Organization of working time: personalized driver schedules tested in Dijon

Driver retention: a key challenge for the transportation sector

For several years, the public transit sector has faced a serious driver shortage. Among the causes behind this shortage, some have pointed to the difficulty of finding a proper work-life balance in this field.

Indeed, drivers are often constrained by a strict schedule of shifts over which they have no control. Many drivers would like more simplicity and flexibility in the organization of their working time.

The traditional system of drawing up schedules based on standard weeks and a principle of rotating shifts between different drivers does not offer much in the way of flexibility. To overcome this difficulty, Keolis subsidiary DiviaMobilités in Dijon is testing out a new digital tool called Kustomize. The tool enables drivers to personalize their schedules while also taking into account individual preferences and service constraints.

Personalized schedules for a new organization of working time

The Kustomize digital solution works in two stages. First, the system collects driver preferences through an online agenda in which each driver can indicate their availability and constraints (morning, afternoon, evening, etc.) for each day. Next, this data is compared with the network’s needs and local labor law (such as the ban on working five days in a row). An algorithm then generates a personalized schedule for each driver.

The project is led by Keolis Dijon Multimodalité, the Operation Division and the Keolis “Inno Lab”, which prototyped the tool based on feedback from the restaurant and air transportation sectors, both of which have an organization of working time based on shifts. Drivers were involved in the design and development of the tool from the outset.

A more flexible organization of working time adapted to every driver

Personalized schedules represent a major step forward in the organization of working time for drivers. With this tool, driver preferences are taken into account, improving their sense of well-being and their work-life balance. The innovation should help to reduce driver absenteeism, give them a more interactive role in their scheduling, overcome an obstacle to recruitment and, ultimately, improve service quality and passenger satisfaction.

The current testing phase will help to fine-tune the model’s performance with a view to deployment on a wider scale.