Transdev Blazefield is transforming its bus maintenance operations by introducing new digital software supplied by Freeway.

The system connects 700 mobile devices and a series of operational and management systems to provide centralised control of a fleet of 550 buses, maintained at eight locations across the north of England.

With the use of artificial intelligence technology, the Freeway software automatically calculates optimum job scheduling and resource allocation based on live data feeds from drivers, workshop technicians and other staff equipped with mobile devices.

Freeway is being integrated with a variety of systems, including those used for transport operations, finance and fuel management.

Transdev has initially rolled out the Freeway system at the Harrogate Bus Company, ahead of the software going fully live at all locations before the end of 2022.

There are currently an estimated 200 users, with data being gathered daily from 550 driver mobile devices and 150 devices across engineering operations, mainly rugged tablets.

Vitto Pizzuti, Operations Director at Transdev Blazefield, said: “By centralising stock control and purchasing we foresee significant savings being made. Freeway will allow us to dramatically reduce administration, control quality, secure better price deals through corporate purchasing, and share stock amongst the group.

“With Freeway we can look at trends, set up KPI’s to track performance and better manage warranty claims. We’ll be able to challenge suppliers if they are not delivering; something we could not do before as we did not have the information.”