JESS - journey enquiry support system

Encouraged by systems developed by British Rail (BR Journey Planner) and other UK and continental organisations, Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) was keen to follow their lead with an ambitious project to provide a journey enquiry system for Strathclyde. This system would deliver answers to multi-modal (i.e. bus, rail, sea and air) point to point travel enquiries in the Strathclyde area. From this initial idea the JESS (journey enquiry support system) project was born. Its aim would be to implement a system to support SPT´s travel enquiry staff, located in seven offices throughout Strathclyde, both for the telephone service and for direct contact by the public. This paper describes the operation of the whole of JESS, but in limited detail as the system is complex. It concentrates on the operation of the JESS client.