Optym to Develop DriverMAX with Greyhound Lines

GAINESVILLE, Fla., March 7, 2017 -- Optym is delighted to announce its collaboration with Greyhound Lines to develop DriverMAX, an algorithm-based system for driver route planning. Driver route planning at Greyhound is currently done manually by planners with decades of experience. DriverMAX will encapsulate this human experience and insight into a software solution that will generate the routes of over 1,000 drivers within an hour. This software is expected to generate higher wages for each driver, improve their quality of life, and at the same time reduce the total cost of operations for Greyhound.

Driver planning is a very complex process and requires striking a balance between Greyhound's driving needs, drivers' lifestyle preferences, and work-rest rules mandated by the federal government. It is a complex optimization problem that defied effective computerized solutions. Optym's proposed software solution will create millions of options of driver assignments, evaluate those options with respect to multiple objectives, and recommend the best option. Optym expects to reduce the driving related costs by several million dollars per year, all the while meeting drivers' lifestyle preferences and improving the quality of their lives.

Myron Watkins, VP of Customer Experience at Greyhound, said, "We believe this collaboration can improve the lives of our employees and streamline cost in the operations. It's a difficult and challenging problem that is well worth the effort. Optym is up to the challenge and both organizations are committed to making this a success in the coming months."

DriverMAX's success will present future opportunities for a range of optimization possibilities across other areas of Greyhound's business, including real-time scheduling of drivers and buses. This system may also be used at Greyhound's parent company, FirstGroup, in their other business divisions.

"This is an exciting collaboration for Optym and I am thrilled that we are able to develop our revolutionary software to improve operations at Greyhound. Our team is looking forward to this opportunity with Greyhound to develop DriverMAX further, and to help Greyhound generate even higher profitability," said Dr. Ravi. Ahuja, President & CEO of Optym.

Optym's specialized technical experience, combined with Greyhound's reach over North America, is sure to produce a successful collaboration. Optym's partnership with Greyhound to develop DriverMAX brings businesses one step closer to creating unparalleled efficiencies in the scheduling of manpower resources.

ABOUT OPTYM

In today's fast-paced digital world, many businesses are facing optimization problems. Complex decision-making that was once made by humans is now being replaced by innovative software solutions. Using decades of industry research and sophisticated mathematics, Optym specializes in building decision automation and optimization solutions for the transportation industry including railroads, airlines, trucks and buses. Their intelligent solutions are in use at leading companies such as Southwest Airlines, CSX Transportation, and BHP Billiton.

To find out more about Optym, visit www.optym.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/optym
Facebook: www.facebook.com/OptymLiveEfficiently
Twitter: www.twitter.com/OptymLE

ABOUT GREYHOUND

Greyhound, a First Group plc company, is the only national provider of scheduled intercity coach services in the U.S. and Canada. Based in Dallas, Greyhound provides scheduled passenger services to 3,800 destinations carrying approximately 18 million passengers a year. The company's point-to-point service, Greyhound Express, serves more than 135 markets and also operates brands for local markets including BoltBus, Lucky Streak casino service and Greyhound Connect. Greyhound is the first U.S.-based intercity bus company to operate domestic service within Mexico as well as international connections to Texas.

For fare and schedule information visit the website at www.greyhound.com.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/GreyhoundBus
Twitter: www.twitter.com/GreyhoundBus
Instagram: www.instagram.com/greyhoundlines

Contact: Saumya Ahuja, saumya.ahuja@optym.com

SOURCE Optym