An application example of the Shanghai Zhenghua Mini-bus Dispatch Center

----The Shanghai Zhenghua Mini-bus Dispatch Center adopted the Neolink ODIN300 single channel network system in Sept. 1999, and established a new mini-bus operation dispatch management center. And then changed from the status of chaos and inefficiency to a new aspect of efficiency, high-speed and modernization.

----The system is specially designed on the basis of the realistic operation situation of the Zhenghua company and the characteristics of the mini-bus rent, and to a great extent has resolved the problems of less frequency sources, difficulty of customer inquiry, waste of the telephone sources, slow dispatch speed and tedious mini-bus management etc.

Description of the main function

Business

· Appointment

----Appointment service man will input customers' name, phone number, aboard and down board location, the amount of mini-bus and appointment style after receiving customers' call. And the ways of the appointment include instant usage of mini-bus or appointment usage of mini-bus. If it's appointment usage of mini-bus, the system will point out that you need input the appointment time. After inputting all the information, the system will automatically memorize all the information into appointment database, waiting for dealing with.

----The information of instant usage of mini-bus will be sent to the dispatch terminal through network, and the dispatch man will send out mini-bus, and then reply a result to the appointment terminal.

----The system can provide a record database of routine customers, which can easily distinguish different customers by phone number. If there is a record, the system will find out and display the information of these routine customers, so avoided unnecessary repetition of input, and thus it can improve the service quantity and efficiency. When routine customers call, it can automatically check the record and display the information.

· Dispatch mini-bus

----After the information of instant usage of mini-bus was sent to the dispatch terminal, dispatch man will call mini-bus by using dispatch broadcast system, tell them information on customer aboard location, the nearest empty mini-bus will take the order and reply to the center by pushing down the "PTT" key, and its ID code of the radio will immediately display on the dispatch terminal. To keep fairness, if a few mini-buses reply one by one, the system will arrange their ID code in order, and display the first ID code hide the other, which can't be chosen.

----The dispatch man will push down the "ENTER" key by mouse, and the system locks the first replying mini-bus, and communication is on, other mini-bus radio will still on waiting status. The dispatch man tell the selected mini-bus driver the information of customer vocally, after understanding the information, the driver will say "Roger" to the main radio.

· Monitoring the dispatched mini-bus

----All the dispatched mini-bus enters into the "monitoring " situation, its ID code will be displayed on the screen to wait for the "aboard " signal. When the customer aboard the dispatched mini-bus, the driver will push down the "aboard" key, and the system will terminate the "monitoring" situation, the ID code disappears. If an ID code does not disappear for a long time, the dispatch man can use the "call" function to ask for the reason.

· Multi-mini-bus dispatching

----When an appointed customer needs two or more mini-buses, the system can broadcast the information and the number of mini-bus vocally, when replied, the dispatch man will push down the "lock" key orderly (he can push down the same number of the mini-bus needed), until all needed mini-buses are selected, and then broadcast the other information.

· Appointment dispatching

----The system establishes an appointment record database to store the appointment information. 15 minutes before the appointment time, the system will spring out a dispatching window from the dispatch terminal.

----Given the difficulty of dispatching on some timeframe, location (such as before dawn, remote region), the system provides an "appointment browsing" style to deal with the record in the appointment database. When pushing down the "immediate dispatching" key, the system will enter into the normal dispatching situation.

· Regional record/regional inquiry

----The dispatch man will manually record the regional detail information that the driver had reported. When needs to inquire the region information, we can easily locate the mini-bus's position according to the original mini-bus's regional record.

· Appointment automatically set dispatching and assignment

----When received appointment information, and input the information into the system, the system will automatically deal with it (the system will deal with all the appointment information based on the regularity: to complexly arrange some mini-bus' job in different timeframe in a day, and assign the set dispatched task to different database of different motorcade. If can't be assigned, then the general dispatch office will assign mini-bus to finish the job).

