Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable .
81-543: Valley Metro Bus is the public transit bus service in Maricopa County, Arizona , United States. Valley Metro Bus provides local, regional, express, and rural bus services in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area , covering a service area of 525 sq mi (1,360 km). In 2023, the system had a ridership of 24,215,700, or about 75,300 per weekday in the third quarter of 2024. Valley Metro, officially known as
162-546: A log-normal service time distribution . Simulation algorithms are increasingly being used to model call arrival, queueing and service levels. Call centre operations have been supported by mathematical models beyond queueing, with operations research , which considers a wide range of optimisation problems seeking to reduce waiting times while keeping server utilisation and therefore efficiency high. Call centres have received criticism for low rates of pay and restrictive working practices for employees, which have been deemed as
243-507: A "low-cost unit" paying lower wages, in order to be able to offer lower fares, using older buses cascaded from a main fleet to also reduce costs. In some sectors, operators such as Megabus (both in the UK and in North America ) have attempted to emulate the low-cost airlines model in order to attract passengers through low fares, by offering no-frills bus services. Public transport bus operation
324-491: A car. Looking at major injuries only (excluding minor injuries), there were 28 times more injured car occupants than bus occupants. Cars were associated with three cyclist deaths and 42 pedestrian deaths while buses were associated with no cyclist deaths and four pedestrian deaths. [REDACTED] Media related to Bus transport at Wikimedia Commons Call center A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling ) or call center ( American spelling ; see spelling differences )
405-409: A control room, or in the case of large operations, route controllers, who can monitor the level of service on routes and can take remedial action if problems occur. This was made easier with the technological advances of two way radio contact with drivers, and vehicle tracking systems . Urban land-use planning policies are essential for the success of bus transit systems, particularly as mass transit
486-501: A corporate computer network , including mainframes , microcomputer, servers and LANs . It is expected that artificial intelligence -based chatbots will significantly impact call centre jobs and will increase productivity substantially. Many organisations have already adopted AI-based chatbots to improve their customer service experience. The contact center is a central point from which all customer contacts are managed. Through contact centers, valuable information can be routed to
567-404: A dehumanising environment. Other research illustrates how call centre workers develop ways to counter or resist this environment by integrating local cultural sensibilities or embracing a vision of a new life. Most call centres provide electronic reports that outline performance metrics, quarterly highlights and other information about the calls made and received. This has the benefit of helping
648-406: A gap in the opposite direction, meaning any passengers on the turned bus need to disembark and continue on a following bus. Also, depending on the location of the bus depot , replacement buses may be dispatched from the depot to fill in other gaps, starting the timetable part way along the route. There is a common cliché that people "wait all day, and then three come along at once", in relation to
729-554: A growing fleet of over 800 vehicles for public bus routes and nearly 200 for paratransit. Public transport bus service While there are indications of experiments with public transport in Paris as early as 1662, there is evidence of a scheduled "bus route" from Market Street in Manchester to Pendleton in Salford UK , started by John Greenwood in 1824. Another claim for
810-724: A majority of shares to General Motors in 1925. From the 1920s, General Motors and others started buying up streetcar systems across the United States with a view to replacing them with buses in what became known as the Great American Streetcar Scandal . This was accompanied by a continuing series of technical improvements: pneumatic "balloon" tires during the early 1920s, monocoque body construction in 1931, automatic transmission in 1936, diesel engines in 1936, 50+ passengers in 1948, and air suspension in 1953. The arrest of Rosa Parks in 1955 for not giving up her seat to
891-479: A mechanical answering machine. Although undoubtedly more costly (the human service, the cost of setting up and paying the phone company for the OPX on a monthly basis), it had the advantage of being more ready to respond to the unique needs of after-hours callers. The answering service operators also had the option of calling the client and alerting them to particularly important calls. The origins of call centers date back to
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#1732859161749972-455: A mix of bus types, ranging from transit-style buses with hard seats to "semi-suburban" buses (with highback, non-reclining seats) to full suburban buses (with a single door, luggage racks, and personal reading lights). These routes are also unidirectional, traveling into downtown Phoenix and the State Capitol in the morning (using the major freeways after traveling on surface streets for part of
1053-428: A phenomenon where evenly timetabled bus services can develop a gap in service followed by buses turning up almost simultaneously. This occurs when the rush hour begins and numbers of passengers at a stop increases, increasing the loading time, and thus delay scheduled service. The following bus then catches up because it begins to be delayed less at stops due to fewer passengers waiting. This is called bus bunching . This
