GATRA runs Paratransit and Microtransit services across several remote yards. Managing that kind of operation used to mean dispatchers spent their days reacting to problems instead of preventing them. With Spare's Watchlist and Duty Delays features, GATRA gave its dispatchers the tools to catch problems early, before they affect riders.

Stuck in reaction mode

In traditional Paratransit, dispatchers spend most of their day reacting instead of managing. When a driver falls behind, the same manual process plays out every time. Someone has to figure out where the delay is without any real-time visibility, call the rider to explain what's happening, move trips between drivers by hand, and arrange backup rides through Uber or Lyft if needed.

When you're always reacting, you never get ahead. GATRA's dispatchers were so busy handling the fallout from delays that they had no time to stop them from happening in the first place. The problem with this is GATRA were never able to fix what was actually causing the delays. And with several yards to manage, one problem could quickly ripple across the whole operation.

How Spare helped GATRA get ahead of problems

Spare's answer to this wasn't a single fix. It was two things working together.

The first was taking the reactive work off dispatchers' plates entirely. The Spare Engine handles trip assignments automatically, reroutes when schedules slip, and keeps riders updated without anyone having to pick up the phone. The manual scramble that used to define a dispatcher's day stopped.

But that alone wouldn't fix the underlying problem. So the second piece was giving dispatchers something they never had before: the ability to spot issues before they turn into delays. The Watchlist shows what's happening across the whole operation in real time. If a driver is late pulling out, sitting too long at a stop, or going off route, dispatchers can see it and act on it straight away.

What dispatching looks like now

At GATRA, both tools work together on one screen. The Spare Engine keeps things moving in the background while dispatchers use the Watchlist to stay ahead of anything that looks off.

When they need to reach a driver, they do it through Messaging right from the Watchlist. It's quick, it's private, and it creates a record of the conversation. For an operation spread across several yards, that means nothing gets missed and leadership always knows what's going on.

"The messaging feature and having that so readily at hand gives us easily accessible, discrete ways to at least put somebody on notice or alert them that you need to have a conversation that isn't radio appropriate for whatever reason." 
- Patrick High, General Manager, WeDriveU

What changed at GATRA

The shift shows up in how dispatchers actually spend their day. Instead of chasing down delays and shuffling trips, they're watching for problems before they happen and stepping in early when something looks off. Every yard is visible from one screen, so nothing slips through the cracks. And because every conversation with a driver is logged, leadership has a clear picture of what's happening across the operation and can make better decisions over time.

"It's a quick, easy tool that I can just scroll down real quick, hop onto whatever driver's in question, pull up their manifest." 
- Christopher Tirrell, Dial-A-Ride Manager, GATRA

Where GATRA is now

GATRA's dispatchers aren't putting out fires anymore. They're preventing them. That change didn't come from working harder, it came from having the right tools. The Spare Engine handles the logistics, and the Watchlist gives dispatchers the visibility to stay one step ahead.

For an agency managing multiple yards and hundreds of trips a day, that matters. Riders get where they're going, and the people running the operation finally have the breathing room to do their jobs well.

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