Overview and User Background
MobiBrasil Pernambuco is a leading public transportation operator in the city of Recife in Pernambuco state, Brazil, where more than 60 million passengers use their bus services every year to navigate the city and surrounding municipalities in the East-West corridor, including São Lourenço and Camaragibe.
Ricardo Rios, the Planning Manager at MobiBrasil Pernambuco since November 2019, has over 44 years of experience in the public transportation industry. This case study explores how Ricardo uses Optibus Planning and Scheduling to optimize MobiBrasil’s schedules, enhance operational efficiency, and manage the complexities of a large-scale bus service.
His main takeaway: “I highly recommend Optibus for the entire transportation system or for any company that performs scheduling.”
The Challenge: Manually Managing Crew Hours, Breaks, and Shifts
MobiBrasil Pernambuco was facing significant staffing and vehicle scheduling challenges, including controlling break time, overtime, and idle hours. The company relied heavily on manual processes, spreadsheets, and informal crew relationships to perform these tasks. This process became increasingly difficult and impractical as the company expanded.
“We could no longer work like that and use spreadsheets to keep up with the whole process,” Ricardo explained. “Then Optibus emerged.”
The Optibus Solution: Crew and Vehicle Scheduling Powered by AI and Optimization Algorithms
Optibus’ software, which brings cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and optimization algorithms into the scheduling process, presented a solution to MobiBrasil’s challenges. Using powerful yet easy-to-use tools and automation, the cloud-native software streamlines and speeds up crew and vehicle scheduling for MobiBrasil’s team while also helping them achieve operational goals.
“Optibus came with a proposal to do exactly what we needed,” said Ricardo.
Impact and Benefits
#1: Faster, More Efficient Scheduling
In the past, MobiBrasil Pernambuco created schedules “line-by-line”. Implementing Optibus Scheduling and its Rapid Scenario Creation capability, Ricardo has rehauled the process so that his team can perform faster, smarter blocking and runcutting by creating schedules based on groups of lines and the best scenarios.
“Before, we used to spend almost a day to schedule a single line. Today, in a matter of minutes, we can create several scenarios. The speed is really impressive, and the improved crew and vehicle efficiency really shows.”
Optibus’ ability to handle numerous complex scheduling conditions and constraints by grouping together bus lines has given MobiBrasil a newfound level of scalability and flexibility. The same goes for automating their scheduling processes.
“Whenever there is a trip outside the scheduled travel time, Optibus sends us an alert. We can then adjust this time within the Optibus software and correct the scenarios. This has been very valuable and beneficial for our team.”
#2: Tackling Idle Hours and Overtime
Ricardo applied Optibus’ artificial intelligence-based crew optimizations to significantly reduce MobiBrasil’s overtime and idle hours. The optimization algorithms helped uncover new ways to lower labor costs and improve crew and vehicle efficiency.
“Optibus, with its artificial intelligence, managed to solve a good part of this process,” said Ricardo. “And I say a part of this process because we have not even come close to exploring all the capabilities that the Optibus software provides us.”
Conclusion
By replacing manual, time-consuming scheduling processes with advanced scenario creation capabilities and automation, MobiBrasil has improved its operational efficiency, reduced costs, and laid the foundation for more scalable business growth.
“I recommend Optibus and I hope that everyone really becomes interested in it as we did,” said Ricardo.
- 60M annual passengers
- Reduced idle hours and overtime costs
- Faster blocking and runcutting by rehauling scheduling processes
- Improved vehicle efficiency
- Public Transportation Operator (PTO)
- Optibus Products: Planning, Scheduling