1134-404: A sale per lead. The universal queue standardises the processing of communications across multiple technologies such as fax, phone, and email. The virtual queue provides callers with an alternative to waiting on hold when no agents are available to handle inbound call demand. Historically call centres have been built on Private branch exchange (PBX) equipment owned, hosted, and maintained by
1215-556: A separate application, and configuration APIs which enable graphical user interface (GUI) controls of administrative functions. Outsourced call centres are often located in developing countries , where wages are significantly lower than in western countries with higher minimum wages. These include the call centre industries in the Philippines , Bangladesh , and India . Companies that regularly utilise outsourced contact centre services include British Sky Broadcasting and Orange in
1296-476: A special paint scheme. The express routes are also limited-stop commuter routes. They operate similarly to the RAPID routes, from outlying Park and Ride lots and pick-up points in suburban areas outside the city of Phoenix, with higher fares than standard routes, but the same as RAPID routes. They are numbered in the 500s, with the second digit indicating the area they serve, using the following scheme: These routes use
1377-416: A specific timetable giving specific times of departure and arrival at waypoints along the route. These are often difficult to maintain in the event of traffic congestion , breakdowns, on/off bus incidents, road blockages or bad weather. Predictable effects such as morning and evening rush hour traffic are often accounted for in timetables using the past experience of the effects, although this then prevents
1458-528: A traditional, centralised, call centre location, which increasingly allows people 'on the go' or with physical or other disabilities to work from desired locations – i.e. not leaving their house. The only required equipment is Internet access, a workstation, and a softphone. If the virtual call centre software utilizes webRTC , a softphone is not required to dial. The companies are preferring Virtual Call Centre services due to cost advantage. Companies can start their call centre business immediately without installing
1539-541: A travel pass or free travel pass , or oversee stored-value card debiting. This may require the fitting of equipment to the bus. Alternatively, this duty and equipment may be delegated to a conductor who rides on the bus. In other areas, public transport buses may operate on a zero-fare basis, or ticket validation may be through the use of on-board/off-board proof-of-payment systems, checked by roving ticket controllers who board and alight buses at random. In some competitive systems, an incumbent operator may introduce
1620-583: A white man on a public bus is considered one of the catalysts of the Civil Rights Movement within the United States . The names of different types of bus services vary according to local tradition or marketing, although services can be classified into basic types based on route length, frequency, the purpose of use and type of bus used. An express bus service (also known as express commuter service , commuter bus service , or suburban bus service )
1701-474: Is a fixed-route bus service that is intended to run faster than normal bus services between the same two commuter or destination points, typically on longer-distance routes. Express buses operate on a faster schedule by not making as many stops as normal bus services and often taking quicker routes, such as along freeways , or by using dedicated lanes or roadways. Express buses may also operate out of park and rides , in some cases only during rush hour in
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#17328591617491782-578: Is a further extension of call centres telephony based capabilities, administers centralised handling of individual communications, including letters , faxes , live support software , social media , instant message , and email . A call center was previously seen as an open workspace for call center agents , with workstations that included a computer and display for each agent and were connected to an inbound/outbound call management system, and one or more supervisor stations. It can be independently operated or networked with additional centers, often linked to
1863-551: Is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone . An inbound call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product or service support or information inquiries from consumers. Outbound call centres are usually operated for sales purposes such as telemarketing , for solicitation of charitable or political donations , debt collection , market research , emergency notifications, and urgent/critical needs blood banks . A contact centre
1944-478: Is also intended to improve efficiencies, both for inbound and outbound campaigns. This allows inbound calls to be directly routed to the appropriate agent for the task, whilst minimising wait times and long lists of irrelevant options for people calling in. For outbound calls, lead selection allows management to designate what type of leads go to which agent based on factors including skill, socioeconomic factors, past performance, and percentage likelihood of closing
2025-426: Is differentiated from other bus operation by the fact the owner or driver of a bus is employed by or contracted to an organisation whose main public duty or commercial interest is to provide a public transport service for passengers to turn up and use, rather than fulfilling private contracts between the bus operator and user. Public transport buses are operated as a common carrier under a contract of carriage between
