Looking for transport booking/job allocation solution.

[Jombo]

Hi,

I manage a fleet of 16 school buses and am looking for an IT solution that will enable me to manage vehicle bookings and job allocation to drivers. I have looked at utilizing Outlook Calendar, but it doesn't meet all of my needs. Typical example of what I need an IT solution to do.

Scenario 1.

A member of staff wants to book a bus every Monday between 09:00 and 13:00 for the next 10 weeks. I need to be able to look at a calendar to see what buses are available for use, book the bus out to the member of staff, and set the booking to recur for 10 weeks. Outlook calendar will do this. However, what Outlook calendar won't do is stop me from creating a recurring booking if for example the bus has already been booked/allocated on any subsequent Mondays.

Scenario 2

There is a school trip taking place on a specific date and time where two buses and two drivers are required to drive pupils on the trip. I need to a) book/allocate the two buses for the trip and then b) offer the job to my bank of drivers to bid for the job. Those who express an interest in the driving job can then be allocated to the job/trip and the bus they are to use.

Requirements.

I need a desktop system and a driver app that enables me to.

• Generate jobs drivers can bid for.
• Drivers can accept/decline jobs.
• Vehicles can be allocated to jobs.
• Drivers can be allocated to jobs.
• Job details can be edited.
• Jobs are added to a calendar.
• Jobs can be booked as recurring.
• Vehicles cannot be double booked.
• Drivers can add accepted/allocated jobs to their calendars.
• Ability to set job reminders.
• Vehicles cannot be booked/allocated on recurring dates if they clash with a date the vehicle is already booked on.
• Drivers can see what jobs they have accepted and been allocated.
• Desktop system allows different calendar views

Thanks

 

[AlunR]

Hi

We’ve built a number of bespoke systems to solve similar issues to this in the past for a variety of businesses. Typically we’ve built this kind of software when a gap exists in the market. In the past year we’ve built systems for complex meeting management, driver training days, large event rota management and log delivery.

We build them as web based apps so they’ll work on any device, and as they are bespoke, they are tailored to your exact needs so can include billing reports, online enquiry management, user and customer profiles etc. also things like live calendar feeds integrated to your phone are straightforward too.

One company have even just ditched email for enquiries and are using a simple CRM (Customer relationship management) system for dealing with all their enquiries.

if you’d be interested in this kind of approach I’d be happy to have a chat with you to understand more about the problem and work out some indicative costs

 

[Nighthawk Software]

I would agree with AlunR above - go with a cloud based solution rather than a desktop solution. This has the advantage of working on any device - PC/Mac, Laptop or tablet, but can also be accessed from the office or from home.

With a desktop application, it will only run on one machine, or across a network. This then means you need to open the network up for remote access (via a VPN) if anyone needs to access it from home. This then introduces insecurities to the network, and means you need to start spending more money on securing your network/devices.

Cloud based systems on the other hand can be accessed from anywhere - so any driver can log in on their mobile while they're dropping off one trip, to see what other trips are available.

I'd suggest looking online and see if there are any off the shelf products out there - this will obviously be quicker and cheaper than building your own system (depending on your size). There may well already be a system out there for bus charter companies to manage their fleets.

If you cant find one that meets your needs, or you have reached a size where these systems become too expensive, find a local software development company and ask them to create you a system. This way it can be designed to meet your exact needs - without all the extra clutter you often get with off the shelf and subscription SaaS services.

Feel free to drop me a message if you need more help. We've developed systems similar to this in the past.

 

[antropy]

I need a desktop system

As others have said web-based systems are generally better.

If you can't find an existing one, you'll need to pay to have one built.

Paul.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Whilst there might be something similar products available (a quick Google pops a few options up), to do exactly what you want will probably need bespoke development.

If you go down that route, the most important thing is a very comprehensive brief i.e. detailing every feature you want and every step of the operation & process, down to the minutia. Armed with this brief, a developer can give you a detailed quote, showing how long each part will take to develop and, of course, costs.

What ever timescale you get, add at least 50%. What ever cost you are given add at least a 20% contingency for additional work.

What you might also be able to do is take existing software (if open source) and have it redesigned or adapted to meet your needs - this can be a quicker and lower cost solution.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Just found this:

Fleet Manager - Vehicle Management & Booking System

Fleet manager is a simple yet intuitive web application that provides a full, end-to-end Fleet management platform for fleet-based companies of all sizes. It enables the company to manage vehi...

codecanyon.net

Not exactly what you want, but could be adapted to meet your needs....