Road transport technology

sysprogrammer

Hi Everyone,

Over the weekend I was asked if I would wet lease one of our minibuses. to a customer I have an ongoing business relationship with.

I am wondering if there is a piece of technology I can buy and fit to the bus to keep a track of all movements, so that the person driving our bus does in fact record all jobs and split the profits accordingly.

I am just in the investigative stages of this , to see if it is feasible.
There is certainly the demand for a minibus service in this region , I just don't know how I can set it up so that I don't get ripped off by the driver doing cash only jobs.

Any advice or pointers to fleet management solutions would be much appreciated.
Does such a piece of tech exist for the small operator (as I can see the cost in the larger fleet solutions)

Rgds,
Sysprog

Mrs OBumble

Wouldn't a simple mileage log (checked by you against the odo every so often) do the same thing? As in you'll see if the mileage is different from what it should be for reported journeys.

sysprogrammer

thank you for your reply Mrs OBumble,

I had thought along this line of recording mileage, but my father said that this method has been defeated by car salespeople around the world !!
,and a cash operation like this would only incentivise a driver further to do so.

I will keep a log such as time / distance /odometer , but I think a technical solution is also required, if even to verify the drivers log file.

kinds regards,
SP

Graham

There's lots of 'GSM GPRS' trackers on the market, there's also several fleet management services that utilise the GSM/GPRS trackers.

It depends whether you're looking for a hardware device only (insert SIM and provide power) or you'd rather have a web front-end

sysprogrammer

Thanks Graham,

This is kinda what I am getting at , which solution best fits my needs.
I was hoping some on here may have used these systems before would be in a position to answer.

Basically, what setup would you use if you had a taxi and you were sending it off to work somewhere else , when you have a split of the profits and not a lease agreement.

food for thought I hope.

Thank you for your reply Graham

Nody

If you do go down the route of a GPS unit (they are about the size of a cigarette package) make sure you tell the customer there's a GPS unit on it (while installing two of them; the second one in a very hard to get place while the first one is relatively obvious location).

To save yourself time however (and as it's an ongoing relationship) why not simply rent it out at a fixed price with agreed terms (i.e. return fully tanked, who's handling insurance etc.)?

sysprogrammer

Thanks Nody,

I was going for a wetlease , where I would supply the bus , driver and insurance.

I didn't want to rent the bus out at a fixed cost as I think that the bus would be damaged / overworked / driven as a rental by the other party and I left with the headaches.

However if we are all in profit share then all parties are keen to see the bus kept constantly serviceable.

Also there is more money in it for me if I retain the booking phone number and send the driver off as requested.

Hope this clarifies some of it.

SP

Graham

Sounds like this is the kind of thing you're looking for:

http://vehicletrackingireland.ie

I've no experience with it though, perhaps someone else will chime in.

sysprogrammer

Thanks again Graham ,
I'm awaiting a call back from them and a few other Irish suppliers.

Now it is time to think like the driver and see what ways the system can be bypassed !

I'll let you know how it goes,

SP

Graham

sysprogrammer wrote: »

I'll let you know how it goes,

SP

Do, I'm curious to see how this works out and which system you go for.

Moomat

I use Fleetmatics and think it would suit you needs well. Huge amount of features on it and pretty smooth operation.

pedronomix

hire for reward like this brings up other insurance and licensing issues!!

sysprogrammer

Thanks Pedro.

I have received the vastly inflated insurance quote for this type of operation.
I have a driver local to the area who will go for the PSV licence.

I would like to know how you would keep an eye on the takings in this type of operation?
considering I will be away from eyesight.

I am thinking that I may have to bring in a 3rd party to this. There is a woman in the area who I also know , and I would trust her in taking the bookings and allowing the driver to take the bus out.
I think this affords me the most protection on the vehicle and its use.

A GPS system with a mobile app is handy for checking location , but not really the all seeing eye that I need 24/7 on the vehicle. I am trying to prevent cash in hand work, and returning the vehicle after each booking seem the most sensible.

If I can't find a better solution I may just go for this local employee to control access to the bus.

I really appreciate the comments so far, this is a new area for me.
Many thanks
SysProg

pedronomix

I would be wary of any remote control business that involves cash. Trust is key, if you dont trust the employee, you have employed the wrong person. I would fit the bus with a simple seperate mileage clock, and make the driver keep a log of usage. You will soon see any discrepancies!