· No-mini-bus available prompt

----When get a call from appointment customers, the appointment man will input all the information into the system. If it's instant appointment, the dispatch man will immediately deal with it, the information of mini-bus available or no-mini-bus available will soon display on the appointment terminal. If it's appointment in advance, the system will decide whether or not there is mini-bus available, and immediately display the information on the appointment terminal, and then the appointment man tell the customers.

· Sub-dispatching station

----There are some link-cables between the main center of the system and several outside sub-dispatching stations, which can log on the dispatching center through cable in different timeframe. Sub-dispatching man can read the appointment information and input the information of the mini-bus available.

Management

· Single call

----Inputting the ID code of the called radio, then sending out, the system will communicate with the driver through "single call" style, who can use the "PTT" key to changeover.

The "lock" operation of dispatching has used this function.

· Group call

----Changing the ID code to the group (all) call code, the system will send out group (all) call, all of the radio will be connected with the dispatch center, and talk with the dispatch man and talk with each other.

· Broadcast

----The dispatch man can broadcast information to all of the radio. What the difference between broadcast and group call is that, when broadcasting, only the dispatch man can talk, all the radio won't be allowed to speak.

----When broadcasting, no one can speak to others even if a driver pushed down the "PTT" key.

· Dispatch broadcast

----Special call through broadcast allows the entire driver to push down the "PTT" key when listening, and send out its ID code to the main radio control station.

----This function has been used in dispatching. After broadcasting, if it asked for the radio to reply, then this function could be used.

· Simultaneous call and multi-communication

----To initial a single call after another single call, the center can simultaneously call these two radios. On this analogy, the center can simultaneously call more radios. Those called radios can talk with each other and with the center, so it becomes multi-communication.

· Remote control to lock/resume

----The system can remote control and lock the radio that had violated the regularity or missed, and these radios are locked completely. If the radio is not in use when the center sent out the order of remote control and lock, the system can close the radio beforehand, as soon as in opens up, it will be locked immediately.

The order of resuming can resume a locked radio.

· Alert

----When in emergency situation, the driver can press the hidden button to send out alert information. To avoid false alert, the alert information could only be sent out after the button is pressed for more than 2 seconds. The alert information can be sent out continuously and automatically to the ultimate of 500 times. The system uses the FFSK signal command, even if it's on communication, the alert information can also be sent out to the main control station.

----After receiving the alert signal, the dispatching terminal will automatically display the relative file data of the driver concerned. The dispatch man can put the launching button, and the system will automatically sent out signals, remotely open the hidden microphone in the minibus, which can send on-the-spot voice to the main control station, thus helping the administration to deal with the accident.

· Record

----The system can automatically record all the vocal information of the appointment and dispatching, if necessary, one can re-broadcast the record using the working number and assigning time.

· Departing change-over

----The number of the mini-bus will decrease at night, and so to improve the efficiency of the main control station, it allows some dispatch man depart for rest. And then, the dispatch station will broadcast the departing changeover order every 10 minutes. Those mobile radio belonged to the departing dispatch station can change over to the other dispatch station on duty. Next day, when the dispatch station resume to the normal work status, then the mobile radio will change over to its original channel.

· Statistics

1. The rate of the successfully dispatching
2. The number of assigned of the driver (cab)
3. The amount of work of the dispatch man
4. The status of the mobile radio
5. The status of the mini-bus
6. Routine customers

· Shared network data

----The network information of all the terminals can be shared in the dispatching center.

· Dealing with the information of the old customers

----The information of a new customer logs in the system automatically, and the system can automatically prompt the information of the old customers. When there is appointment information, the appointment man only need input the phone number of the customer, the network will automatically search the relative information in the old customers database, if there was record, it will spring out immediately. If it is not in accord with the information that the customer provides, the operator can revise it manually. And on the maintenance terminal, the operator can manually filter the existing information of the old customers.

· High-level customers data inquiry

----The system provides a live inquiry service for the high-level customers, who can connect with the network data terminal and get the live information of mini-bus available and the mini-bus file.

· Monitoring of the instant appointment phone call

The authority on duty in the general dispatch office can monitor any appointment phone call on the data maintenance terminal of the independent monitoring board.