2106-543: Is identified by a letter before or after the regular route number. For example, in Sydney , the letters L (as in L90), E (as in E70) and X (as in 610X or X84). L indicates that the bus runs along the normal route, while E and X indicate that the bus runs along a more direct route. In New York City , express buses operate using coaches from Motor Coach Industries and Prevost Car , and all except
2187-430: Is not feasible in low-density communities. Transportation planners estimate that to support local bus service every thirty minutes, there must be a residential housing density of seven dwelling units per acre. Bus services have led to the implementation of various types of infrastructure now common in many urban and suburban settings. The most prevalent example is the ubiquitous bus stop . Large interchanges have required
2268-433: Is prevented in some cities such as Berlin by assigning every stop arrival times where scheduled buses should arrive no earlier than specified. Some services may have no specific departure times, the timetable giving the frequency of service on a route at particular phases of the day. This may be specified with departure times, but the over-riding factor is ensuring the regularity of buses arriving at stops. These are often
2349-479: Is used by the LA Metro fleet and was introduced on the 2004 New Flyer D60LF buses. Valley Metro Rail vehicles feature a similar passenger information system that uses speech synthesis technology, rather than a recorded voice, to announce approaching stations and give other travel-related announcements. Train operators may also use the vehicle's public address system at their discretion. The RAPID bus stops as well as
2430-500: The Arizona State Capitol complex). These routes are mostly named for the freeway on which they travel, such as RAPID I-10 East and South Mountain RAPID routes (two routes connect newly developed neighborhoods along Baseline Road with downtown via 19th Avenue or 24th Street). They are unidirectional, traveling toward downtown in the morning and out of downtown in the afternoons. These routes use NABI 45C-LFW suburban buses with
2511-782: The BxM4 operate along highways, sometimes for a large portion of the route. For example, the QM8 , QM5 and QM2 Super Expresses, the SIM26 , SIM22 , SIM25 , BxM11 and X38 all operate on highways for most of their route. Many transit systems may also use a specific number before or after the regular route number. For example, in Toronto , the number "9" (as in 995) goes before the regular route number to display an express bus service. Long-distance coach services (US: Intercity bus line) are bus services operated over long distances between cities. These services can form
Valley Metro Bus - Misplaced Pages Continue
2592-746: The Communications Workers of America and the United Steelworkers . In Australia , the National Union of Workers represents unionised workers; their activities form part of the Australian labour movement . In Europe , UNI Global Union of Switzerland is involved in assisting unionisation in the call center industry, and in Germany Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft represents call centre workers. During
2673-485: The Hilton Hotels Corporation and Marriott International make use of call centres to manage reservations. These are known in the industry as "central reservations offices". Staff members at these call centres take calls from clients wishing to make reservations or other inquiries via a public number, usually a 1-800 number . These centres may operate as many as 24 hours per day, seven days a week, depending on
2754-635: The London Transport Executive owned a bus fleet of 8,000 buses, the largest in the world. Many small operators have only a few vehicles or a single bus owned by an owner-driver. Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation holds the Guinness world record of having the largest fleet of buses with 22,555 buses. In all cases in the developed world , public transport bus services are usually subject to some form of legal control in terms of vehicle safety standards and method of operation, and possibly
2835-526: The omnibus , commenced running this morning from Paddington to the City", operated by George Shillibeer . The first omnibus service in New York began in 1829, when Abraham Brower, an entrepreneur who had organized volunteer fire companies, established a route along Broadway starting at Bowling Green . Other American cities soon followed suit: Philadelphia in 1831, Boston in 1835 and Baltimore in 1844. In most cases,
2916-539: The 1830s as competition to the horse-drawn buses. The omnibus extended the reach of the emerging cities. The walk from the former village of Paddington to the business heart of London in the City was a long one, even for a young man in good condition. The omnibus thus offered the suburbs more access to the inner city. The omnibus encouraged urbanization . Socially, the omnibus put city-dwellers, even if for only half an hour, into previously-unheard-of physical intimacy with strangers, squeezing them together knee-to-knee. Only
2997-489: The 1960s through the 1980s, earlier and slightly later, involved a business that specifically provided the service. Primarily, by using an off-premises extension (OPX) for each subscribing business, connected at a switchboard at the answering service business, the answering service would answer the otherwise unattended phones of the subscribing businesses with a live operator. The live operator could take messages or relay information, doing so with greater human interactivity than
