The Scheduler was added to the WME in 2025. It allows editors to create recurring schedules assigned to map elements, similar to the existing time-based functionality used for time-based restrictions, tolls, turns, etc.
| SCHOOL ZONES. As of March 2025, the Scheduler is only used for School Zones, but is expected to be used for other WME features. So, this guidance is drafted to be mostly non-specific in terms of which feature is using the Scheduler functionality |
The Scheduler has two instances within the WME:
- A “Community Schedule” is created from the (+) “plus” menu in the left pane, and then can be applied to many map features as needed. If the Community Schedule is ever updated, all the features that share that Community Schedule will receive the same updates. For example, a state manager could create a state-specific Community Schedule, which conforms to a specific law or regulation that governs when School Zones are active, that can be used by School Zones within the state.
- A “local” schedule is embedded into map elements themselves, allowing editors to set a site-specific schedule on a single location. For example, an editor can set the dates, days of the week, and times a single School Zone is active.
 |
For more information on how to add schedules in the WME, see the how-to document for the Scheduler features by Waze Staff. |
Community Schedules
Community Schedules are created from the (+) “plus” menu. They are intended to be shared among many features on the map, such as multiple School Zone permanent hazards. A Community Schedule must contain either “Active” dates, exclusions, or both.
 |
As of March 2025, an editor must be rank 4 or above to create or edit a Community Schedule. |
How to create a Community Schedule
- Schedule Info. The first step in creating a Community Schedule is to include metadata that governs where it is offered, and who can edit it.
-
Community schedule name. The following format should be used to ensure ease of identifying where the community schedule is being used and to allow searchability. If multiple Community Schedules are created for a common zone, include a differentiating descriptor in the name.
US-[State Abbreviation]-[Name] ([optional descriptor])US-MD-Carroll County Public Schools (exclusion only) -
Description. Give a brief description of the schedule, its intended uses, and if it needs to be updated regularly please include the time-frame that it covers. For example: Exclusion schedule for Carroll County Public Schools, excluding holidays, workdays, and summer break through the 2025-2026 school year
-
Country. United States.
-
State. Used for filters.
-
 |
Although the state field appears as optional, as of March 2025, it must be filled in, otherwise the schedule will not appear as an option to be assigned to features. |
When to add a Community Schedule
Community Schedules are best suited for when many map features share the same active dates/days/times and/or exclusion dates, and it would be burdensome to update local schedules on all the features individually. Below are some examples of valuable community schedules:
- A state has a law that allows for School Zones to be enforced with automated cameras Monday through Friday, 6 AM to 8 PM. A Community Schedule could be created, with active days Monday through Friday and active hours 6 AM to 8 PM, which can be applied to any School Zone enforced by cameras.
- A city has a law that School Zones are active from 6 AM to 7 PM and posted signage says “except Holidays”. A Community Schedule could be created for the active time frame from the, and have exclusions for the holidays recognized by the city. This Community Schedule could be applied to any School Zone in the city.
-
Alternatively: Two Community Schedules could be created, which would allow more flexibility in case some schools have differing hour:
(1) A city-wide “default” School Zone Community Schedule with only the Active Hours
(2) A city-wide “Holidays” Community Schedule with only the exclusions for the Holidays.
For school zones with no posted times both Community Schedules could be added for the default times, excluding holidays. For school zones with unique days/times, a local schedule defined for the days/times the school zone is active, and the “Holiday” Community Schedule could be added to exclude holidays.
-
Before creating a Community Schedule, an editor should consult the list of existing schedules for the state. If an existing schedule is very similar, creating a new schedule may not be necessary. Consult state and regional leaders to determine if a new Community Schedule is needed.
Local schedules
Features on the map also use the Scheduler functionality to determine when the feature is “Active”. For example, on a School Zone, the local schedule on each School Zone polygon determines when the alert is presented to users.
The local schedule has similar dates and exclusion elements to the Community Schedules. However, the dates, days of the week, times, and exclusions added via the scheduler functionality to a specific map element are site-specific, and are not shared among other map elements. However, as discussed below, Community Schedules may also be assigned to individual map elements “stacked” on-top of any site-specific local schedule.
 |
If neither a local schedule or shared Community Schedule is applied to a map element, such as a School Zone, then there is a default set of days/times which are automatically applied. |
How Community Schedules and local schedules interact
The Scheduler allows features to “stack” multiple schedules. A feature may have two or more local or Community Schedules stacked one upon another. Functionally, each set of “Active” dates/days/times set on the local schedule and each applied Community Schedule are stacked into a single set of “Active” dates/days/times. Then, the local exclusions set and exclusions from each applied Community Schedule are removed from the “Active” dates.
|
|
As of March 2025, there is no way to “add back” any dates defined in local or Community Schedule exclusions. |
Examples
Example 1 - Local times and shared calendar
In this first example, the local schedule is set with only a start date and days/times, no exclusions. Then a Community Schedule with no active dates/time but with exclusions is “stacked”. For this specific map element, the site-specific days/times are active (M-F mornings and afternoons), except on the dates excluded by the Community Schedule, specifically holidays, summer vacation, and teacher workdays. This may be a common way to set site-specific times posted on school zones signs, but allowing the annual school calendar to be updated via a common Community Schedule for all schools.
Example 2 - Local times, district calendar, and statewide holidays
In this next example, the local days/times are unchanged, but instead of one community schedule with exclusions, two are used. The District community schedule has the summer vacation and teacher workdays defined, but a Statewide Community Schedule is stacked to define the holidays. You can see how stacking different schedules allows flexibility in where exclusions are defined.
Example 3 - Unintended consequences
In this final example, we look at an unintended consequence of attempting to combine a site-specific local schedule, with a “District” schedule for the regular school year, and a “Summer” schedule for ½ day summer school, four days a week. A few issues present themselves:
- The days stack badly, with the overlapping hours applying in mornings Monday through Thursday showing the summer times, but Friday mornings and weekday afternoons showing the regular school time.
- Even worse, trying to apply exclusions for summer school and regular school without a defined date range ends up with BOTH the summer vacation excluded AND the regular school year excluded. This would result in the School Zone never being active.
