Glossary.docx

Absence Code: A predefined label or identifier used in timekeeping and payroll systems to classify and track employee absences from work.

Accrual Deduction Hierarchy: Is the order in which paid time off balances (i.e. vacation, sick, or floating holiday’s) are automatically deducted when an employee takes time off.

AM Peak: The morning period during which transit demand is typically highest.

Arrival Time: The time at which a transit vehicle reaches a designated point such as a bus stop or terminal.

Bid: When Motor Coach Operator select their runs for the upcoming route shakeup. Typically occurs three times a year, with selections done based on seniority.

Bid Unit: Employees grouped based on their classification (full-time, extra board, part-time) used to determine work assignments during the bidding process.

Block: A specific sequence of trips assigned to a transit vehicle for a service day.

Blocking Scenario: A predefined arrangement of trips and schedules that optimizes transit service efficiency and reliability.

Blocking: The process of assigning and organizing trips into blocks for transit vehicles.

Bus Operator: A person responsible for driving and operating a transit vehicle, ensuring passenger safety and adhering to schedules and regulations.

Synonyms: Operator, Bus Driver, Driver, Motor Coach Operator (MCO) Bus Operator Headcount: The total number of active employees assigned to operate revenue vehicles under the City's Fixed Route bus transit service model. This includes full-time, part-time, and extra-board operators but excludes supervisors, dispatchers, maintenance staff, or contracted labor not directly assigned driving duties.

Bus Stop Amenities: Facilities or features provided at a bus stop to enhance passenger comfort and convenience, such as shelters, benches, and schedule information displays.

Bus Stop ID: A unique identifier assigned to a specific bus stop for the purpose of navigation and scheduling.

Bus Stop Location: The geographical coordinates or address where a bus stop is situated.

Bus Stop Sequence: The order in which bus stops are served along a transit route.

Bus Stop: A designated location where buses pick up and drop off passengers.

Cafeteria Style Bidding: Where a Motor Coach Operator can select runs on each individual day during the bid process. Motor Coach Operators can choose their entire work schedule day by day, as opposed to Block Bidding or Rostering.

Casual Work Assignments: Short term or temporary work assignments.

Daily Activity: The Daily Activity screen lays out which assignment each Motor Coach Operator is performing on an individual day. This reflects information such as work run, sign on / sign-off times and locations, and which bus they are driving.

Daily Work Schedules: Work schedules for operators outlining the runs they have been assigned to with corresponding timekeeping data.

Deadhead: The movement of a transit vehicle without passengers, usually to or from a garage or terminal.

Deadhead hours: The measurement of the time elapsed while a transit vehicle is moving without passengers onboard, typically for traveling to or from the garage or between different routes during the operator’s shift.

Deadhead Miles: The distance traveled by a transit vehicle while not in revenue service, typically between the garage and the beginning or end of a route.

Detour: A temporary route deviation due to road closures, construction, or other factors affecting regular service.

Dwell time: The duration a vehicle is at a stop for passengers to board and alight, including the time required for opening and closing doors.

Employee Accrual Hours: Amount of time paid time off that an employee earns or accumulates over a specific period of time (sick, vacation, floating holiday, etc).

Exception: A scheduled or pre-defined change in route or trip from normal transit operations, such as school trippers on school days.

Extra-board: A pool of transit operators who are available to fill in for absences or cover additional service needs.

Floating Holiday: Paid time off that employees can use at their discretion.

Fixed-route: A type of transit service where vehicles operate on predetermined routes with established stops and schedules. Passengers can board and alight at specific locations along the route, and service operates according to a set timetable.

Full-Time: A bus operator’s typical schedule of approximately 2,080 hours annually.

General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS): A standard format for public transportation schedules and associated geographic information.

Geographic Information System (GIS): A system for capturing, storing, analyzing, and managing spatial or geographic data, often used in transit planning and operations.

Hard Rules: Fixed guidelines or regulations governing transit operations, often related to safety, scheduling, or labor agreements.

