Falcon Coaches, including its Falcon Buses arm, has chosen Optibus to provide a planning, rostering and scheduling software solution. It will drive growth and increase efficiency for the Byfleet operator as it targets a doubling of its business and the establishment of additional depots.
Optibus’s product will replace manual processes that Falcon says have constrained its ability to expand. Managing Director Richard Telling notes that as planned growth comes, “we [will] need to have a planning and scheduling platform that will allow us to scale our business, not hinder it.”
He adds: “Getting rid of older, manual infrastructure was one of the first things on our agenda, and we started looking for a software solution that fits out company’s style.” Mr Telling says that the Optibus software can be quickly learned by Falcon’s administrative staff and that it will deliver major efficiency gains.
The planning, rostering and scheduling modules chosen by Falcon will create new routes and timetables “in minutes,” the supplier says. They are powered by Optibus’s algorithms and can generate savings via optimised resource allocation. That reduces the number of vehicles required by the operator and the kilometres run, helping it to meet environmental targets while at the same time increasing competitiveness when bidding for contracts.
Falcon will also be one of the first operators to implement Optibus’s new operations module in early 2022. The supplier says that its interface allows planners and schedulers from all backgrounds – including those lacking experience of technology or transport – to quickly learn the software.
When combined with training that Optibus provides, that “ensures users can quickly master the platform and start working independently as soon as possible,” it adds.
