Challenges Leading to ViewPoint Implementation 

Guelph Transit faced difficulties with manual data collection and relied heavily on Excel for tracking, which made their data unreliable and inaccessible. To help them make data-driven decisions, Guelph Transit implemented TransTrack’s ViewPoint BI, which streamlined processes, improved efficiency, and enabled their team to communicate confidently using visualized, credible data.  

"There was a lot of manual calculation and a lot of hands-on resources that it took to collect the data and actually use it. We wanted to make more data-driven decisions but we didn't have data that we could rely on. Having ViewPoint helped us visualize and conceptualize the specific challenges that we faced.”  - Laura Bragues, Manager, Transit Network Design and Control Centre, Guelph Transit 

 

Guelph Transit considered an in-house Business Intelligence platform but found that this required their IT staff to have transit-specific knowledge. Replicating ViewPoint internally would have required years of effort and staff proficient in both Modern Cloud Data technologies and transit operations. ViewPoint’s strength is that it’s built by transit people for transit people. 

Long-term Vision Support 

With these challenges in mind, Guelph Transit sought a solution that would streamline their processes, improve data reliability, and support the agencies long-term goals.  

ViewPoint helped Guelph Transit adopt a data centric approach, providing critical data and information to enhance services and foster a more data-driven decision making process. It provides stakeholders, including schedulers, supervisors, cross-divisional teams and executives, with access to customized dashboards.  

This empowers staff to make informed decisions independently, increases transparency, and streamlines cross-departmental collaborations. 

ViewPoint's Top Features and Functionalities 

In adopting ViewPoint, Guelph Transit found that certain features have been particularly beneficial in transforming their operations:  

• Matrix tables with hierarchical data review (drill-up/down functionality). 
• Azure & Bing Maps for visualizing boardings and alightings, especially in presentations and ridership analyses in Guelph’s Route 52 U Express.
• Canned reports that can be duplicated and customized.
• Visualizations that simplify data interpretation and presentation. 

Upcoming features include runtime prediction modules and deployment pipelines for more structured development. ViewPoint’s runtime analysis feature will help them tweak schedules and ensure that they’re within their on-time performance ranges. 

“For anybody who is considering [ViewPoint], I tell them “It's gonna be great. It's gonna help.” There's so many benefits.”  - Laura Bragues, Manager, Transit Network Design and Control Centre, Guelph Transit 

 

Achieving Strategic Goals 

In addition, ViewPoint has helped Guelph Transit achieve its strategic goals in several areas: 

• Establishing a run-time review and planning program. 
• Making operational improvements based on on-time performance and trip efficiency. 
• Building scorecards for operators, vehicles, and routes. 
• Reducing manual workload, allowing more focus on high-value analysis. 

External and Internal Benefits 

Externally, ViewPoint data has been shared with city departments for traffic assessments and safety planning. It has also supported grant funding, audit processes, and council presentations. I 

Internally, moving to a cloud-based solution has removed the burden from IT and increased agility for the operations team. IT no longer needs to support the infrastructure, and the operations team no longer has to wait for IT to interpret or build reports. 

Progress Towards Eliminating Excel 

Guelph Transit is approximately 75%–80% out of Excel, with exceptions for APC cleansing and EV-specific analysis. The transition has significantly reduced manual workload. To eliminate Excel entirely, they are exploring building custom cleansing workflows directly in ViewPoint. 

Unlock the Full Potential of Your Transit Data 

By adopting a data-centric approach, Guelph Transit significantly improved efficiency, data reliability, and strategic goal achievement. ViewPoint has empowered staff to make informed decisions independently, increased transparency with operators, and streamlined cross-departmental collaborations. The benefits of ViewPoint extend beyond internal operations, supporting external reporting, grant funding, and council presentations.  

Request a demo today and see how ViewPoint can transform your operations.