Headway: The time interval between consecutive vehicles traveling in the same direction on a specific route, usually measured in minutes. This interval helps determine the frequency of service, with shorter headways indicating more frequent service. Headways can be based on demand, such as during peak periods, or set by policy, such as every 30 minutes. Headways can be regular, or clock, depending on scheduling consistency. In some contexts, “headway” may also refer to a gap or missed vehicle in service.

Interface Control Document: A formal technical document defining how two or more systems interact with each other.

Interlining: The practice of assigning a single transit vehicle to multiple routes or services during a single shift or trip.

Labor Agreements: A collective bargaining agreement between the City of Santa Monica and a labor union that represents a group of employees. SMART-TD (the union representing Motor Coach Operators) and the City are in agreement through 2030.

Layover Point: A designated location at the end of a route where a transit vehicle pauses for a scheduled period of time to wait before resuming service.

Layover: see: Recovery Time Length on Stops: The duration of time a transit vehicle spends at each bus stop along its route.

Line: A specific route or series of connected routes operated by a transit agency.

Long Term Absence List: The list of operators created and maintained in the operator scheduling system who are on extended leave for any reason and cannot be assigned work.

Midday Peak: The midday period during which transit demand is typically highest.

Miss Out: When an Operator does not arrive on time to their assigned work. Reasons could vary depending on each situation, but typically involves Motor Coach Operators not showing up to work, uniform issues upon inspection, not arriving to work on time or with proper equipment. Motor Coach Operators must use their accrued time to make up for the missed time.

Missed trip: A scheduled trip that did not operate due to reasons such as operator absence, vehicle failure, dispatch error, traffic, accident, or other unforeseen circumstances.

Motor Coach Operator: A person responsible for driving and operating a transit vehicle, ensuring passenger safety and adhering to schedules and regulations.

Synonyms: Operator, Bus Driver, Driver, MCO Motor Coach Operator Trainee: Classified as a part-time employee (20 hour per week base pay and eight hour per day work schedule).

National Transit Database (NTD): A repository of transit-related data collected from transit agencies across the United States, used for reporting and analysis.

Non-Revenue Route: A route segment traveled by a transit vehicle without carrying passengers, typically for maintenance, positioning, or other operational purposes.

On-Time Performance: The percentage of transit trips and stops that adhere to their scheduled arrival and departure times.

Operator Run: A work assignment for an operator including revenue and non-revenue service and any other paid activities.

Operator Types: Motor Coach Operator classification (full-time, part-time, or trainee).

Operator Web Portal: A mobile friendly web portal that Operators can use to interact with the Operator Scheduling software to perform everyday tasks like viewing accrual balances, requesting leave of absences, viewing upcoming run schedules, submit overtime requests, etc.

Operator Seniority: How long an operator has been employed with BBB. Primarily used for establishing bidding order.

Paddle: An output of the scheduling process that provides the operator with block information including what time the block starts/ends, how to get to/from routes and the garage, the trips to be operated, times at all timepoints, and notes.

Pattern: see: Route Pattern Part Time MCO: Employee with a 20-hour weekly guarantee time.

Passenger miles: A measure of service utilization representing the cumulative distance traveled by passengers on transit vehicles. It is calculated by multiplying the number of passengers by the distance traveled. For instance, if ten passengers travel two miles each, it totals twenty passenger miles. This measurement is also known as passenger miles traveled.

Payroll Codes: Numeric identifiers used to categorize various types of pay, time, and deductions, allowing timekeeping and payroll systems to apply the correct rules and ensure compliance.

Pay Hours: Total number of hours an employee is paid which includes regular and overtime hours, and other compensated hours.

Pay Hour Exception Reporting: Hours that fall outside of the predefined standard work rules.

Pay Premium: Additional compensation paid to employees for specific work-related duties.

Premium Pay Code: A specific payroll code that represents a pay premium for hours worked.

Pay_Rules: Structured policies that govern how employees are compensated based on their work hours, schedules, and labor agreements.

Pay Hour Exception: A payroll and timekeeping process used to flag and document any deviations from an employee’s normal or expected work hours or pay.

Personnel_Data: Is defined as employee information which includes, import date and time, employee first name, employee last name, employee middle initial, employee ID number, employee hourly rate, employee job class number, employee job class description, assigned division, employee status (full-time, part-time, as needed), employee gender (female, male, they, etc)., Planned Absences: An approved request submitted by the Motor Coach Operator through the operator web portal. The Scheduler will review the days work and either approve or deny the request. The Motor Coach Operator will use accrued time for this absence and not receive a reprimand for the day.

