The FX User Guide provides detailed step-by-step instructions about FX tools and features.

To start using Trapeze FX you must log on to the system.

You can access additional technical assistance from the Trapeze community forum and at the Think Transit Conference.

The Print function enables you to print information from various screens in FX.

Some features that have been customized for your transit site can be accessed through the FX Customizations option.

You can edit user-defined properties for the main FX functions to make sure that the workstation is configured for your requirements.

To apply the setting of user-defined properties to more than one user, you can copy the settings configured for one user to other users instead of doing it individually.

Holidays is a General type of ancillary data shared by FX with other Trapeze applications. The Holidays ancillary data is used to identify days when the standard service is not operating due to a holiday.

Create garage records in FX in the Garages screen.

A division is the geographic or revenue area served by a specific number of Full and/or Part-time Operators. It is common for smaller and medium-sized properties to have only one garage, and hence only one division.

Lines also called routes are fixed courses from an origin (node, stop, or timing point) to a destination (which also be a node, stop, or timing point).

A service refers to the days of the week that your transit agency operates.

Nodes are your timing points along a given route. Nodes are used and defined in the section on Route Definition.

Accessibility is used in categorizing vehicles on various routes and stops for purpose of generating itineraries and providing additional information in reports. Some examples of accessibility types include wheelchair accessible vehicles, bike rack vehicles, or ski rack vehicles.

Special points are locations that are more precisely located than stops and exist between stops in a pattern. When creating point records, you can add attributes, which are characteristics of the point, such as color and condition.

Fares ancillary data is created and used in Trapeze INFO-Agent. Please contact your Trapeze Customer Care representative or refer to your INFO-Agent System Administrator Guide for more information.

You can create a report type that is different from the standard report types.

Vehicle Types ancillary data is used to create and categorize the different kinds of vehicles at your site.

Each transit site whether a single agency or with multiple agencies must create Agency ancillary data before using FX.

Sign-up periods define the length of time over which a schedule applies. These are often seasonal.

The Set Mode feature enables you to load the information for the agency, line, division, service, sign-up period, and exception combination for which you are performing FX tasks. This is also referred to as setting the context.

You can change the layout of all address boxes or individual address boxes.

This is the best method to use when you have the exact and complete address information at hand and you need to manually type and geocode it into the system.

You can geocode an address by defining a street and its closest intersecting street.

This method is used, for example, when you need to send a vehicle to a recently developed location in the city that is not yet recognized in the map.

You can geocode the stop to indicate where it is located in a segment – on the left, center or right side of the road from the perspective of point A (origin).

The Address Info dialog box shows address field labels for typed values.

The Address Matcher dialog box has two display areas and a status bar.

The Batch Geocoder is a tool that allows you to geocode groups of addresses previously typed into the system at one time.

The system map allows you to view address locations in relation to their street, city, or other geocoded locations.

A reference short description answers the questions of what things are, what they do, what they are used for.

Map properties determine the way the system matches an address to be geocoded against information within the database, and the visual layout of the system map on the screen and on printout.

Resizing the system map allows you make the map bigger on the screen or to make it smaller so that you can view more information in the other panes.

Changing the level of detail on the map allows you to see the entire map or to view areas on a map more closely.

You can access Map features through the Map menu and the main toolbar.

Map settings can be viewed for screens or printing.

With the Route Definition screen open, you can view route and pattern traces, stops and nodes on the different tabs.

When adding pattern traces, you can either add a pattern trace based on the line trace or draw the trace freehand.

You can add the pattern trace on the Google Map using the Line Trace option.

You can add deadhead traces on Google Maps.

The types of exceptions in Trapeze FX are:

You can add exceptions to trips to operate under specific conditions.

You can edit the added exceptions.

You can delete existing exceptions.

An exception combination is a set of exceptions that operate together on specific days within a sign-up period. You must create exception combinations to anticipate scheduling realities.

You can set an exception combination from the Exception Combo drop-down list in the Set Mode dialog box. As a result, only trips with exceptions compatible with the selected exception combination appear in the Trips grids of the Trip Building screen.

If you use exceptions, make sure that you have identified the trips with exceptions before blocking. Creating blocks with trips with exceptions involves blocking the base exception trips first and then blocking the trips with other exceptions using the Blocking tool.

The first step when runcutting blocked pieces that contain exceptions is to select an exception combination that is going to be used for cutting the base set of runs. Based on your site requirements and data, this important choice depends on:

When you runcut in FX, rostering only works with the exception runs based on the exception combination set as the default. Rostering recognizes only one exception combination.

Comments ancillary data properties allow you to filter and view all existing comments.

Use the Comments ancillary data to view, and edit all existing comments at once. Comments are not created here but in other task screens.

Create types of comments for your site in order to further refine the application of comments and comment search functionality.

You can edit the content and appearance of comments in your Trapeze Workstation.

In the Route Definition screen, comments can be added to patterns on the Patterns tab directly in the Comments column of the Patterns grid, or Using the Turn List feature.

Using the Turn List feature, you can apply comments to patterns and stop patterns.

