In the competitive taxi business, having any advantage over your competitors can make all the difference. An electronic dispatching and vehicle location system can set you apart from your competition and help you dramatically increase revenue. This whitepaper will highlight the benefits of an electronic dispatching/vehicle tracking system using examples from taxi companies like yours. Additionally, it will outline the most important things to consider when purchasing a solution.
An electronic dispatching and vehicle tracking solution consists of software in the office and mobile computers in your taxis. Rugged in-vehicle computers with integrated taximeters provide turn-by-turn directions for drivers and allow seamless communication between drivers and dispatchers. In the office, electronic dispatching software allows call takers or dispatchers to distribute calls quickly and fairly.
Benefits of an Electronic Dispatching System
Complete More Trips Each Day
An electronic dispatching system allows companies to streamline call-taking and dispatching to considerably increase the number of trips they can handle without adding additional staff. Call takers can enter customer calls and record customer requests for trip cancellations quickly and easily in the system. Repeat customer information is automatically filled in and allows calls to be dispatched in 3 to 4 seconds. Call information is sent in real-time to the driver’s in-vehicle computer. Days of telephone tag or clogged radios are over as trips are automatically assigned to the next available, appropriate driver.
This technology has revolutionized the way the Union Taxi Cooperative in Denver, Colorado does business. Since implementing an electronic dispatching system Union Taxi has completed an average of 12,000 more trips each month, which is fourteen times more trips than their competitors, without needing to hire any more staff.
Eliminate Inefficiencies
Best-in-class electronic dispatching/vehicle tracking systems include a comprehensive set of reports which allow owners and managers to effectively pinpoint areas of inefficiency. Identifying areas where your operation can improve, such as adding more vehicles to your busiest zones during peak periods, helps streamline operations and improve customer service. Additionally, managers are granted a completely transparent view into the daily operations of the fleet which allows them to correct undesired behaviors or reward top drivers.
United Blueline Taxi in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan has seen the benefits of positioning their fleet to provide excellent customer service. Operations Manager, Tony Rosina, says, “Quite often people will phone the other cab company (without an electronic dispatching system), wait 25 to 30 minutes, and then call us and we’re at their door immediately.” Speedy response times during peak hours have helped United Blueline gain a larger, dedicated customer base.
If you’re involved in public transportation, chances are you’ve probably heard some of the buzz about passenger information systems and how they are transforming the public transit experience for riders. Implementing a passenger information system can seem daunting, but with the right technology it is within reach for even the smallest of agencies.
This white paper clearly explains the technology agencies need to run a passenger information system, the various ways to get real-time information to riders, and how the system can be used to not only generate revenue, but improve customer service and satisfaction as well.
Kerr Area Rural Transportation System (KARTS), located in Hendersen, NC, transports more than 160,000 paratransit passengers a year on 42 vehicles. KARTS also provides trips to the cities of Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh. Their Paratransit ITS System was implemented in March 2009 and Rob Brink, Director at KARTS, shares some of the changes he’s seen since the implementation.
1. Have you seen a change in how dispatchers and drivers communicate?
It’s really night and day as far as the totality of the communication process has improved from tracking where drivers are and not having to radio them, but also being able to insert trips and cancellations and getting no-shows back. The biggest improvement is just the seamlessness of it. There’s things that can be done now that might have taken 10 minutes that can now be done instantaneously.
2. Has the system affected the complaint resolution process?
Dispatchers are able to focus more on the call, because they don’t have the radio noise in the background. Also, they’re able to give customers better answers when they ask where their vehicle is or how much longer their vehicle is going to be. Also, dispatchers are able to take care of customer’s needs more immediately because if somebody calls and says they are ready to be picked up, the dispatcher can go ahead and just send a message right out to the driver while that customer is still on the phone. This has reduced customer wait times.
