Via launched a new Scheduling and Supply Studio platform, which it is calling the first suite of tools designed to leverage AI to help agencies build more efficient supply plans across fixed-route and demand-response services.

The Scheduling and Supply Studio provides the world’s first fully integrated platform for optimizing vehicle and driver availability to rider demand, allowing agencies to reduce waste, cut operating costs, and improve service reliability across their entire network, said Via officials.

The Road to the Finished Product

Over the past decade, Via said it has built one of the world’s most comprehensive datasets of real-world transit movement used to train its AI models.

Billions of data points captured across the 800-plus services Via powers provide invaluable insights into how real-world transit systems behave; combining real-time ridership data with sophisticated forecasting models to ensure that supply is planned for real-world conditions.

The Scheduling and Supply Studio leverages this data to proactively identify scheduling enhancements that minimize dead time and reduce unnecessary guaranteed hours while ensuring timeliness and efficiency of the service.

Key features of the platform include:

• Shared fleet and drivers across modes - Agencies gain efficiencies by scheduling vehicles and drivers across modes in a single platform.
• Optimized supply and demand matching - Real-time ridership and predictive demand enable dynamic supply allocation throughout the day, leading to a better rider experience and higher productivity.
• AI Schedule Builder - Agencies can upload their labor agreements and vehicle and operator constraints, and the AI agent will surface an optimized schedule ready for review and rostering — all from one platform.

“We’re delighted to launch the Scheduling and Supply Studio and empower our customers to make faster and more informed decisions by modeling supply planning scenarios across both fixed-route and demand response networks,” said Nithya Sowrirajan, chief product officer at Via. “This product is the first of its kind in the market, and another key step forward in enabling Via’s platform to power and optimize every facet of public transportation.”