Transportation Route and Crew Scheduler

Transportation route and crew schedulers prepare schedules for transportation equipment and operators using computer software and other methods. They are responsible for assigning personnel to appropriate equipment and routes and scheduling work shifts, and they perform recordkeeping for their organization's equipment and personnel to ensure that everything is running smoothly and efficiently.

A transportation route and crew scheduler's duties include the following:

• organize and monitor workloads and task lists
• keep track of available equipment, vehicles and crew
• create, map and adjust routes and schedules to ensure that all necessary tasks are completed efficiently and on time
• assign crews to equipment and vehicles and distribute routes and schedules for use by operators and passengers
• monitor progress and adapt routes and schedules to weather, traffic, equipment failures and other complicating factors
• communicate with and provide support for crew
• coordinate, schedule and create purchase orders for delivery and return of equipment and vehicles
• obtain quotes from transport vendors
• perform recordkeeping and maintain daily traffic logs
• monitor and analyze schedule adherence and passenger or freight loads to improve future scheduling.

Transportation route and crew schedulers spend most of their time in office settings. Evening and weekend work may be required occasionally.

Working conditions vary by employer. Transportation route and crew schedulers may work in small offices with simple telephone systems, or large offices with high levels of technology including vehicle tracking, computerized systems and ergonomically designed work stations.

Transportation route and crew schedulers require the following characteristics:

• good interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to maintain positive working relationships
• good organizational skills
• the ability to work well both independently and in a team environment
• the ability to think logically and critically and solve problems
• strong technical and computer skills
• attention to detail
• the ability to perform multiple tasks with changing priorities and deadlines.

They should enjoy operating communications equipment and working with people.

Transportation route and crew schedulers are employed by:

• municipal government transit departments
• delivery, trucking and courier companies
• railways, airlines and other transportation or transit industry companies.

Mobility between occupations for transportation route and crew schedulers can be limited, since specific transportation sector experience is typically required.

Advancement to supervisory positions is possible with sufficient experience. Transportation route and crew schedulers may be provided with opportunities to advance to analyst, planner or management positions or other administrative roles within a company.

In Alberta, 76% of people employed as transportation route and crew schedulers work in the following industries:

• Transportation and Warehousing
• Public Administration
• Manufacturing
• Wholesale Trade
• Utilities.

The employment outlook in this occupation will be influenced by a wide variety of factors, including:

• trends and events affecting overall employment
• location in Alberta
• employment turnover (work opportunities generated by people leaving existing positions)
• occupational growth (work opportunities resulting from the creation of new positions that never existed before)
• size of the occupation.

Employment turnover is expected to increase as the number of people retiring increases over the next few years.

Careers in Transportation website: www.transpocity.ca

Supply Chain Canada Route and Crew Scheduler profile: www.supplychaincanada.org/en/nos

For more information on career planning, education and jobs, visit the Alberta Learning Information Service (ALIS) website, call the Alberta Career Information Hotline toll-free at 1-800-661-3753 or 780-422-4266 in Edmonton, or visit an Alberta Works Centre near you.