Case Study: Bus Industry Solution

We know that bus owners not only want their buses to run more efficiently and be more productive, but also provide commuters with a safe and reliable mean of transportation. This is exactly where the GEOTAB Solution shows its true colours and competitive edge.

Case Study: Bus Industry Solution

The brief received was that the company wanted to ensure busses are run on schedule and any deviations of these schedules had to be monitored and visible in real time, therefore the typical time based polling used by most tracking companies would not suffice, as refresh rates did not indicate the actual reality on the ground.

Similarly the company noted that time based polling did not indicate some exceptions of speeding and harsh driver behavior due to time based polling algorithms shortfall (More technical review of curve based vs time based algorithms can be viewed here).

GEOTAB’s patented curve based algorithms don’t suffer from these shortfalls, and therefore was the ideal solution, especially since the activation of active tracking in this case provided an even greater level of granularity, and this provided real-time visuals to operators on the GEOTAB mapping interface, as well as any exceptions such as speeding and/or harsh driving.

Within the specific region there were also connectivity issues across the mobile network and GEOTAB implemented special M2M SIM Cards to counter any possible downtime, which resolved the issues experienced.

About Active Tracking: The Active Tracking solution is a new feature for use with MyGeotab, a web-based fleet management software, and the award-winning Geotab GO7 vehicle tracking device, which detects data from the engine, drivetrain, instrument cluster and other relevant subsystems to maximize productivity and minimize downtime. When fleet owners enable Active Tracking, the MyGeotab server tells the GO7 to deliver location updates as soon as they are available.

Using patented algorithms, MyGeotab presents that granular location information on an animated map, reflecting the steady movement of the vehicle — instead of the jagged jumps seen with other telematics solutions. As a result, Geotab’s Active Tracking solution provides deep, actionable insights that are particularly useful in applications where the precise location of a vehicle for dispatch purposes is essential.

Ideally suited for first responders or any dispatcher wishing to closely monitor vehicle activity, Active Tracking is like viewing the vehicle from a traffic helicopter – able to watch live as the vehicle slows down for traffic, accelerates, stops at the side of the road, or speeds down a winding road. After some use a dispatcher will be able to tell, at a glance, if a driver is driving too fast for the road reassure a caller that the ambulance has just turned off the highway onto their street.

Benefits Include:

Driver Safety

GEOTAB’s award winning software, combined with the latest data collecting devices, provide the user with insightful safety management reports about each driver’s on-road behaviour.

Risk and safety scores are assigned to each driver based on key indicators such as, speeding, harsh cornering, harsh braking, excessive acceleration, seatbelt-usage as well as the use of vehicles after-hours.

Productivity

The GEOTAB unit provides ultra-accurate GPS positioning from the second the bus starts moving. This allows the software user to view all movements on a map in real-time. With active tracking enabled one can even see second-by-second data.

The software further enables the user to to see all trip details just by hovering over trip points. This includes speed levels, idle time, stops, broken rules (which can be one of many rules that the user sets-up) and much more.

Productivity

Thanks to the partnership between Garmin and GEOTAB, two-way communication is available between the software user and the actual drivers on-duty. This communication refers to the ability of the software user to dispatch available drivers right from behind their desk. The driver will then be routed to the correct destination with the help of his/her Garmin.

Drivers can change their statuses to ‘on-the-job’ when they arrive at work and the software user will be able to see changes as drivers select different statuses.

User Case Study – School Transport Company

GEOTAB engaged with School Transport Company wanting to monitor in real-time the location, driving behaviour and time deviations against set schedules.