3078-527: The 1960s with the UK-based Birmingham Press and Mail, which installed Private Automated Business Exchanges (PABX) to have rows of agents handling customer contacts. By 1973, call centers had received mainstream attention after Rockwell International patented its Galaxy Automatic Call Distributor (GACD) for a telephone booking system as well as the popularization of telephone headsets as seen on televised NASA Mission Control Center events. During
3159-401: The 1990s, call centres expanded internationally and developed into two additional subsets of communication: contact centres and outsourced bureau centres. A contact centre is a coordinated system of people, processes, technologies, and strategies that provides access to information, resources, and expertise, through appropriate channels of communication, enabling interactions that create value for
3240-773: The Avondale Zoom routes, Scottsdale Trolley routes, and select Tempe Orbit routes using mid-size buses and the DASH circulator serving Downtown Phoenix using 40-foot buses. The naming convention varies by the communities they serve, such as the Scottsdale Neighborhood Trolley, Tempe Orbit Jupiter, and Phoenix SMART. The LINK routes were limited-stop, streamlined bus connections to transit centers served by Valley Metro Rail . These routes used upgraded bus shelters that have LED "Next Bus" signs and bus rapid transit -styled vehicles with traffic signal priority. They were named after
3321-522: The North facility and vice versa. Valley Metro Bus serves the following transit centers: The Transit Book (known until December 2008 as the Bus Book , and mentioned above) is updated twice yearly and contains maps and schedules for all routes. Copies are available at no charge at Valley Metro ticket offices, many public libraries, community colleges, and other civic facilities around the metropolitan area, and on
Valley Metro Bus - Misplaced Pages Continue
3402-453: The RPTA. The contract for both agencies was initially planned to be awarded to First Transit on December 13, 2012, however, Veolia Transport protested the award because First Transit wasn't releasing information of where their cost savings would come from. The protest was denied and the contract was officially awarded to First Transit on January 24, 2013. Valley Metro and member cities maintain
3483-515: The RPTA. Under the new agreement, all Tempe bus operations would be handed over to the RPTA, where the Tempe transit facility would be utilized by the RPTA to reduce costs and improve efficiencies for certain routes by reducing deadheads due to its more central location than the existing RPTA facility in Mesa. On November 24, 2012, the City of Tempe agreed to move forward with unifying its transit operations with
3564-1084: The Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority, is responsible for coordinating the bus system. Bus services are operated by private contractors and individual municipalities in the Phoenix area, branded as Valley Metro. All Valley Metro Bus services are accessible to persons with disabilities, with ramps or lifts installed on all buses. Additionally, all fixed-route buses are equipped with bicycle racks. There are over 100 bus routes contracted by Valley Metro, including regular routes, limited-stop routes, and community circulators. Bus frequency, hours, and days of operation vary by route. The most heavily used routes have peak service frequency of every 10 minutes and run as late as 1:00 am, while less used routes run every 30 minutes off-peak, with service ending at midnight. There are currently 60 local bus routes that form Valley Metro's super-grid bus system. They are numbered roughly according to
3645-570: The address on the Phoenix area's street grid on which they travel. For example: The community circulator routes are mostly a free service, the exceptions being the Avondale Zoom routes with a 50 cent fare each; formerly the Glendale Urban Shuttle (GUS) routes had a 25 cent fare each to ride; this fare was eliminated on October 23, 2017. They supplement the standard grid service with routes that connect neighborhoods to nearby business districts. Circulator vehicles are typically minibusses, with
3726-487: The appropriate people or systems, contacts can be tracked, and data may be gathered. It is generally a part of the company's customer relationship management infrastructure. The majority of large companies use contact centers as a means of managing their customer interactions. These centers can be operated by either an in-house department responsible or outsourcing customer interaction to a third-party agency (known as Outsourcing Call Centres ). Answering services, as known in
3807-489: The assistance of either an automated voice response system or a live customer service representative. The Valley Metro website [1] also has an online trip planning function, and includes all schedules and maps featured in the Transit Book ; since 2006, Valley Metro is relying more on the website to post schedule information and is printing fewer paper copies of the Transit Book . Like most major cities, all buses (except for
3888-798: The basic infrastructure like Dialer , ACD and IVRS . Virtual call centres became increasingly used after the COVID-19 pandemic restricted businesses from operating with large groups of people working in close proximity. Through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs), hosted and on-demand call centres that are built on cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) platforms can integrate their functionality with cloud-based applications for customer relationship management (CRM), lead management and more. Developers use APIs to enhance cloud-based call centre platform functionality—including Computer telephony integration (CTI) APIs which provide basic telephony controls and sophisticated call handling from
