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US bus company, Yankee Trails World Travel chooses MiX
02 March 2010
In 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it was providing close to $12 million in security grants for over-the-road bus operators. The grants were available for fixed route-intercity companies, as well as charter bus service operators, like Yankee Trails. "The federal grants represented an exciting opportunity for growth," said Stephen Tobin, president of Yankee Trails. "A year after completing the rigorous and competitive application process, we were awarded a portion of the grant. The infusion of those funds gave us the means to open the next chapter of our business."
At the time, each Yankee Trails motorcoach was outfitted with a computer chip mounted in the engine that tracked mileage. However, it was a tedious process to retrieve the data and was only accessed in the event of a mileage dispute. As a result, mileage was being tracked with mileage sheets that were completed by the drivers at the end of each route. With the federal grant, Yankee Trails sought a company that could help them not only eliminate their mileage sheets, but give them real-time driver behavior status and vehicle tracking . Five companies, which offered complete GPS tracking technology, responded to Yankee Trail's RFP.
"Every company we spoke with had similar GPS tracking applications," noted Tobin. "Some had some more bells and whistles, but overall, the front-end technology and web applications gave us the same kind of data. After going through all of their presentations, we felt comfortable with the technology and had narrowed down our selection to one company. That's when we got a call from the team at MiX Telematics, who impressed us enough to consider their solution as well."
MiX Telematics North America, which is based outside Dallas, Texas, helps businesses with their fleet management and vehicle tracking challenges. They offer proprietary Driver Behavior Modification (DBM) solutions as well as real-time vehicle tracking for a broad range of clients across North America.
"Within just a couple of days we were sitting down with MiX Telematics, who shared their DBM solutions with us and explained how they could give us immediate notification of driver behavior in addition to the vehicle tracking. Those real-time reports sold us on the DBM solution," Tobin said.
Driver Behavior Modification (DBM)
Following the installation of MiX's In-Vehicle Monitoring System (IVMS) technology in each motorcoach, MiX began monitoring the driving behaviors of the Yankee Trails drivers. Not only is Tobin and his team able to access the DBM reports, which shows important data ranging from true engine idle time to speeding, but they also have the assurance that MiX’s fleet analysts are looking for the same red flags.
"Once our IVMS and DBM system was up and running, we could observe the driving habits of each operator and provide real-time, actionable reports to Yankee Trails management," said Brian McCoy, vice president of sales and marketing at MiX Telematics North America. "For example, we set up specific reports that display all of the red flags for excessive fuel burning behavior, which are automatically emailed to the Yankee Trails team.”
The front end portion of MiX's DBM solution includes all of the technology a company needs to visually observe each route. Through DBM, Yankee Trails can pinpoint the location of any coach in real-time as well as observe the operators driving habits, such as speeding, harsh acceleration, hard braking and excessive idling. The back end part of DBM includes a dedicated team of analysts who carefully monitor the information being recorded by IVMS technology and create real-time actionable reports that Yankee Trails can use to consult and train their operator to improve driving behavior.
Unexpected Rewards
While the majority of Yankee Trail's drivers understood the intent behind the new initiative with MiX, Yankee Trails met some resistance. A few saw the program as a type of "Big Brother", constantly looking over their shoulder.
In an effort to reinforce the fuel savings opportunities that MiX's tracking and monitoring system offered, the company placed a large TV in the driver's lounge, which shows everything from the location of each motorcoach on a Google satellite map to harsh braking and excessive idling. The TVs allow each driver to see how the data is helping the company manage overall driving habits.
"Cutting down on speeding not only reduces the odds of a crash, but MPG is lowered by up to 2.2 percent for every one mile per hour over 55 MPH," noted McCoy. "Add those potential savings to the roughly two gallons of gas saved per hour by eliminating excessive idling and the reduction of maintenance costs by eliminating hard braking and acceleration and the ROI starts to add up."
Yankee Trails also saw the real-time data that MiX was providing as an opportunity to create a Reinforcement Driver Incentive program. This program scores every driver based on the new information provided by MiX and rewards the top drivers based on fuel savings. The company outlined the parameters of the program to MiX, which began creating monthly driver reports based on a company-wide scoring system.
"Every time one of our driver's gets behind the wheel, they earn points for driving within the guidelines of our new driving program," added Tobin. "We provide a certain number of points every time they meet the guidelines, but also penalize for speeding, harsh braking, idling and the other elements of driver behavior we consider unsafe or which unnecessarily burn fuel. Not only can we pull this report ourselves, but every month MIX sends us a report that details each operator's driving behavior and ranks them by score."
The company's cash rewards program is paid out quarterly, with the first taking place in December 2009. Drivers earned anywhere from $100 to $500 over a 3 month period. The fuel savings from the improved driving habits makes it a win-win for the driver and the company.
In addition to creating the cash-based incentive program, Yankee Trails has also adapted MiX's DBM solution to help solve their payroll challenges. Prior to implementing the MiX DBM solution, drivers were paid by the hour or mile, whichever was the greater of the two. All of the mileage and time data was recorded on mileage sheets completed by the drivers. However, managing these mileage sheets was a constant battle for Yankee Trail's HR department.
Now, using the DBM solution, mileage is tracked electronically based on when the bus has returned to the station and is shut down. The travel reports are being automatically delivered in real-time with no driver input required.
An Industry Revolution
"The real-time reporting services provided by MiX weren't available from companies we talked to at the beginning of our search," noted Tobin. "But we've since found that tracking a bus is only a piece of the puzzle. Having MiX feed us real-time data about our drivers' behavior has created a whole new way of doing business for our company. Not only can we now reward good driving habits and pinpoint bad ones, but we've developed a more reliable payroll system. We've come to live by MiX's DBM solution. In fact, I would say it's revolutionizing our business."
About Yankee Trails World Travel
When the company first opened its doors with a fleet of two motorcoaches, it focused primarily on servicing trips between Albany and Vermont. In the late 1980s, the company began offering individual tour packages to destinations along the entire East Coast. Today, with more than 50 motorcoaches in its fleet and 60 drivers, the company has grown into one of the largest tour and charter bus companies in the region.
www.yankeetrails.com
