case studies
the client
Greater Manchester Accessible Transport Limited (GMATL) is a charitable company formed to co-ordinate and manage "Ring and Ride" services in Greater Manchester. The company is regulated by a charitable trust which receives its income from the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA).
the challenge
Ring and Ride who provide a door-to-door accessible minibus service for people of all ages who find it difficult to use ordinary public transport decided that they needed to ensure continuous vehicle monitoring in support of the need to reduce vehicle operating costs for their fleet of eighty one vehicles.
the solution
Perhaps even more than other transport providers, Ring and Ride need to ensure their vehicles arrive at the stated time and destination, because of the customer profile. Steve Hayes, Operations Manager, comments, "We looked at a number of different tracking systems under a tender process before introducing the Crystal Ball system in June 2009. We believe Crystal Ball is user friendly and the benefits are clearly there for everyone to see." He adds, "We've noticed a vast improvement in the monitoring control and deployment of our vehicles. There are also indications that our insurance claims and fuel usage has reduced which should contribute to a reduction in our carbon footprint. The introduction of Crystal Ball has improved our vehicle efficiency and cost effectiveness and has proved to be the correct choice for our requirements, which we believe can only be good for the benefit of our customers and the service as a whole."