The best software package should be based on the agency’s needs with the ability to improve solutions and eliminate manual work as much as possible. A colleague recently posed the question, “Why does it appear that schedulers do not fully utilize the scheduling software packages and all of the associated features purchased for them?” As

Software provides a useful tool, but foundational knowledge is still required to develop schedules that balance efficiency and service. As mass transit management looks to future industry innovations in technology, there is a cautionary narrative associated with the scheduling knowledge base. The decades of innovation and progress in computerized scheduling, automated runcutting and rostering has