Case Study: WRTA Mitigates Driver Shortages with Optibus

How WRTA Mitigates Driver Shortages with Optibus

Western Reserve Transit Authority (WRTA), a public transit agency serving the greater Youngstown, Ohio area, was facing severe driver shortages that were leading to service disruptions, scheduling inefficiencies, and added pressure on operators and staff. WRTA turned to Optibus and its planning and scheduling modules to help manage routes, runs, and driver work shifts more effectively.

With Optibus, WRTA used multiple scenario creation, scheduling, and optimization tools to reduce split schedules, eliminate part-time runs, and better align schedules with driver preferences and union rules. The results included a 12% reduction in runs, a 17% reduction in average split duration, nearly identical service levels, improved Saturday run quality, fewer call-outs and complaints, and faster planning processes that replaced a month of manual work and cut data migration headaches.

WRTA

Judy Rodriguez

Director of Transportation