Planned Travel Time: The expected duration of time required for a transit vehicle to travel between two designated points on a route.

PM Peak: The afternoon period during which transit demand is typically highest.

Primary Operator: Operator originally assigned to a run when the operations for the day is published.

Pull-in: The final portion of a transit vehicle's block where it returns to the garage or terminal after completing its scheduled service.

Pull-out: The initial portion of a transit vehicle's block where it departs from the garage or terminal to begin scheduled service.

Pull-Reliefs: When a standby operator relieves the primary operator along the route or at a designated relief point with the vehicle staying in service.

Pool_Cars: Vehicles used by operations to assist in service delivery. Can be used to make relief on runs.

Recovery Time: Additional time built into transit schedules at end of trips to allow for unexpected delays or to maintain schedule adherence.

Recovery Time Objective: The maximum acceptable amount of time a system, process, or service can be down after a disruption before it must be restored.

Recovery Point Objective: The maximum acceptable amount of data loss, measure in time. How far back in time data can be restored after a failure.

Relief: A scenario where an operator assumes the run or bus from another operator.

Relief Location: Planned or unplanned location when the standby operator assumes the run for the primary operator.

Revenue Service: A route segment traveled by a transit vehicle while in service and carrying passengers.

Roster: A list or schedule of transit vehicle operators and their assigned trips or shifts.

Rostering of Runs: The process of grouping daily runs into packages of weekly work assignments.

Rostering: The overall management and coordination of transit vehicle operator assignments and schedules.

Route Pattern: The specific sequence of stops and segments followed by a transit route.

Route Segment: A section of a transit route between two designated points, often defined by distinct geographical or operational characteristics.

Route Terminal Point Capacity Limit: The maximum number of vehicles that can be accommodated at a terminal or endpoint of a transit route.

Route Trace Pattern: A graphical representation or map showing the path followed by a transit route.

Route Trip Pattern Sequence: The predetermined order in which trips are scheduled and operated along a transit route.

Rule: Also known as Work Rule. A specific guideline or regulation governing transit operations, often related to safety, scheduling, or labor agreements.

Run Cut: The finalized set of work assignments resulting from run cutting.

Run Cutting: The overall process of converting (or cutting) vehicle blocks into compliant work assignments for operators. The finished product is referred to as a run cut.

Run Guide: A document or tool providing detailed instructions and information for transit vehicle operators regarding their assigned runs or trips.

Run Number: A unique identifier assigned to a specific run.

Run: An operator work assignment.

Run Time: The expected duration of time required for a transit vehicle to travel between two designated points on a route, including allowances for stops, traffic, and other factors.

Schedule: A predetermined timetable or plan outlining the departure and arrival times for transit trips along specific routes.

Scheduled Pullout: The original scheduled time a bus is expected to pull out of the facility to meet the service delivery goal.

Segment Speed Factors: Factors influencing the speed of transit vehicles along specific route segments, such as traffic conditions, road design, and passenger activity.

Segment Speed: The average speed of transit vehicles along specific route segments, typically measured in miles per hour.

Service Change: When Operations undergo a change in routes, bidding, and service times as dictated by the Planning division. Typically occurring 3 times a year for the Big Blue Bus operations.

Service Day: Defined schedule and service level such as weekday, Saturday, or Sunday.

Service Hours: The total number of hours during which vehicles are in service.

Service Miles: The total distance traveled by transit vehicles while in revenue service during a specified period.

Shakeup Period: A scheduled interval during which significant changes or adjustments are made to transit routes, schedules, or operations.

Shakeup: The process of implementing significant changes or adjustments to transit routes, schedules, or operations during a scheduled period.

Shapefiles: Digital files containing geographic data representing the shape and location of transit routes, stops, and other relevant features.

Shine Operator: Is an assigned position typically to Part-Time operators. Motor Coach Operators who are not scheduled for specific work runs during the day and cover open assignments on an as-needed basis. Serves multiple roles as required by the Motor Coach Supervisors throughout the day to ensure consistent service delivery.