3. Has the system affected on your fleet’s on-time performance?
Definitely in the way that we are able to track it. Before we had this system, there was no real-time data to base our on-time performance off of. Also, with the real-time functionality we now can see if the driver is falling behind and assist them in keeping on-time.
4. Have you noticed any environmental benefits to using the system?
We probably use 25% of the paper we were using prior to the system. Before, we were running a detailed manifest for all the drivers which were about 10-20 page documents. We’ve reduced that to trip summaries which are only 1 to 2 pages.
5. Where have you seen the most changes in your operation?
The communication aspect of the system is the biggest benefit. Being able to communicate with all drivers at one time, seamlessly, is very valuable. Not having to key up the radio and announce to everyone on the vehicles what’s going on and being able to send drivers those messages, move trips and cancel trips, has really been the biggest benefit.
Inter-County Public Transportation Authority (ICPTA) schedules more than 470 trips per day for paratransit customers within Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden and Currituck counties. Located in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, ICPTA implemented their Paratransit ITS Solution in July 2009. Herb Mullen, Director of ICPTA, shared some of the improvements his agency has seen since the implementation.
1. Were there drawbacks to the manual processes you were using before the ITS system?
A major drawback was man power. The only tools we had to manage routes were communicating with our drivers over the radio, randomly following them, or reviewing their manifest after they turned it in the next day. We had no efficient means of monitoring our drivers in real-time. The major draw back to the radio system was the overabundance of information that was being communicated between drivers and the office. We had drivers and the office talking over each other during busy times of the day; which made it difficult to ensure all communication concerning pick-ups, drop-offs, and route changes were being received by our staff. Implementing the Mentor Rangers solved this problem. Now dispatchers can shoot drivers the information and they can confirm they got it instantly. We don’t have to wonder if they got it, we know they got it. We can now manipulate and move trips around the driver’s manifest without having to involve the drivers, which is nice! It seems we’ve always had a few drivers that would avoid volunteering to assist others if there was a route delay and we’ve always had a few that would over extend themselves trying to assist others with their routes which could cause them to fall behind. Now the decision is made in our dispatch office by looking at our entire operation in real-time. This global, real-time view allows dispatch to evenly disperse trips to drivers throughout the day which improves route efficiency and customer satisfaction.
2. Have you seen a change in how dispatchers and drivers communicate?
Everything is more efficient. For example, before when dispatchers called a trip out to a driver they would announce, “The driver with John Doe, please pick him up at the hospital,” and hope that that driver heard it. That driver may have been on a bathroom break, assisting a client, or unable to hear the call because of other conversation occurring on the radio system. Dispatch would listen for the driver to respond with a 10-4, but they had no real way of knowing if the driver they intended to receive the radio transmission got it or if the 10-4 they heard was in response to another radio communication that could not be heard by dispatch. Now dispatchers send trips directly to the Ranger and the drivers acknowledge they received the trip instantly, which is a real time saver and a real frustration killer.
3. Has the new system affected customer service?
That aspect of the system has been wonderful. Before we would have to put the clients on hold and ask the drivers for an ETA. Now, with the Rangers, dispatchers can use the AVL feature to actually pull up a map of the service area and look to see where the vehicle is. The dispatcher can then say with accuracy,”they are two miles from your house,” or wherever they may be.
4. Where have you seen the most changes in your operation?
Improved communication and decision making. You don’t wonder who’s doing what or where they are. You can look and see where every vehicle is, who’s on board, and how fast they are going. Communication in this business is everything, if we ever get even a minor breakdown in it everything goes to pieces. The Rangers have definitely improved communication and route efficiency. We now have all of the information that used to take days to compile right in front of us in real-time, which equates to the following: better information to make better decisions that enable increased efficiency and, ultimately, improved customer satisfaction.
It’s a well-known fact that as technology evolves and hardware capabilities improve, prices drop. This is why consumer electronics like home computers depreciate in value so quickly.
