GPS Enhancement Changes

Here are some of the updates to the GPS Enhancement in the recent Bustops program update:

• improved labels on the map to identify stops on the GPS information
• support for 24/7 video systems
• enhanced GPS Event recognition  -- users can define how the signals recorded by the GPS hardware (i.e. door activating, stop arm in use, flashing lights activated) are interpreted.  For example, that a particular signal implies that a stop is taking place.
• the changes to the route sequence display mentioned in an earlier Blog entry and the zoom to stop feature.

These changes will be of particular interest to those of you who have the GPS Enhancement.  If you don't have the GPS Enhancement but want more information on it, give Mary a call in the office.

Hope you are all having a pleasant summer.

Mid-July Thoughts

Wow, time is flying and it's already mid-July.  Most of you are doing well -- being most of the way through your route planning for the 2011-2012 school year startup.

This means that you're almost ready to start printing Letters to Parents, Bus Passes, Postcards or sending information to the newspaper.  Then, you'll be printing the new routes to give to your drivers.

Don't forget ... before you start printing the reports, you should review some of them in the Preview screen and compare the information to the information in your students and stops database.  You may need to run update commands in BUSTOPS, depending on which fields you're using in your reports.

We love helping you by answering your questions and showing you how to use BUSTOPS, but it is your responsibility to ensure the information in your BUSTOPS program is correct; and that the reports are correct.

And, as always, don't wait until the last minute to print your reports.  Imagine how upset you'll be if your printer breaks or your network is down the day before you need the report.

Hope you're all enjoying the summer weather!

For a Good Cause

Just thought I'd post a quick note about something I'm working on to give back to the community.

2011 is the 100th Anniversary of the university I attended, WLU.  They are running a promotion for alumni to do 100 hours of volunteer work in the community.

To this end, I've been working on crocheting baby blankets for the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto.  So far I have made 4 blankets and it's taken about 70 hours.  I think if I finish 2 more, I'll have my 100 hours completed.

I'm very excited to be able to give back to this great Hospital that has helped a number of friends' and family's children.

What is C?

Thanks to the observant eye of one of the participants in the Route Paths and Driving Directions Webinar yesterday, I've found something else new in the Bustops update to pass along.

A new Route Analysis Violation - C.  This indicates a corner stop, a stop code with a route code of RC, that is located too far from the corner.

This can be helpful with route paths.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy long weekend.

Additional Features of New Version

Here are some additional new features in the Bustops update that's available:

Route Path and Drive Directions Changes:

• Changes have been made to the color settings options on the Modify Route Path
• A detailed message about how to modify the path is presented in the modify window.
• The Modify Route Path function has been simplified
• Reset button allows the user to start over with the modification without leaving the screen
• Done button saves your changes and returns to the main route analysis screen
• Eliminated save messages

 

Driving directions have a new option to suppress directional entries when leaving a stop

Reports Changes:

• Suppress printing of blank lines in driving directions

Mapping Changes:

• Scanned paper maps or aerial photographs can be loaded in JPEG (.JPG) format, greatly reducing the memory required for this feature

Route Analysis Changes:

• Sorting of the lists of Not Loaded Stops or All Stops has been improved
• Rider count has been changed improve speed

 

July Holiday Closing

In observance of the holiday weekend, MicroAnalytics will be closed on Friday, July 1st and Monday, July 4th, 2011.

The office will reopen on Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 at 8:00 am.

Have a great holiday!

New Bustops Update

There is a new BUSTOPS update available with some interesting new features in Route Analysis.

A customer, who recently got this update, due to the updates to the Animated Routes feature in Route Analysis, called for support.  She wondered why there were diamonds outlining one of her stops in route analysis.  I took a look at it... sure enough there was the diamond we're all used to seeing with a slightly larger diamond outlining it.

After investigating, this is a new feature that indicates which stop is highlighted in blue (but not necessarily selected with a * beside it)  in the stops listing for a route.  Another beneficial feature is a new speed menu item "Zoom to Stop".  To get this, right click on a stop in the stop sequence list.

If you are interested in receiving this update, call the office and we'll ftp it to you.

Hope everyone is now well into having their routes planned for the 2011-2012 school year!