Comparative Analysis (CA) is a module that compares the actual operation of your vehicles against the assigned routes imported from your routing system. The CA module is typically used by customers within the K-12 school bus transportation industry.
The following are some common terms used in the CA system:
- Itinerary: A vehicle's assignment for an entire day within a date range defined by the route set. Often, itineraries are named by vehicle number, such as 1289, 1344, and 855.
- Route: A vehicle's assignment for a portion of a day within a date range defined by the route set — for example, 1289 AM, 1289 PM, 1344 AM, 1344 Mid, and 1344 PM.
- Tier: A portion of a route designated for a specific delivery — for example, 1289 AM - Tier 1, 1289 AM - Tier 2, and so on.
- Route set: The date range for the data — for example, 2024-2025 School and 2025 Summer. (See Route Sets for more information.)
A route is usually started after the vehicle leaves its assigned yard — or if no yard is designated, after it travels 500 feet.
Generally, the AM tier is started when the tier time comes (plus or minus the tier window — see Performance Categories), and the PM tier is started after arrival at the school. If an AM route has two tiers, the second AM tier is started after the school arrival of the first AM tier.
The PM tier is always started by school arrival.