Now that we’ve figured out how to use PC*MILER to get somewhere, the next question is: When will we get there? (“Soon,” like you tell the kids in the back seat, probably isn’t good enough for your customers.)

PC*MILER’s time-based routing offers more precise travel time estimates, taking into consideration the time of day, day of the week, and time zones in route calculations and reports. Optionally, real-time and historical traffic data can also be used in route calculations for even more accuracy. (A subscription to the Traffic add-on and an Internet connection are required.)

At this point in the Tour, we will enter a target arrival time. When the route is run, PC*MILER will calculate the necessary departure time at the origin, and arrival times at two intermediate stops.

1. Minimize Route 1 and press <CTRL+N> to open a new route window (Route 2). 

2. Open the + drop-down in the route window and select Arrive by… under Arrival/Departure.

3. Under Day/Date, with Specific Date selected, click the calendar and choose any future day in the current month.

4. Under Time of Day, set the time to 4:30 PM either by typing over the current setting or using the drop-down pick list.

5. Click OK. PC*MLER is set to calculate a route that arrives at its last stop at 4:30 PM on the selected day.

TIP:  Both the time format (24 hours vs. AM/PM) and the time zone that is used for reporting can be changed in the File menu > Application Settings > Units. The time zone does not affect calculations.

6. Now let’s enter an origin, destination, and stops on this route.  Enter the following locations in this order: Southampton, NY; Hamilton, NJ; Camden, NJ; and Pittsburgh, PA, using any ZIP codes.

7. Run the route. In the ETA/ETD column (scroll to the right if it’s not visible, or float the route window) you can see the approximate time at which the truck would have to depart from Southampton to get to Pittsburgh at 4:30. We didn’t set any stop durations, so this reflects only the driving time.

8. (If Traffic and an Internet connection are not available, skip to Step 9.)  Now we’ll make one change to this route: select the Arrival/Departure drop-down again, and under Travel Speeds select Historical Traffic. The route will recalculate using recent historical traffic pattern data*, at the specified time on the specified day of the week. Using traffic data, the estimated time of departure at the origin in our sample route is about a half hour later for this route.

* Traffic information provided by INRIX ©. All Rights Reserved by INRIX, Inc.

9. We won’t be using this route again, so close Route 2 (Routes tab > Close or gear button > Close Route). 

Next Stop: See Traffic on the Map