3969-473: The building of bus stations . In roads and streets, infrastructure for buses has resulted in modifications to the kerb line such as protrusions and indentations , and even special kerb stones . Entire lanes or roads have been reserved for buses in bus lanes or busways . Bus fleets require large storage premises often located in urban areas, and may also make use of central works facilities . The level and reliability of bus services are often dependent on
4050-595: The buses themselves. Because the Transit Book is difficult to carry around easily (the size is similar to a medium-sized catalog, averaging about 250 pages), patrons often use it to quickly reference the time when their next bus will arrive and simply leave the book sitting at their bus stop when finished, for the use of other riders. Additionally, route schedules are posted at most bus stops in Tempe, selected bus stops in Scottsdale and Glendale, and at major transit centers in
4131-413: The call centre operator. The PBX can provide functions such as automatic call distribution , interactive voice response , and skills-based routing . In a virtual call centre model, the call centre operator (business) pays a monthly or annual fee to a vendor that hosts the call centre telephony and data equipment in their own facility, cloud-based. In this model, the operator does not own, operate or host
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#17328591617494212-575: The call volume the chain receives. Queueing theory is a branch of mathematics in which models of service systems have been developed. A call centre can be seen as a queueing network and results from queueing theory such as the probability an arriving customer needs to wait before starting service useful for provisioning capacity. ( Erlang's C formula is such a result for an M/M/c queue and approximations exist for an M/G/k queue .) Statistical analysis of call centre data has suggested arrivals are governed by an inhomogeneous Poisson process and jobs have
4293-471: The city governments granted a private company—generally a small stableman already in the livery or freight-hauling business—an exclusive franchise to operate public coaches along a specified route. In return, the company agreed to maintain certain minimum levels of service. In 1832, the New York omnibus had a rival when the first trams , or streetcars started operation along Bowery , which offered
4374-470: The city of Phoenix and throughout the Valley. On RAPID routes, schedules are electronic and are based on real-time information. An automated next scheduled arrival service, NextRide, provides future arrival times for routes that serve a bus stop or light rail station. Each bus stop and light rail station has a five-digit "STOP#" found on a sign affixed to the bus stop sign post, shelter, or rail station. By calling
4455-401: The company to plan the workload and time of its employees. However, it has also been argued that such close monitoring breaches the human right to privacy . Complaints are often logged by callers who find the staff do not have enough skill or authority to resolve problems, as well as appearing apathetic. These concerns are due to a business process that exhibits levels of variability because
4536-1211: The customer and organization. In contrast to in-house management, outsourced bureau contact centres are a model of contact centre that provide services on a "pay per use" model. The overheads of the contact centre are shared by many clients, thereby supporting a very cost effective model, especially for low volumes of calls. The modern contact centre includes automated call blending of inbound and outbound calls as well as predictive dialing capabilities, dramatically increasing agents' productivity. New implementations of more complex systems require highly skilled operational and management staff that can use multichannel online and offline tools to improve customer interactions. Call centre technologies often include: speech recognition software which allowed Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems to handle first levels of customer support , text mining , natural language processing to allow better customer handling, agent training via interactive scripting and automatic mining using best practices from past interactions, support automation and many other technologies to improve agent productivity and customer satisfaction . Automatic lead selection or lead steering
4617-408: The customer service number or by sending a text message, the passenger will be provided with the next three scheduled arrival times. If it is within 15 minutes of a scheduled arrival, a real-time estimate of when the bus or train will arrive will be provided, based on the vehicle's current location along the route. A customer service call center is operated for passengers to plan their bus trips with
4698-524: The equipment on which the call centre runs. Agents connect to the vendor's equipment through traditional PSTN telephone lines, or over voice over IP . Calls to and from prospects or contacts originate from or terminate at the vendor's data centre, rather than at the call centre operator's premises. The vendor's telephony equipment (at times data servers) then connects the calls to the call centre operator's agents. Virtual call centre technology allows people to work from home or any other location instead of in
4779-532: The excellent improvement in amenity of riding on smooth iron rails rather than clattering over granite setts, called "Belgian blocks". The streetcars were financed by John Mason, a wealthy banker, and built by an Irish-American contractor, John Stephenson . The Fifth Avenue Coach Company introduced electric buses to Fifth Avenue in New York in 1898. In 1831, New Yorker Washington Irving remarked of Britain's Reform Act (finally passed in 1832): "The great reform omnibus moves but slowly." Steam buses emerged in
