The future in operational management systems
The introduction of the Ticketlink 2 system sees McHarry’s Buslines move into the most modern of technology

McHarry’s Buslines is an operation that is never far away from a challenge. Recently Circuitlink launched the TicketLink2 system at the Company’s Breakwater depot. ABC was there to see TicketLink2’s manufacturers present their new products that now include much more than just ticketing systems.

Features of the new TicketLink2 system now include simple operation, fewer keystrokes and the ability to extract more meaningful reports.

“With the systems ability to download ‘wirelessly’ it is ideal for planning”, says Ashley McHarry.

“It can be expanded to encompass other applications, has plenty of spare memory and is easily adaptable to other applications”.

ABC reviewed TicketLink 2 late last year however the addition of two more options makes the use of this system even more attractive to the professionally minded operators.

Tacholink was developed for use in heavy vehicles. There was a perceived need for more accurate information on what was happening in buses when they were on the road. Thus the Tacholink Onboard Data Recorder came into being.

There are a growing number of reasons for using onboard computers to collect this data in buses. They include government regulations such as fatigue management, OH&S, vehicle and driver monitoring, reduction of operational, fuel and service costs, assistance in litigation resolution, inventory tracking and asset management.

Some of the main advantages of Tacholink are that it is easy to install and program, easy to operate, no driver interaction is required, it has driver interface and has a hidden installation.

The data is easily downloaded and retrieved in a number of ways by using a Downloading Smart Module (DSM), via a Laptop Computer, by a cable directly to PC, by Radio Frequency (RF) direct from bus to Office, by GSM Interface or GPRS modem.

Every Tacholink is GPS ready. For those unfamiliar with GPS the following may be helpful. Global Positioning System (GPS) is simply data obtained from United States military satellites. The data itself is free and is accurate to +/- 10 m without correction.

GPS enables time and distance based tracking of vehicles (every 75 m and 15 degrees of turn). It provides latitude, longitude, speed and heading information only. If the operator wants this data can then be transferred to a map however this requires specialized mapping software. The system can provide both historical and live (to a point as noted above) tracking.

The Tacholink can act as the GPS data storage or it can be transferred to a PC as part of its standard data transmission. With the optional GSM modem, Operations’ PC’s can be supplied with ‘live tracking’ of the GPS position on request.

Tacholink also has more practical uses in the day-to-day Operational sphere. This can include monitoring timetable compliance, performance monitoring and providing vehicle information to enable quick response to operational necessities such as vehicle brakedowns and overloading.

The second system from Circuitlink to be previewed is the “Blakey Analysis Software” (the inference to ‘On the Buses’ was not missed).

Simplistically, it is a stand-alone software package that examines vehicle GPS data and provides historical trip information. It utilises existing Tacholink technology with the addition of a GPS receiver and a radio download module to provide complete operational and position analysis data of vehicles. This can be used most simplistically in timetable analysis.

No driver input is required as the data is incorporated in Tacholink vehicle data. A major advantage is that it has a direct interface with Pegasus mapping. Pegasus mapping allows replay of the GPS journey in accelerated time. It enables speed, fatigue, odometer and logbook analysis. A major feature is its ability to compare GPS data to Tacholink data. Hard copy can be printed out of GPS map data.

From this short synopsis it can be seen that there are many reasons for having systems such as Tacholink and Blakey Analysis Software in your company vehicles. The savings in performance and maintenance may well recompense the initial cost. More technical data is available from the manufacturer Circuitlink.