IT Systems in Public Transport

6 Planning/Scheduling

Planning Dispatch Control

The planning process defines a target state. If deviations occur in the execution, then you can intervene in a controlling way in order to restore the target state. The dispatch stands between the two poles of planning and control; it usually takes place in the short run-up to the execution, but is mostly concerned with specific resources. Planning takes place before dispatching and usually happens at the level of temporal repeating patterns¹, whereas the dispatch deals with actual calendar days.

Contradictory use of terms

In practice, the distinction between the terms planning, dispatch and control is not always clear and, above all, not consistent. For example, you may refer to annual holiday ...