Digital school bus pass platform ShuttleID has launched a new package designed specifically for use with local authorities. The package includes a number of key features aimed at authorities and a no obligation 90-day free trial.
The system provides e-ticketing, payments, service alerts, reporting, live vehicle tracking and boarding notifications in a single platform. Passengers are issued with a unique QR code which can be used on a smartphone, ‘brick’ phone or printed out which is validated using a driver app, with the data available to the local authority in real time.
Whilst the platform is already used by individual transport operators on behalf of councils, the new package shows that ShuttleID can also support local authorities directly across an entire school bus network. The company says its decision to make a separate offer direct to local authorities follows an unprecedented level of interest from councils in the previous 12 months.
The company reports that a number of local authorities are already signed up, and others are currently trialling the system. The States of Guernsey was one of the first authorities to sign up, the company says, with the system put in place primarily to tackle a recent surge in school bus demand on the island. Whilst the States of Guernsey acknowledges the reduction in car travel as being positive, it has in turn found issues with pupils being unable to board due to insufficient capacity. ShuttleID says that its product now provides the States of Guernsey a simple way to control capacity by issuing digital bus passes, whilst reporting helps identify dormant passes across the network, allowing the authority to better reallocate capacity to users currently on a waiting list.
Senior Passenger Transport Officer at the States of Guernsey Jonathan Guilbert said: “ShuttleID provides an effective way of managing seating capacity on services. It is simple to use, both from a driver as well as back-office point of view. We find the reporting features within ShuttleID are very useful. Technical support of the system is excellent with queries responded to quickly.
“Parents have benefited from the ability to be able to track a service in real time. If a pupil lives near a bus stop, they need only leave the house when they know that the service is near. This is particularly useful in bad weather. Parents also report that they like boarding notifications so that they can be informed when their child has safely boarded the bus.”
