Transdev Blazefield is transforming its bus maintenance operations with new technology that will see the company roll out a new digital system supplied by Freeway which connects 700 mobile devices and a series of operational and management systems for its fleet of 550 buses, maintained at eight locations across the north of England. Utilising artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the Freeway software can automatically work out the optimum job scheduling and resource allocation based on live data feeds from drivers, workshop technicians and other staff equipped with mobile devices. The system is being integrated with a raft of systems, including those used for operations, finance and fuel management.
The operator has initially rolled out the Freeway software at its Harrogate Bus Company operation, but plans for it to be fully live at all locations before the end of the year, with an estimated 200 users and data being gathered daily from 550 driver mobile devices and 150 further devices across its engineering operations, mainly using rugged tablets.
“We implemented Freeway as a proof of concept in Harrogate and the roll out went very smoothly; in fact we managed to get everything up and running in just three months. That’s pretty remarkable and thanks to the excellent support from Freeway and the commitment of our team in the workshop,” said Vitto Pizzuti Operations Director at Transdev Blazefield.
“By centralising stock control and purchasing we foresee significant savings being made. Freeway will allow us to dramatically reduce administration, control quality, secure better price deals through corporate purchasing, and share stock amongst the group.
“With Freeway we can look a trends, set up KPI’s to track performance and better manage warranty claims. We’ll be able to challenge suppliers if they are not delivering; something we could not do before as we did not have the information.”
