The S.I.T. System includes a high-powered, sophisticated algorithm for the immediate calculation of the best path for travelling on public transport between any two points located in the city of Madrid.

On the following pages, the System will ask you for the information necessary for these calculations (Starting Point and Destination, desired Transport Modes, Calculation Criteria, time and date).

At any time, you can go back to correct a mistake or to make a different calculation based on different data.

The algorithm employed is dynamic, in that it adapts to the actual conditions at the point in time at which the inquiry is made (summer, winter, night or day schedules, rush or off-peak, etc.). The algorithm also takes into account any possible incidents occurring within the Transport System, such as strikes on a certain transport mode, any line on which service has been suspended at some point, etc.

The screen displaying the recommended path between any two points in Madrid is as follows:

The origin and destination are specified by selecting:

a street and a street number
a Metro station a place of interest
or Suburban Train Station

The origin and destination are specified.

During the same session if a previous inquiry has been made, the origin and destination are kept for further inquiries.

Users may select Transport Mode they wish to use on the trip.

The user may also select "All", in which case the path calculation is made using all modes (bus, metro or suburban train), whichever combination is best. Or they may select "Bus Only", "Metro Only" or "Suburban Train Only". By using these options, the user will be provided with a solution using only the transport mode requested. In the event that no public transport solution is possible, the text "No possible path under the requested conditions" will be displayed on the screen.

The user can also select path calculation criteria. The possible alternatives in this case are: Least transfers, Fastest path or Optimum Path. In this last case, a psychologically weighted combination of all trip costs and times are used.

The date and the time of travel can also be specified.

After the origin, destination and path criteria have been specified, the calculation is made by pressing after which the system displays a diagram of the solution on screen.

The solution is displayed showing the trip stages from origin to destination. For each stage the following information is provided:, estimated travel time (mins.), transport mode (& lines), starting point (address, station, bus stop) and end point.

For walking sections, the appropriate map can be displayed on the screen by pressing

Finally, an estimated total time is provided.

At any time, the user can start a new inquiry by pressing the button or request Help by pressing