Unlike consumer electronics, because fleet-based technologies are not available for public consumption, they have a much longer shelf-life and retain their value well beyond their everyday counterparts. But mobile computers benefit from improving hardware just as much as the home market and an article on Field Technologies Online.com outlines this.
As Brian Albright writes, “Systems now have a greater capability to collect telemetry and other data from the vehicle, and thanks to increased bandwidth from wireless carriers, in-vehicle computer systems with 3G capabilities can also support richer applications.”
For more information on how improving hardware will provide new functionalities for in-vehicle mobile computers, view the entire article here.
Click here to read about Mentor Ranger’s versatile functionalities.
Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) transports over 21 million passengers throughout the city of Hamilton, Ontario each year and their 217 vehicles serve over 3,000 bus stops. Recently, HSR implemented ITS technology to streamline operations and comply with an Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) mandate requiring transit agencies to announce every bus stop on every route. Mentor Engineering is proud to have their technology chosen to help keep public transit accessible to all transit riders. Carol Wildeman, Senior Project Management for HSR talked to us about their technology implementation experience.
1. It seems that as a transit agency you really value technology and invest in it. Why is having a good, responsive transportation system so important to your city?
In days gone by, we have been at the forefront of technology, and we were one of the first transit agencies in Canada to have an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. Our previous systems were getting a little elderly so we were at the point where we had to reinvest in our existing system. We found over the years we could reduce a lot of our costs with technology. By adding ITS technology we now have a much bigger focus on the kind of information we can provide to our customers.
2. What features of the ITS system are your dispatchers most excited about?
One of the things they want to do is send our operational notices via text message. Currently, they write them out and post them on the board in the garage, but the problem is that not all of our drivers come into the garage so they never see them. This way, we’ll be able to send our notices out in real-time using text messaging so everyone will be able to read them.
3. What has been the impact of adding a voice annunciator to your transit system?
Certainly, the public likes it. With this technology in place we were able to go to the Ontario Human Rights Commission and say that we have a system, and this is how it works to announce every bus stop. We were able to give a report of how often each driver was on task. We were able to demonstrate to the OHRC that our system is up and it’s working.
4. How much resistance to the system was there from the drivers?
When the system went in the drivers by and large were all for it. They felt that this was being put in to help them, and without it they would be required to announce all the stops themselves. The fact that we made the investment to put in a system that would automatically announce all the bus stops, our drivers really saw this as a benefit to them.
5. What does the future hold for your organization?
I would say that our customers are looking for more information that is easier to access. We’ve been looking at adding wayside signs for our terminals. Customers are going to want real-time information from our IVR system and our website in an easy-to-handle format.
An article on Field Technologies Online.com discusses the many ways fleet tracking can improve the bottom line for fleet operators. The article begins by discussing how fleet tracking makes drivers more accountable for costly behavior, such as unnecessarily idling, speeding, and performing personal errands on company time and with company resources.
From there, author Brian Albright discusses how companies needing a fleet management solution must know in advance what functionalities they wish their installed system to have, instead of simply seeing what is available on the market.
Albright then details how the most successful fleet implementations involve a cross-section of the entire company weighing in on what the system is needed to provide. Billing, accounting, drivers, driver safety, maintenance, management, dispatch and customer service should all be present when examining possible wireless solutions to ensure the solution provides the functionality they need.
Finally, Albright discusses how there are many hidden ROIs within a wireless solution: for example, more efficient vehicle management from computer-aided dispatch could prevent hiring a new worker and purchasing a new truck. Electronic record-keeping also makes the company much stronger to withstand a federal audit should the situation arise.
Mountain Mobility has provided paratransit services to the residents of Buncombe County since 1989. Completing more than 500 trips per day with 42 vehicles, Mountain Mobility began using their Paratransit ITS System in January 2010. Lori Hembree, Director at Mountain Mobility, discusses the benefits ITS has brought to her agency.
