, including the Demand Optimization feature, to optimize their resource usage and achieve results including:
- Smart vehicle reallocation that better matches demand peaks
- Reducing vehicle usage while maintaining service quality
- Using automation to speed up planning from one month to days
- More unified planning and resources across several companies within the group
Client and User Background
Founded in 1961, Alpha operates some of the main bus lines in Rio de Janeiro, transporting more than 18.2 million passengers each year across the Tijuca, Rio Comprido, Center, and South Zone regions of the city. Alpha is part of the Guanabara Group, one of Brazil’s largest passenger transportation conglomerates, which includes Dedo de Deus and Nossa Senhora do Amparo, two operators that also use Optibus in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
This case study focuses on the user experience of André Arantes, Director of Alpha, and Vitória Regina Souza, in charge of Planning and Scheduling at Alpha, who both use Optibus to perform their work and achieve their goals.
Challenge & Impact #1: Using reliable, unified data to battle rising diesel prices
Alpha was looking for an operational planning platform; one that could provide accurate data and produce reliable, realistic results.
“Optibus increased the accuracy of our operational data, brought reliability to information, and delivered results that I could use with confidence,” said André Arantes.
Using Optibus, Alpha became more resilient in the face of economic uncertainty. When diesel costs in Brazil spiked 23% between June 2023 and November 2023, Alpha minimized the financial risk by using Optibus’ optimization tools to allocate resources more efficiently.
“From June to October, while we were deep into onboarding the Optibus system, we coincidentally saw a significant increase in the cost of diesel. Fortunately, due to Optibus’ resource optimization, Alpha did not have to cancel any trips in the travel schedule we provide to the Rio de Janeiro city hall, and my operational diesel costs did not increase even fifty-percent of what they should have,” explained André Arantes.
Challenge and Impact #2: Using Demand Optimization to improve frequency and passenger experience
To improve passenger services, Alpha is preparing ticketing data and researching travel origin and destination using Optibus’ Demand Optimization function.
“Alpha has gotten much better at improving its operation and allocating resources between passengers and the company’s internal needs. Our next step is to conduct a more refined analysis on how demand is related to revenue. Now, with Optibus, we have the ability to conduct this type of study,” said André Arantes.
Because Alpha operates smaller vehicles on some lines, they often need to dispatch more vehicles during peak hours to increase frequency and match demand. Optibus’ Demand Optimization feature enables Alpha to easily adjust vehicle allocation between lines with high and low demand, resulting in shorter intervals (headway) that better serve passengers on high-demand routes without sacrificing quality on other lines.
“Optibus’ optimization provides visibility into the passenger experience. It is easy to see that we have a line with lower demand than this other one, and that those passengers won’t feel the impact of me removing a bus at that interval and putting it on this other line,” explained Vitória Regina Souza, who is in charge of Planning and Scheduling at Alpha
Challenge and Impact #3: Improving driver satisfaction using rapid scenario creation
From Vitória’s perspective as a Planner and Scheduler, route planning should support three stakeholders: the driver, the passenger, and the company. To balance everyone’s needs, she uses rapid scenario creation, part of Optibus Planning.
“If the schedule is good for the driver and the passenger, the company will automatically have a good return. We were struggling with overtime, but Optibus has already given me a scenario where the driver works fewer hours and has more rest. That was great. I talk a lot with the drivers and they say they are feeling better and more rested. For me, as a planner and scheduler, this was wonderful news and an improvement at the company.”
Impact: More analytical planning
Using the Optibus transportation management platform, Vitória’s planning work became much more analytical, fast, and automated. Before Optibus, it would take an entire month to plan just one line and there was often a long delay in carrying out subsequent analyses to identify if planning was adequate.
“Today, my work is more productive because I can analyze service plans faster. Sometimes, a certain schedule doesn’t work. I am able to remove it faster and I can improve it, practically from one day to the next. So, my work is more productive and more analytical. Before it was much more manual. Now I press a button and everything is ready,” said Vitória.
“The platform is very intuitive. It helps operations a lot, at a time when companies are very interested in optimization. We provide the same services we normally do, just with fewer buses. So, we made good use of it. Optibus allows us to ensure that the operation remains the same, but at a lower cost, so I can offer a better operation for the passenger,” she added.
Impact: Reliable results that create a positive impact
To improve Alpha’s work processes, André Arantes believes that innovation is necessary. But change only works if the results are realistic, reliable, and clear.
“I highly recommend Optibus to anyone who wants to see change in their operation. Because you can easily be sure of the impact of this change. I’m not going to change things just on paper or in theory. I’m not going to change simply because I think I have to change. The results we have with Optibus are concrete and viable. What do you want? To reduce buses? Increase the number of trips? In short, everything is possible. With Optibus, I can be sure that the system produces realistic results.”
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Read more about our software below:
- 18,250,000 monthly passengers
- Reduced driver overtime and vehicle usage
- Cost savings despite 23% inflation in diesel prices in 2023 H2
- Sped up work processes from one month to days
- Public transportation operator
- Products: Planning, Scheduling, Demand Optimization
