Getting More Than You Asked For With TomTom Telematics When Interstate Bus Lines started looking for a new telematics provider, TomTom Telematics was the obvious choice. Once they made their decision though, they got more than a telematics system. They got a business support system.

With 258 buses in its fleet, Interstate Bus Lines' biggest focus is on customer service. Whether a bus in its fleet is transporting local commuters or has been hired by a private client, service delivery is paramount — from being on time to ensuring the safety and comfort of travellers.

As an RTMS (Road Transport Management System) accredited transport company, Interstate puts quality first.

"Our vehicles, drivers and workshops must be of the highest standard," explains Robyn-Leigh Hudson, Planner at Interstate Bus Lines. "This covers everything from the training our employees receive to the overall quality of our customer experiences."

To ensure service excellence, Interstate is always engaging with passengers to gauge their experiences on a commute.

For a company that goes above-and-beyond, technology and service providers who enhance their service offering are particularly important.

Adding value

"It took us eight months to interview and consider which telematics company we wanted to work with," says Robyn-Leigh. "Ultimately the choice was an easy one to make. TomTom Telematics was the only service provider that met all of our specific requirements."

These included accurate tracking, updated locations every minute, and a driver identification system that doesn't rely on battery power.

"TomTom Telematics actually updates every 20 seconds, significantly beating our requirements, and the system uses a card identification system for drivers. Previously, we had a lot of problems with drivers telling us that the battery had died on their tracking devices, which is unacceptable for us. From a safety and service delivery perspective we need to know exactly who is in which vehicle and where they are at all times."

Even more importantly, TomTom Telematics' system is open API, which allows Interstate to integrate its telematics system with its fuel management system.

"Before we worked with TomTom, we didn't have freedom to access our data. An open API system was therefore important to us."

The whole package

As an added bonus, the ability to integrate TomTom with their existing fuel management system means Interstate is now paying the same for its telematics and fuel management systems together as it previously paid for just its telematics system.

"Not only are we receiving great value for money, but we're getting exactly what we wanted," says Robyn-Leigh.

In addition, TomTom Telematics' team is focused on delivering on all of their clients' needs, and if there are gaps, they work hard to close them. "We operate in some rural areas that TomTom hasn't needed to map until this point. Government requires us to be able to account for every vehicle, proving it was at a specific location at a specific time, and therefore adhering to public transport schedules.

These locations have historically been difficult to track and prove, but TomTom is working closely with us to get everything we need into the system to be compliant. It's a real partnership in that regard."

Working together to achieve results

"TomTom's team has really taken the time to understand us and our needs," continues Robyn-Leigh. "They did a full diagnosis, and then put a plan together. This is a collaborated effort to deliver on what we require. For example, TomTom isn't restrictive in how the devices are installed either. We have our own workshop, and so our technicians need to understand how the system works. TomTom has done comprehensive training with us.

"They gave us the hardware we needed to manage our business, and then the administrative passwords to access the system from our side. This means we can fix any problems, minimising and even completely avoiding delays. This is essential to our operations."

TomTom Telematics is a business unit of TomTom dedicated to fleet management, vehicle telematics and connected car services. WEBFLEET is a Software-as-a-Service solution, used by small to large businesses to improve vehicle performance, save fuel, support drivers and increase overall fleet efficiency. TomTom Telematics is one of the world's leading telematics solution providers with more than 785 000 subscriptions worldwide, servicing drivers in more than 60 countries.

Visit telematics.tomtom.com/tellmemore and call us on +27 (0)12 003 0745