Putco is South Africa’s largest and oldest bus company, operating 1 400 vehicles in its fleet, transporting over 290 000 commuters everyday. A major accident that resulted in fatalities in November, 2013 led them to look for a preventative and sustainable fleet management solution.
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The solution
Putco leveraged the Netstar Fleet Management System to track their fleet, but they quickly realised they could do more related to their efforts to improve the safety of their passengers and drivers, using vehicle tracking along with cameras installed inside their busses. They were able to monitor driver behaviour that flags sudden changes in consistent driver –behaviour patterns such as, harsh braking and acceleration. “We soon realised that we could do more with Netstar as our business partner as they do more than just tracking; they assist us with safety,” Jack Sekwaila. Furthermore, detailed accident reconstruction reports help Putco proactively analyse and pre-empt possible hazards that could cause accidents. In addition, they were able to solve real-world problems of eliminating fuel theft which resulted in an improvement to their business operations while saving costs.
The benefits
“Compared to four years ago, we’ve seen an almost 70% reduction in recorded vehicle accidents while claims against Putco have come down by 36%.” - Leon Coetzee – Putco Acting Manager.
The confidence commuters place in Putco has steadily improved as a result of them making safety their priority.