1. Has the system changed how dispatchers interact with drivers?
Our dispatchers have become more proactive in monitoring driver schedules. They can monitor all the drivers and see whether they are running on-time, early or behind. With this information, they are able to move trips between vehicles without verbal communication or pencil and paper. Also, we can more easily accommodate customers who are early or miss their pick-up. This has helped us improve customer service and keep our on-time performance at an appropriate level.
2. Has the system affected your same-day scheduling procedures?
We didn’t change any of our policies in terms of on-the-fly schedule changes but we are able to accommodate people that are ready early. For example, customers that had a scheduled pick-up but the doctor finished with them two hours ahead of time. We’re much more able to accommodate them and provide a fairly accurate time for when they can expect the van to arrive. It also arrives more quickly than it did before we had the technology. So from that perspective, customer service has improved dramatically.
3. Have you seen changes in the office and bus work environments?
We’ve definitely cut back on radio communication, which has been a great improvement. Even drivers who thought they would dislike it, turned out to really like the technology. They like getting rid of the paper and not having to write everything down. They also like all the information they are able to access by touching the screen, and having turn-by-turn directions when needed.
Since we’re not using paper anymore, there’s been a lot less stress trying to verify trips and our validation process. We also have a lot more information to provide customer agencies that call to ask a question about a no-show. For example, we’ve had situations where an agency has called and said, “this person said they were waiting but the bus never came to pick them up.” We can now go and play back the route. We have the geographic location and the time stamps of all the vehicles so we can assure passengers the van was there and that it waited the required amount of time.
4. Has the system affected your fleet’s on-time performance?
We now have a more accurate reflection of what our on-time performance used to be. With paper records there were a lot of instances of drivers writing down rather suspect times. Now we now have a realistic picture of how much we’re on-time and I’m pretty happy with where it’s at.
5. At this stage in your agency’s growth, what do you think the impact of not having fleet management technology would be?
I think customers would start to notice things going backwards in terms of getting vehicles to them quickly and receiving accurate information over the phone. I think if we were to go backwards at this point we might lose our dispatchers entirely, they’d probably just walk away. Drivers can’t imagine having to go back to paper now. They really like having the computers on-board. So I think from that perspective we would see a revolt!
From the administrative side, I think people’s job stress would fly through the roof if we went back to the verification process we had prior to having the new system and having to try to deal with service issues when it was all a guessing game. I know in my job it would be hard trying to deal with a customer complaint if I couldn’t pull up that van and take a look at it live or play back its route for the day.
Are you trying to find ways to improve your agency’s on-time performance, streamline operations and increase customer satisfaction? With shrinking budgets and a growing need for paratransit service, it can seem like a daunting task.
Check out this free webinar and learn how ITS technology can be used to manage your day-to-day challenges while improving customer service and increasing efficiency. In the webinar, our Transit Project Manager will demonstrate real-life examples of how you can save time, improve on-time performance, make easy on-the-fly schedule changes, and reduce operating costs.
Fixed-route transit ITS solutions were created to help transit agencies deal with the unexpected, including everything from sick employees to traffic jams. A thorough solution should keep your agency running smoothly and efficiently, no matter the reason.
To that end, we’ve created a demo that shows how the various functionalities of an ITS solution can keep an agency on track in one of the most outrageous situations we could imagine: an attack by a group of giant lizards. They’ve invaded the town of Quietville and are making life rather challenging for the local transit agency and its passengers.
While this is obviously a touch on the fanciful side, if a mob of oversized reptiles bent on chaos can’t disrupt the Quietville transit agency, what can? Check out the demo and see who wins.
A blog for those of us who live and work in fleet management. Topics include engine diagnostics, driver safety, mobile workforce management, CAD/AVL, vehicle maintenance, truck distribution, global computing, work order management, and field services.
Free White Paper: Decreasing Driver Distraction
With driver distraction being a leading cause of vehicle accidents, selecting an in-vehicle computer for your fleet that lets you control when drivers/device interaction is crucial to your fleet’s safety, as well as your bottom line.
