Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/846064
32 commercial carrier journal | july 2017 technology PrePass available on Bestpass devices H elp Inc.'s PrePass, a provider of truck weigh station bypass services, and Bestpass, a provider of toll management ser- vices for commercial trucking, have teamed up to offer an integrated solution to provide Bestpass customers a single transponder for bypassing and toll payments. Bestpass customers now can enroll their Bestpass transponders into PrePass' weigh station bypass system, reducing the need for multiple devices by combining toll payment and weigh station bypass capabilities in one transponder. e goal is to help Bestpass customers of all sizes, including owner-operators, save time and money, said John Andrews, Bestpass president and chief executive officer. "is exclusive agreement between PrePass and Bestpass is about fulfilling part of the mission set out by Bestpass' parent, the Trucking Association of New York, to make tolling the most manageable it can be, in this case by limiting the number of transponders in a vehicle," Andrews said. Both services use similar transponders that feature radio frequency identifi- cation technology that can facilitate electronic toll payments. "Fleets selecting Bestpass for their toll payment solution can add the PrePass weigh station bypass service, therefore extending the value of the Bestpass transponder," said Mark Doughty, vice president and chief operating officer of Help Inc. – Aaron Huff The agreement between PrePass and Bestpass is possible because both services use similar transpon- ders that feature RFID technology. U.S. Bank adds ChargePoint to fleet card U .S. Bank's Voyager Network Fleet Card has expanded its offering to electric vehicles. Starting this summer, fleets can use the card program for EVs at tens of thousands of ChargePoint's U.S. charging ports. U.S. Bank already has customers in the public sector that operate electric passenger vehicles, said John Hardin, U.S. Bank's global transportation general manager. Currently, most ChargePoint locations are free to use or subsidized by local utility companies. At most, it costs $2 to $5 for a full charge, Hardin said. Fleets with EVs can use the Voyager card to collect data at the point of sale, such as driver ID, odometer reading, location and more. e card does not need to be swiped to initiate a transaction with Charge- Point. Instead, a fleet would register an EV with ChargePoint and obtain a key fob. As part of this process, the user would enter a Voyager card number, and the key fob would activate the charging station and capture transaction data in the Voyager network. "Making expense management easy while giving fleet drivers the flexibility to charge at multiple locations on the ChargePoint network is yet another innovation that makes our solution even more compelling," said Michael Jones, ChargePoint's vice president of sales. e Voyager Fleet Card is accepted at more than 320,000 fueling, maintenance and service locations and used by millions of drivers. – Aaron Huff Fleets with electric vehicles can use U.S. Bank's Voyager Network Fleet Card to collect data at the point of sale. • Trimble acquired privately-held Innovative Software Engineering, a provider of Internet of Things and telematics solutions, enterprise mobility applications and tailored software solutions, including electronic logging devices. Trimble said the acquisition expands its fleet safety and compliance solutions and allows it to offer e-logs. • Orbcomm, a provider of machine-to-machine and Internet of Things systems, acquired the as- sets of inthinc, a provider of fleet management, telematics and driver safety systems through an integration of in-vehicle devices, smart mobile devices, web applications and data manage- ment services. A customer of Orbcomm's wireless data services, inthinc has more than 100 customers that operate commercial fleets. • Drivewyze was awarded the contract to oper- ate its PreClear weigh station bypass service in California at 37 weigh stations and inspection sites, joining the company's 650 service sites in 42 states and provinces. Also, the Alberta Motor Transport Association's Partners in Compliance carriers now can receive PreClear service at 23 vehicle inspection locations throughout the Canadian province, which now has a total of 48 Drivewyze-affiliated bypass sites. • Noregon, a provider of vehicle repair informa- tion and data, announced a new scalable Data Analytics service to help businesses transform their raw data into pertinent, actionable infor- mation. The service is designed to allow compa- nies to supplement their existing information to identify opportunities related to fuel efficiency, maintenance programs, driver behavior and vehicle purchases or leases. • FourKites, a provider of multimodal supply chain visibility solutions, launched its real-time temperature and location tracking solution for shippers to monitor Food Safety Modernization Act compliance. Load temperatures are relayed in tandem with location data every 15 minutes, and customizable notifications alert users if temperatures fall outside a specified range. Visu- alization and analysis tools help shippers review individual and aggregated load temperatures to spot trends and compare against industry benchmarks to improve operations. • CarriersEdge, a provider of training courses for the trucking industry, added a module on ac- cident reporting that takes drivers through the legal and safety procedures and responsibilities following an accident to protect themselves, the carrier and other involved motorists and passengers. The training combines text, audio, pictures and graphics in an interactive format to help enhance retention. INBRIEF