4860-519: The experience a customer gets and results a company achieves on a given call are dependent upon the quality of the agent. Call centres are beginning to address this by using agent-assisted automation to standardise the process all agents use. However, more popular alternatives are using personality and skill based approaches. The various challenges encountered by call operators are discussed by several authors. Call centres located in India have been
4941-721: The first public transport system for general use originated in Nantes, France , in 1826. Stanislas Baudry , a retired army officer who had built public baths using the surplus heat from his flour mill on the city's edge, set up a short route between the center of town and his baths. The service started on the Place du Commerce, outside the hat shop of a M. Omnès, who displayed the motto Omnès Omnibus (Latin for "everything for everybody" or "all for all") on his shopfront. When Baudry discovered that passengers were just as interested in getting off at intermediate points as in patronizing his baths, he changed
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#17328591617495022-446: The focus of several documentary films, the 2004 film Thomas L. Friedman Reporting: The Other Side of Outsourcing , the 2005 films John and Jane , Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night , and 1-800-India: Importing a White-Collar Economy , and the 2006 film Bombay Calling , among others. An Indian call centre is also the subject of the 2006 film Outsourced and a key location in the 2008 film, Slumdog Millionaire . The 2014 BBC fly on
5103-408: The former LINK bus stops include a display with real-time predictions for the next arrival at that stop. Additionally, all Valley Metro Rail platforms feature annunciation for the approximate arrival of the next train, while also allowing for messages regarding potential delays and general service information. In 2012, the City of Tempe introduced a proposal that would unify its transit operations with
5184-523: The front of buses that usually holds two bicycles. Passengers would be able to place their bicycle on the racks when riding to avoid taking up space during rush hour. The research conducted in Montreal ( Canada ) showed that travelling by bus is safer than travelling by car , for vehicle occupants but also for pedestrians and cyclists . There were 16 times more injured car occupants than bus occupants. Most pedestrians (95%) and cyclists (96%) were injured by
5265-540: The intermediate rural areas, or even only call at two terminal points as a long distance shuttle service. Some interurban services may be operated as high specification luxury services, using coaches , in order to compete with railways , or link areas not rail connected. Interurban services may often terminate in central bus stations rather than on street stops. Other interurban services may specifically call at intermediate villages and may use slower transit buses or dual purpose buses. Many public bus services are run to
5346-674: The late 1970s, call center technology expanded to include telephone sales, airline reservations, and banking systems. The term "call center" was first published and recognised by the Oxford English Dictionary in 1983. The 1980s saw the development of toll-free telephone numbers to increase the efficiency of agents and overall call volume. Call centers increased with the deregulation of long-distance calling and growth in information-dependent industries. As call centres expanded, workers in North America began to join unions such as
5427-410: The level of fares charged and routes operated. Bus services are being made accessible , often in response to rules and regulations in disability discrimination laws . This has resulted in the introduction of paratransit services and low-floor buses to support passengers who are elderly, have a disability , or a medical condition. Some transit agencies have also started to install bike racks in
5508-503: The mainstay of the travel network in countries with poor railway infrastructure. Different coach operators may band together on a franchise or connecting basis to offer a branded network that covers large distances, such as Trailways and National Express . These networks can even operate internationally, such as Eurolines of Europe. Interurban bus services are primarily aimed at linking together one or more urban centres, and as such are often run as express services while travelling in
5589-460: The more frequent services, up to the busiest bus rapid transit schemes. For headway-based schemes, problems can be managed by changing speed, delaying at stops and leap-frogging a bus boarding at a stop. Services may be strictly regulated in terms of level of adherence to timetables , and how often timetables may be changed. Operators and authorities may employ on-street bus inspectors to monitor adherence in real time. Service operators often have
5670-648: The non-Phoenix circulator vehicles) include the Route Scout on-board passenger information system, which includes a lighted marquee displaying the correct date and time, and an audio and visual Stop Requested announcement. Automatic Voice Annunciation (AVA) for audio and visual announcements for each major intersection, as well as minor cross streets. Previously, these were voiced by longtime Phoenix radio personality, Liz Boyle [2] [3] , however, these prerecorded announcements are slowly being phased out in favor of speech synthesis, to allow for easier updates. This same system
