Zonar, a leader in smart fleet technology, has entered into a strategic partnership with Bytecurve, a leader in transportation technology solutions, to jointly address the school transportation industry’s operational challenges and meet strong marketplace demand for a unified bus scheduling, dispatch and employee time and attendance platform. The partnership will also accelerate the pace at which Zonar brings new solutions to the market.
Bytecurve’s school bus operating platform, Bytecurve 360, brings routing, GPS and payroll data together under one integrated technology platform. The partnership will allow Zonar to enhance its existing school transportation technology suite by providing annual and daily schedule management, daily dispatch and the monitoring of on-time performance at stops and schools, and production of critical time keeping data for accurate and efficient records and compensation.
Specifically, Bytecurve 360 utilizes Zonar’s core set of solutions, including a real-time integration with a time clock app and Zonar telematics, to provide dispatchers with auto-refreshing dashboard throughout the day with color-coded status alerts for route delays, a simplified process for calculating hours and overtime, and the automatic transmission of hours worked to payroll for processing.
“As driver and passenger safety, operational reliability and efficiency remain our top priorities, we understand the importance and logistical significance of transporting students to and from school,” said H. Kevin Mest, senior vice president, passenger services at Zonar. “Our partnership with Bytecurve better enables us to deliver school districts precise routing and tracking information, while also giving parents peace of mind when it comes to getting their children home safely and on time.”
The Bytecurve 360 technology will streamline Zonar’s digital driver time and task management solution. All Zonar-enabled driver tablets installed on school buses provide drivers with remote access to day-of schedules, timesheets and attendance tracking, as a result of this partnership. Management will also be able to use a gatekeeping function that prevents drivers from signing in early or late.
“Zonar leads the transportation industry in smart fleet management technology and GPS tracking,” said G.P. Singh, CEO of Bytecurve. “The opportunity to team up with an industry innovator that is also focused on operational efficiency, safety and compliance means that together we can proactively manage and monitor complex functions associated with the pupil transportation industry to ensure kids get to school safely, on-time and ready to learn.”
Previous industry challenges such as lack of visibility into payroll costs, no mechanism to proactively monitor and manage daily operations, and no platform to combine and analyze a flood of data have plagued the student transportation industry. However, this new partnership between Zonar and Bytecurve 360 will help change this and usher the industry into a new era.