Previously written comments can be applied to trips through the Trip Building Edit dialog.

Using the comments tab, you can apply previously defined comments to new trips.

In the Blocking screen, comments can be created and added to designated blocks, and users.

In the Blocking screen comments can be created and added to garages associated with a block.

If you have the System Map or Google Maps open, you can view the selected bus stop on the map.

In the Bus Stop screen, you can search and filter bus stops with a variety of options.

The List Lines option on the Select tab allows you to check the lines to which a bus stop is associated.

When creating a record for a new bus stop, you can add information about it on the Select tab.

You can edit any bus stop record as required.

You can delete bus stop records of those that may no longer be in service or removed.

You can add other pieces of information as supplementary data and edit them on the bus stops grid.

Quick Response (QR) codes are bar codes in two-dimensional mode.

You can set the route definition using the Route Definition screen.

A node is a designated timing point that is used in building trips. A stop is a physical point or location where a vehicle stops to pick up (load) or drop off (unload) passengers.

A pattern is the prescribed sequence of nodes associated with a route.

Stop patterns are sets of vehicle stops through which certain trip types pass.

Special point types are created as ancillary data and should have been defined when FX was installed at your transit site.

The Trip Building screen, which is comprised of four tabs, allows you to create trips for transit vehicles along one line in one direction from a start node to an end node.

Run time intervals are the periods during a workday when a specific pattern operates, for example, from 6:00 to 9:00.

Node to node refers to a pair of From and To nodes.

The Trips tab shows the trips of the line you selected in Set Mode. The trips are shown in grids with the patterns, node abbreviations, and vehicle types that are assigned to them.

Timed connections or transfer times are times when vehicles are scheduled to arrive or depart at nodes used by more than one line or that are near other lines. This information is fed into reports such as block paddles and driver paddles.

A stop trip is an estimate of trip times at the bus stops. This estimate is an interpolation of the scheduled node times and stop-to-stop distances.

The Blocking screen shows two grids for the Blocked and Unblocked trips by default.

A deadhead is the non-revenue time that occurs between two different nodes, from a node to a garage or from a garage to a node.

The Blocking tab of the Blocking screen has two grids: Blocked trips on the left and Unblocked trips on the right.

FX presents two main approaches to blocking trips: linking the trips manually or using the automatic blocking algorithm.

The manual approach links or hooks one trip at a time in a consecutive manner. The trips follow one another in order according to the parameters that have been set.

The automatic approach, links or hooks trips either by finding the most cost efficient combination of trips or finding the trips that follow each other in a consecutive manner.

To make changes to the blocks generated automatically or manually, you can use the features in the Blocking Edit dialog box and the other options in the Blocking menu.

The Block Scenarios feature allows you to experiment with multiple combinations of parameters in order to find the most efficient block results.

Driver blocks are predominantly used in rail transit and are developed in the Blocking screen. To create them, perform the same steps applied in creating vehicle blocks.

Set the correct mode or context when using runcutting with the options provided.

You can apply different types of runs when runcutting according to your requirements.

The Runcutting screen contains two tabs: Runs and Travels. It opens with the Runs tab by default. 

Before runcutting, you must perform the following activities to make sure that your data is complete and free from errors.

You can print selected or all of the records on the Runs or Travels tab.

Relief events are the times and locations in a block where an operator takes over from another driver.

Without travel times, the results you can achieve in an automatic runcut are going to be limited. Travels have to be properly established in order to properly cost your runs.

The use of waits and travels is another approach to getting an operator to and from his or her assigned run.

Work and costing rules refer to the parameters applied to regulate the work performed by operators and to determine how they are paid based on government regulations, transit site policies, and union agreements.

FX provides two runcutting approaches.

Improving your runs is key to saving you money. The theory states that improving your runs reduces total pay, reduces illegal runs, and achieves your desired run composition.

Elements on the Run Costing Summary Screen and their definitions.

You can use automatic runcutting to improve your runs.

The procedure of using the Improve function is illustrated with this example: removing the trippers that were created in the initial runcut.

You can create weekly work for all services in a division using the Rostering screen.

If no runs have been loaded when you open the Rostering screen, the left section of the screen is empty. Use the Load Runs feature to load the unpicked runs from your Runcutting screen.

The check boxes you select in the Display Options frame determine the type of data that you see in the Roster grid. You can select the types of data you want to appear in the Roster grids.

Change the display order of the items in the Roster grids in the Order By frame of the Display tab.

The Filters frame on the Display tab is used after you create rosters.

FX offers two approaches to rostering: Automatic and Manual. You can apply just one approach or use both approaches based on what best suits your requirements.

Automatic rostering refers to the use of the functions of FX on the Auto tab to help you optimize and combine On days, create Off days and improve rosters.

Penalties applied to create rosters are defined in the Penalties dialog box, which is opened from the Optimize On frame.

The Create Off Days frame on the Auto tab allows you to create 5-day or 4-day rosters depending on what your transit site uses.

After automatic rostering is complete, you can develop more cost efficient rosters.

Manual rostering provides you greater control of rostering solutions compared to the automatic approach.

