DRIVING THE INDUSTRY SINCE 1991
Thien: For the foreseeable future we are
going to continue to develop both products. Te Versatrans product line is so deep and rich and has such a broad user community, and we know our users are going to want to continue to use that product and see it continue to enhance and evolve. I can see at one point that folks will pick Traversa over (Versatrans Routing & Planning), but that is probably years down the road.
STN: Is Traversa essentially a more afford-
able, all-encompassing GPS solution? Thien: We have designed the product to be
more affordable and to be more customizable in the features that you want, to make it with- in the reach of more school districts. If you look at the current transportation software in the marketplace today, it’s very full of features, some of which people will need and some they don’t. We’ve designed Traversa with the ability to have the features and functionality you want. We’ve actually architectured it in such a way that it’s all in the same product. You don’t have different product silos, where you’ve got a separate fleet management product, a separate field trip product and a separate routing product. Tis is one integrat- ed solution, and we believe it’s really the first completely integrated solution in our indus- try. For example, when we made Traversa for release in mid-January you now have field trips and routing all in one program. If you’re trying to plan driver time for the day, you’ll have the ability to look at what the driver is doing for routes as well as for activity trips all in one screen.
STN: How is Traversa an example of cloud
technology? Thien: Tis is truly a Web-based application,
designed from the ground up to be touch-en- abled. Te application uses live tiles in a “metro” look — to use the Windows terminol- ogy. It uses HTML5 standards, so it’s portable across basically any platform that supports that
protocol. I can use the same application on a PC, iPad or a tablet. Tere is no need to have different versions of the application for those different platforms, which makes the whole user experience more consistent. Tis makes it easier to train staff and easier to implement because the experience will be the same.
STN: How can a bus technician use Tra-
versa every day? Thien: Using a tablet, bus technicians
can update work orders to which they are assigned. Tey would be able to know what parts they are using to fill that work order and how much time they spent on that work order. From a vehicle perspective, you now have the work order history for that vehicle. You can attach documents to the vehicle, images — anything that you would want to attach to the vehicle record. Traversa has the ability to have as many customizable fields as you want. Say you want to track something about that vehicle, you can add a field and track that. For example, tracking a specific part that needs attention during maintenance intervals, or vandalism on the bus. Seats have been torn or slashed. Techs can take picture of that and attach it to the vehicle record. Traversa provides the capability for mechanics and school districts to maintain the history of the vehicle for the entire life of the vehicle.
STN: It sounds like the canvas is really
wide open. Thien: What we like to say is that the user experience will be role tailored, so if your role is that of maintaining the fleet, then my experience will be tailored to my role in the department. If that’s a driver, a transportation director, a superintendent or a parent, there will be parts of Traversa that will be tailored specifically for you.
STN: Tank you.
www.stnonline.com 47
“Traversa provides the capability for mechanics and school districts to maintain the history of the vehicle for the entire life of the vehicle. ”
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