What is Layover/Deadhead?

Layover and deadhead are two terms used in the transit industry to describe certain vehicle states, and can commonly be found in the Swiftly Dashboard. Swiftly represents vehicles in the layover or deadhead state with the color gray, which indicates that the vehicle is assigned to a block but not running a trip at that moment.

Typically, a gray vehicle in layover/deadhead state is about to start a trip or taking a break in-between trips. An example of a vehicle in layover/deadheading can be seen in the image below. 

What is Layover?

A "layover" is time set aside in a schedule to allow for a break or recovery. Vehicles in layover can be in this state for a range of time. Typical reasons why a vehicle might be in layover:

• A break for the driver/operator of the vehicle. 
• Changing the driver/operator of the vehicle. 
• To recover from vehicles running too early in accordance with the schedule. 
• Adding time at busy stops with high unloading and loading times. 

What is Deadhead?

Deadheading is when a bus is out of service bus and is running without passengers. This is also referred to as a non-revenue trip, dead mileage, dead running. Deadheading can occur for one or more of the following reasons: 

• A vehicle is leaving or returning to the vehicle yard. 
• A vehicle is driving to its first stop from a different route. 
• A vehicle is driving to a break spot.