5751-463: The opportunity for drafting a 'clock face' timetable where the time of a bus is predictable at any time through the day. Predictable short term increases in passenger numbers may be dealt with by providing "duplicate" buses, where two or more buses operate the same slot in the timetable. Unpredictable problems resulting in delays and gaps in the timetabled service may be dealt with by 'turning' a bus early before it reaches it terminus , so that it can fill
5832-581: The passenger and the operator. The owners of public transport buses may be the municipal authority or transit authority that operates them, or they may be owned by individuals or private companies who operate them on behalf of the authorities on a franchise or contract basis. Other buses may be run entirely as private concerns, either on an owner-operator basis, or as multi-national transport groups. Some countries have specifically deregulated their bus services , allowing private operators to provide public bus services. In this case, an authority may make up
5913-552: The peak direction. Fares on express bus services may be higher than normal parallel services. Many express buses act as precursors to bus rapid transit lines and employ a proof-of-payment scheme, requiring passengers to purchase tickets before boarding the bus, speeding up the service. These services may also use suburban coaches that feature amenities like comfortable seating and wireless Internet service, particularly on routes that travel long distances at higher speeds without stopping. In many cases, an express bus service
5994-732: The quality of the local road network and levels of traffic congestion , and the population density. Services may be organised on tightly regulated networks with restrictions on when and where services operate, while other services are operated on an ad hoc basis in the model of share taxis . Increasingly, technology is being used to improve the information provided to bus users, with vehicle tracking technologies to assist with scheduling, and to achieve real-time integration with passenger information systems that display service information at stops, inside buses, and to waiting passengers through personal mobile devices or text messaging . Bus drivers may be required to conduct fare collection, inspect
6075-711: The route's focus. His new voiture omnibus ("carriage for all") combined the functions of the hired hackney carriage with a stagecoach that travelled a predetermined route from inn to inn, carrying passengers and mail. His omnibus had wooden benches that ran down the sides of the vehicle; passengers entered from the rear. In 1828, Baudry went to Paris , where he founded a company under the name Entreprise générale des omnibus de Paris , while his son Edmond Baudry founded two similar companies in Bordeaux and in Lyon . A London newspaper reported on July 4, 1829, that "the new vehicle, called
6156-402: The shortfall in levels of private service provision by funding or operating 'socially necessary' services, such as early or late services, on the weekends, or less busy routes. Ownership/operation of public transport buses can also take the form of a charitable operation or not for profit social enterprises . Larger operations may have fleets of thousands of vehicles. At its peak in the 1950s,
6237-551: The street they travel on. The two routes were the Main Street LINK and the Arizona Avenue LINK. LINK service was discontinued on October 24, 2016, and was replaced by enhanced local service on Routes 40 and 112. The six RAPID routes are limited-stop commuter routes in the city of Phoenix that travel from Park and Ride lots in outlying neighborhoods near major freeways to RAPID stops in the downtown business core (including
6318-765: The telecommunications industry, Adidas in the sports and leisure sector, Audi in car manufacturing and charities such as the RSPCA . The healthcare industry has and continues to use outbound call centre programmes for years to help manage billing, collections, and patient communication. The inbound call centre is a new and increasingly popular service for many types of healthcare facilities, including large hospitals. Inbound call centres can be outsourced or managed in-house. These healthcare call centres are designed to help streamline communications, enhance patient retention and satisfaction, reduce expenses and improve operational efficiencies. Many large hospitality companies such as
6399-526: The trip) and out of downtown in the afternoons. Routes marked with an asterisk (*) are a part of the Frequent Bus Network (15 minute-or-better headways on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) Color key: Note that the listed facility assignments for Transdev-Phoenix operated routes are normal assignments, however, routes normally operated from the South facility may occasionally be substituted with buses from
6480-487: The very poor remained excluded. A new division in urban society now came to the fore, dividing those who kept carriages from those who did not. The idea of the "carriage trade", the folk who never set foot in the streets, who had goods brought out from the shops for their appraisal, has its origins in the omnibus crush. John D. Hertz founded the Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company in 1923 and then sold
6561-569: The wall documentary series The Call Centre gave an often distorted although humorous view of life in a Welsh call centre. Appointment setting is a specialized function within call centres, where dedicated agents focus on facilitating and scheduling meetings between clients and businesses or sales representatives. This service is particularly prevalent in various industries such as financial services, healthcare, real estate, and B2B sales, where time-sensitive and personalized communications are essential for effective client engagement. Lead generation
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