The costing features such as the costing constants and union contract used in Runcutting are similar to those in Rostering.

You can save a rostering solution to a file.

You can load rosters from the file using the options provided.

Apply the Roster Scenarios function when you require different rosters for specific time periods, for example, during holidays. The rosters are saved into the database instead of into a file.

You can load and remove roster scenarios in the Roster Scenarios dialog box.

This removes rosters from the scenario dialog box.

There are several options to re-sort and renumber rosters.

You can search for roster and other data using the Find feature.

Extra work may involve cleaning or maintenance duties to help complete a weekly roster. You can add extra non-runcut work to a roster.

You can print the roster data on the grid.

FX Tools helps automate the scheduling processes

The Stop To Node tool enables you to replace a stop associated with a node on a given route with another stop.

The Transfer Tool identifies trips containing transfer points where routes intersect. The tool helps determine if the trip times give passengers enough time to transfer the trips to which they want to connect.

The Single Track Tool dialog allows you to view rail trips on a single track over a specific time period in a histogram.

The Interlining tool is useful when you want to interline a specific trip which may constitute of a small block or a line with another line. Interlining is used if it is allowed by your transit site policy and the union agreement.

The Run Times tool is used for comparing run times between selected nodes in the lines to which they belong and making sure that their run times are consistent throughout the system.

The Trips/Blocks Graph tool provides you the graphical representation that you see when you select Profile in the Trip Building and Blocking screen menus.

The Single Track Graph tool is used in rail transit.

The Blocking tool enables to check and assign or reassign garage pull-out or pull-ins to your Blocked data. This is useful with exception data.

The Graphical Runcutting tool allows you to perform runcutting with the use of graphical representation of the blocks.

Use the Run Cutting Tool to view the various types of runs according to service group and division and to force a run into a particular run type.

The table lists the check boxes in each of the panes in the FX Data Integrity Check dialog.

The Total Statistics tool shows you the summary of statistics of the trips in your current context.

The Spatial Data Export tool is used to export spatial (map-related) fixed route data to a specified format.

The Yard Balancing Tool allows you to determine the number of cars and trains that pull out and pull in from a yard or garage for a service group and line group during a specific sign-up period.

Setting up the Extended FX Data Tools is a required step that determines how you use the tool through customization.

In the FX Data tool you can automatically create pattern and line traces for selected services and lines.

The Delete Unused Line Traces tool is used to remove trace segments that are not used by the pattern traces of the selected lines.

The Calculating Patter Distances tool is used to calculate the pattern distances of selected lines.

The Extract Stop Patterns tool is used to extract node patterns from the services and lines that you want and apply them to stop patterns.

The Calculate Stop Pattern Distances option is used calculate the stop pattern distances of the lines and services you want.

The Extract and Calculate Stop Trips tool is used to create stop trips and calculate their time for the lines and services you want.

The Compute Stop Trips tool is used to compute Stop trips for traveler information products that have a real-time component.

The Build Clock Layover tool is used to determine if there are mid-trip layovers and for the schedule adherence to be updated accordingly for Traveler Information products that have a real-time component.

The Set Destination Sign Tool is used to create the initial destination signs that indicate a vehicle's line and points of destination associated with a pattern.

The Polygon Buffering option allows you to create buffers around lines or patterns. A buffer is an area of specified distance around a point or a line.

The Updated Trace map tool converts XY coordinates to match longitudes and latitudes.

The Extract Run Times tool can be used on multiple services and lines to create blocks between sign-up periods, in a similar manner as the Extract tab on the Run Times Edit dialog box in Trip Building.

The In Service Stop feature is used to filter the stops that are in use or not by sign-up period.

The In Service Nodes feature is used to determine which nodes are in use and those which are not by sign-up period.

The Replace Garage Deadheads with Trips tool is used to change garage (pull-out/pull-in) deadheads into trips before runcutting.

The Create Pattern Turn Lists tool creates pattern turn lists and saves them as pattern comments for all or selected lines.

The Polygon Buffering tool allows you to create buffers around lines or patterns.

QR (Quick Response) Codes are used with bus stops data that is provided to passengers for real-time schedule information.

The Link Line to Previous Signup option updates the transfer values of the selected lines with those of the lines that have the same stop abbreviations in a previous sign-up period.

You can add supplementary fields to most of the main screens using the Supplementary Data Manager.

You can modify supplementary fields using the options provided you have Write access.

Editing the values of the supplementary data in the various screens is performed in various ways. The fields may be edited using an editing tool, in the dialog boxes where they were first created using the Edit feature, or changed directly on the screen.

Supplementary data that you have defined can be shown on the right section of the grid.

The Street Wizard is a search tool that lets you find a specific street, cross street, or street range.

Use the Find Closest Wizard to search for vehicles, stops, locations, client addresses, or events within close proximity to a specific address.

Use the Distance Wizard to determine distances between different points on the map.

The table indicates the general workstation commands and their actions.

The table indicates the commands to expand different menus.

The table indicates the keyboard shortcuts to access screens.

The table indicates the keyboard shortcuts to edit text.