GENERAL PURPOSE COMPUTER DISPATCHING SYSTEM
Nigel H. M. Wilson, Bernard Trevor Higonnet · Highway Research Board Special Report · 1973
THE ADVANTAGES OF A COMPUTER OPERATED DIAL-A-BUS SYSTEM ARE DETAILED. VEHICLE PRODUCTIVITY MAY BE HEIGHTENED AND A CONSISTENT, EFFECTIVE, DISPATCH SERVICE COULD BE ACHIEVED. OVERALL COSTS COULD BE REDUCED BY INTRODUCING DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS (THUS REDUCING THE NEED FOR DISPATCHERS) AND BY ARRANGING FOR A DIRECT INPUT OF REQUESTS FOR SERVICE. AUTOMATIC BILLING AND THE USE OF STANDARD TRIPS ARE FURTHER MEASURES IN THIS DIRECTION. SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS THAT MUST BE FULFILLED BY THE COMPUTER ARE, RELIABILITY AND ADDRESS-TO-COORDINATE TRANSLATION. MACHINE SIZE, PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE, OPERATING COSTS AND ADAPTABILITY, ARE ALL IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS IN CHOICE AND DESIGN OF THE COMPUTER SYSTEM. THE MANUALLY OPERATED TEST PHASE OF A DIAL-A-RIDE SERVICE MAY BE FOLLOWED BY A SERVICE WHICH IS OPERATED BY A MEDIUM SIZE COMPUTER PROGRAMMED DISPATCH SYSTEM, IF STUDIES INDICATE IT TO BE FEASIBLE. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT COULD INVOLVE THE USE OF A MORE POWERFUL SYSTEM WITH FEATURES SUCH AS STANDARD TRIPS AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATION INTERFACES. THE SYSTEM DEVELOPED BY M.I.T. IS DESCRIBED. THE QUESTION OF HOW MUCH A COMPUTER WILL IMPROVE SERVICE MAY BE ANSWERED BY STUDIES OF SYSTEMS SUCH AS THE ROYAL CAB IN DAVENPORT, IOWA AND THE HADDONFIELD PROJECT.