Overview
Once you've built your routes, patterns, timetables, and services, scheduling is where Spare turns them into the block and duty templates that vehicles and drivers actually run. You create a schedule for a service, Spare generates templates for every day of the week, and you can attach a work rule to control how those templates are built, adjust them per day, and re-optimize.
This is the template-planning side of scheduling. The realized, day-of version lives in the Live Schedule, which is covered separately.
The Schedules List
Go to Scheduling → Schedules to see your Existing Schedules table, with columns for Name, Service, Date Range, Days, Work Rule, and Actions. You can search schedules from the search box, and services whose end date has passed appear in a dimmed Past Schedules section.
Services that need a schedule
If any active or upcoming service doesn't yet have a schedule, a yellow banner and a Services Needing Schedules table appear, listing each service with its date range and operating days. This is where you start planning.
Creating a schedule
You create a schedule directly from the service that needs one:
In the Services Needing Schedules table (or an unscheduled service row), select Create Schedule (the + button).
In the Create New Schedule modal, confirm the Schedule Name (pre-filled as "{Service} Schedule"). The Service is already selected and locked.
Optionally choose a Work Rule to constrain how templates are built.
Create the schedule. Spare automatically generates block and duty templates for all seven days and opens the Day Templates editor.
Note: Each service can have one schedule. You can change a schedule's work rule later from the row's Actions (⋯) → Manage Work Rule, which includes a No Work Rule option.
The Day Templates Editor
Opening a schedule brings up the Day Templates editor — the same Gantt-style timeline as the Live Schedule, but showing templates by day of week rather than a calendar date.
Navigating
Use the Su / M / Tu / W / Th / F / Sa tabs to switch day of week (it opens on the service's first operating day). A segmented control switches between Blocks (vehicle assignment) and Duties (driver assignment), and you can sort by start time or ID, search by block/duty ID or assignment, and zoom with the +/− controls or Ctrl/Cmd + scroll.
Reading the stats panel
Unlike the Live Schedule, the Day Templates editor shows a statistics panel with cards for Blocks, Duties, Service Hours, Service Miles, Out of Service Hours, Out of Service Miles, Break Hours, Scheduled Trips, and Service Efficiency (%) — a quick read on how efficient your schedule is.
Reading the timeline
On the Blocks tab, each row is a block with a Vehicle column; on the Duties tab, each row is a duty with a Driver column. The bars show trips (route-colored, with headsign tooltips), deadheads (outlined bars), layovers, and operations-base/depot markers. Duties are built from pieces that pull trip, deadhead, and layover segments from their associated blocks. An empty day shows "No schedule items".
Filtering and edit mode
The Filter button lets you filter by Assignment (All / Assigned / Unassigned) and Routes, with an optional My Operations toggle. The editor opens read-only in View mode; select the pencil to enter Edit mode, which enables selection, drag-and-drop, identifier editing, and assignment editing. Switching day returns you to View mode.
Working with Templates
Within the editor you can:
Add an empty block — use the gutter Add block (+) button; the block name is optional and auto-generated if left blank.
Assign a vehicle or driver — use the assignment dropdown on a block or duty (it warns on double-assignment; clear it to unassign).
Edit an identifier — in Edit mode, click the block or duty ID in the row header.
Move a trip between blocks — in Edit mode, drag a trip segment onto another block row.
Inspect a segment — use View Route Pattern to jump to the route/pattern on the Network Map, or Edit Deadhead Template to adjust a deadhead's routing.
Delete an empty block — in Edit mode, use the trash icon (available only for blocks with no trips).
Generating, optimizing, and copying
Templates are generated automatically when a schedule is first created. Beyond that:
Optimize — the primary Optimize button regenerates all block and duty templates using the schedule's assigned work rule. It replaces existing templates for every day of the week, so you'll be asked to confirm.
Copy to Other Days — the Copy button copies the current day's templates to other days you select (the current day is the locked source). Existing templates on target days are overwritten.
Work Rules
Work Rules are organization-wide constraint templates that shape how block and duty templates are generated and optimized. A work rule attaches to a schedule (not to routes, services, or vehicles), and a schedule can use one work rule or none. Find them under Scheduling → Work Rules.
Creating and editing a work rule
The Work Rules list shows each rule's Name, Description, and a count of configured Rule Parameters. Select Add Work Rule to create one, or click a row to edit it. The editor has four tabs; all duration fields are in minutes and must be 0 or greater.
General — the rule's Name (required) and an optional Description.
Block Building — Allow Interlining (let a vehicle switch routes within one block), Block Allocation Strategy (Best Fit to minimize idle time, or First Fit for consistent route sequences), and Min Layover Time (default 3 min).
Time Limits — Max Block Duration (default 480 min), Max Duty Piece Duration (default 300 min, the continuous driving time before a break is required), and Max Daily Time for Drivers (default 600 min of spread time).
Layovers — Depot Layover Threshold (default 30 min), Min Depot Layover Duration (default 15 min), Max Layovers Per Block (empty = no limit), and Max Layover Duration (empty by default; longer layovers are capped and the vehicle departs earlier).
Day-of-week overrides
On the Block Building, Time Limits, and Layovers tabs, you can override individual settings for specific days. Pick a day in the Select Day dropdown, select Add Override, choose a field, and enter a value. A field with overrides shows an "Override: {days}" badge, and you can remove one with the trash icon.
How work rules get applied
A work rule takes effect when templates are generated or optimized. You can attach or change one in three places: in the Create Schedule modal, from a schedule row's Manage Work Rule action, or from the Work Rules popover in the Day Templates toolbar (where the pencil edits the selected rule and changes save immediately). When you Optimize, Spare uses whichever work rule is assigned to that schedule.
Work rules don't apply directly to individual routes or services, there's no organization-wide default, and they don't appear on the Live Map or Settings screens.
Questions about scheduling or work rules? Reach out to our support team and we'll be happy to help.