Shuttle: A specialized transit service operating on a specific route or between designated points, often serving as a connection to larger transit networks.

Sign-Up: The process by which Motor Coach Operators select or bid on specific runs or shifts for an upcoming schedule period.

Sign-Up Period: The period of time a specific Sign-Up is in effect, usually 4 months.

Soft Rules: Flexible guidelines or recommendations governing transit operations, often subject to interpretation or adjustment based on specific circumstances.

Special Route: A transit route serving a particular purpose, area, or demographic, often operating on a limited schedule or frequency.

Special Work Assignment: An ad-hoc assignment, other than their work run, where Motor Coach Operators are tasked with work outside the scope of a traditional Motor Coach Operator schedule. This assignment will be created by the scheduler and will be updated day to day as needed by the work project.

Staffing Level Requirements: Staffing levels needed for service delivery. Levels set by Big Blue Bus.

Standby Operator: An operator who is not assigned a complete run when operations are published for the day. Can be assigned work runs as needed. Also referred to as a “Shine” operator.

Timekeeping Alerts: Customizable automated notifications or warnings generated by a timekeeping system to identify exceptions, violations, or actions that require attention.

Timepoint: A specific location along a transit route where the arrival and departure times are used to determine schedule adherence and reliability.

Timetable: A printed or digital schedule providing details of transit routes, trips, stops, and departure times for passengers.

Total Vehicle Miles: The cumulative distance traveled by all transit vehicles in a fleet during a specified period.

Total Vehicle Revenue Hours: The total number of hours that transit vehicles spend in revenue service, carrying passengers, during a specified period.

Total Vehicle Revenue Miles: The total distance traveled by transit vehicles while in revenue service, carrying passengers, during a specified period.

Transit Center: A centralized facility where multiple transit routes converge, allowing for transfers between different services.

Trip Building: The process of constructing transit schedules and routes to efficiently serve passenger demand while optimizing resource allocation.

Trip Path: The specific route followed by a transit vehicle during a single trip or journey.

Trip Pattern: See: Route Pattern Trip Relief: A scheduled break or rest period for transit vehicle operators between consecutive trips or shifts.

Trip Segment: A portion of a transit route traveled by a transit vehicle between two designated points.

Trip: A single journey or operation of a transit vehicle along a specific route or segment.

Unique Trip: A distinct journey or operation of a transit vehicle that does not overlap with other trips or routes.

Unpaid Absences: When an unplanned or planned absence occurs, and the Motor Coach Operator does not have accrued time to cover the day, the absence will be categorized as an Unpaid Absence and the Motor Coach Operator will not receive pay.

Unplanned Absences: Any absence that happens the day of, where there was not a request submitted for that day. Typically occurs when an Motor Coach Operator calls out sick or does not show up to work. The Motor Coach Operator will use accrued time to cover the absence and could potentially receive a reprimand if unplanned absences occur at frequencies established in the attendance policy.

Vacation Bids: Bids to determine vacation schedules for operators most often based upon seniority or other criteria established by BBB.

Vehicle Blocking Assignment: The assignment of specific trips to blocks.

Vehicle Schedule: see: Block Vehicle Type: The specific model or category of transit vehicle used to operate a particular route or service.

Vehicles Operated in Annual Maximum Service (VOMS): The total number of transit vehicles operated by an agency during its peak service period in a given year.

Work Assignment Run Type: The classification or category of runs assigned to transit vehicle operators based on factors such as route complexity, service level, or vehicle type.

Work Assignment: The complete work assigned to a transit vehicle operator including revenue and non-revenue service and any other paid activities.

Work Order: Unique numeric identifier used to track labor associated with a project.

Work Rule: A specific regulation or guideline governing the conduct and responsibilities of transit vehicle operators, often related to safety, scheduling, or labor agreements. The work rule must be configurable by Big Blue Bus.

Work Run: A series of trips or runs assigned to a transit vehicle operator during a shift or work period.

Yard: A facility where revenue vehicles are stored, maintained, and serviced, and where operators report for their assignments. Vehicles are dispatched and recovered here for scheduled service.