Mobile Sign-On: Ensuring Efficient and Covid-19 Safe Operations

As previously small bus operators grow into successful, larger businesses they naturally experience an increase in driver numbers. While this expansion is welcome, depots can easily become overcrowded with drivers signing in and out and checking shifts – which of course presents a safety risk in the present circumstances, as it becomes harder to ensure effective social distancing.

At the same time, crowded depots are a drain on operational efficiency, especially in relation to travelling time, as indicated by the following common ‘red flags’:

• Time wasted between drivers reporting to the depot and starting to drive
• Wasted time at the duty’s end, between leaving the vehicle and signing out at the depot

To illustrate the scale of this inefficiency, let’s look at some simple figures. With an average driver travel time of 20 minutes per duty, and an average pay rate of £14 an hour, that is around £4.60 per shift lost to travel time. Now calculate that cost across all of your drivers for a full year – it’s a huge cost.

However, there is a better way of managing driver sign-on – one which will ensure that staff members can effectively socially distance to keep drivers and depot staff safe, while also reducing travelling time costs.

Trapeze’s OnBoard driver self-service tool enables drivers to sign on (and off) from shifts from almost any location, and in real-time. This means they no longer need to visit the depot for at a shift’s start or end, or to manage their duties, holidays, or any other aspect of their work.

OnBoard presents several significant benefits for drivers and bus operators:

• Meets drivers’ flexibility needs
• Increases driver engagement and overall satisfaction, assisting retention rates
• Reduces driver travel time costs
• Enables roadside sign-on and rapid relief

With Trapeze’s OnBoard and Duty Allocation System, operators enjoy immediate savings through efficiency improvements, ensure driver safety and satisfaction, and can even redesign schedules without consideration for centralised depots – thereby opening up opportunities for far greater cost reductions.

Make Your Depot Mobile Today