Wireless operator O2 has completed the installation of a satellite tracking system for the private airport bus company Aircoach. The installation, valued at €100,000, will enable Aircoach to manage its fleet and to boost customer service.
The satellite technology will help Aircoach to meet its schedule of providing a coach every 15 minutes, making use of O2’s GPRS network along with global positioning software developed by WS2.
Since August, users have been able to log onto Aircoach’s website at www.aircoach.ie and view where each coach is located on the route in real time. The information is also available on a large screen at Dublin Airport, with the position of each coach updated every 30 seconds.
The GPRS/GPS system also automatically triggers all information broadcast on board to passengers, which ensures more information for passengers and leaving the driver free to concentrate on the road.
Aircoach’s managing director John O’Sullivan described the system in action. “Our controllers can view the location of the entire fleet at any one time. If there are delays we can add one or more coaches to the route to meet our schedules.
“We had been using a GSM network, but this was very costly compared to GPRS where we are only charged by the amount of data transmitted rather than per call.”
By John Kennedy
