Community Transport - Thames Valley Operators

With a state-of-the-art scheduling system now backed up by Alamein’s MNTS Community Transport solution, Thames Valley Operators have moved their business on from what they described as “nearly right, but not quite” to “second-to-none”.

Thames Valley Operators (TVO, comprising Slough Community Transport, Wokingham’s Keep Mobile service and Swindon Dial-a-Ride) offer services such as group transport, dial-a-ride, dial-a-bus, day trips and shopmobility. The organisation decided its technology needed to enter the 21st century and developed a Computer Aided Transport Scheduling System (CATSS), to replace its old, unsupported software. After proving CATSS in their own operations, TVO found itself in a position to offer the system to other organisations.

The system, however, lacked an efficient way to synchronise critical information with its drivers, so TVO turned to Alamein, who have been delivering mobile solutions since 2000. Now in partnership, Alamein and CATSS are delivering a community transport IT service that is second-to-none.

In a situation where a cancellation or a change to the vehicle run had been made, TVO would, in the past, have relied on trying to ring their drivers. That was, a spokesman admitted, a “hit and miss” system that is now much more efficient with the addition of MNTS Community Transport.

The system allows real-time progress updates and instant two-way messaging. The controller can see any delays instantly, and if need be, changes could be made to the route within CATSS and the driver’s itinerary instantly changed on their PDA. Being able to send and receive messages between CATSS and MNTS proves invaluable too, meaning the office and drivers are in constant contact without incurring costs of text messages or mobile phone bills. Wendy Field of Slough Community Transport said, “ The improvement in day to day operations has been quite dramatic; now I can inform my drivers of any urgent changes or special instructions without having to hope they’ll pick up the phone, which saves a lot of time and manpower.

Fred Rule, speaking for Keep Mobile, said they had found two huge advantages to Alamein’s MNTS solutions. “Firstly, there has been a massive reduction in paperwork and man hours, amounting to at least three hours per day,” said Mr Rule. “The Bus Service Operators Grant, requires a daily odometer reading. As it took TVO five years to prove itself eligible for the BSOG, it is vitally important that drivers provide this information. In the past, drivers submitted their written mileage at the end of the day, and the figures had to be entered manually the following day. Now, MNTS allows the mileage figures to be sent to CATSS instantly, eliminating the need for time-consuming (and potentially mistyped) manual entry.

“Another advantage is Alamein’s tracking system, which allows Keep Mobile controllers to see where vehicles are via a large screen in the office. That eliminates any need to call a driver for their location and enables us to optimise the use of our fleet. Some of our customers call in ask when the bus is going to arrive, and we can tell them in seconds, which is very reassuring to them”.

Wendy Field adds, “MNTS Replay has proved invaluable too, allowing me to confirm with customers what time vehicles actually arrived at a particular pick up if ever there has been a complaint or query. I can see what time the vehicles left the garage in the morning and when they were returned, which helps me when I’m signing off overtime. It’s even been used to help the Police with their enquiries.”

“It’s better for the patients, better for the drivers and better for the organisation as a whole.”