Holiday Tours
Customer Company Size
SME
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- Samsara Vehicle Gateways
- Samsara dual-facing HD dash cams
- Samsara Driver App
Tech Stack
- GPS Tracking
- Real-time Location Data
- Fault Code Alerts
- Electronic DVIRs
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Customer Satisfaction
- Employee Satisfaction
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
- Functional Applications - Fleet Management Systems (FMS)
- Sensors - GPS
Applicable Industries
- Transportation
Applicable Functions
- Maintenance
Use Cases
- Driver Performance Monitoring
- Fleet Management
- Predictive Maintenance
- Vehicle Telematics
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
Founded in 1978, Holiday Tours is a family-owned-and-operated charter bus company based in North Carolina. The company operates a fleet of 74 motorcoaches and specializes in private charter services and preset tour packages. Known for their high level of customer service, safety record, and innovation, Holiday Tours has always recognized the importance of technology in their operations. They built their own system in the 1980s to manage various aspects of their business, including customer reservations, scheduling, maintenance, accounting, and HR. However, they were missing a crucial component: real-time tracking of their buses. This gap in their system made it challenging to provide accurate updates to customers and manage their fleet efficiently.
The Challenge
Holiday Tours, a family-owned charter bus company, faced challenges in managing their fleet operations efficiently. Despite having a custom-built system for managing customer reservations, scheduling, maintenance, accounting, and HR, they lacked a way to accurately pinpoint the location of their buses. This gap in their system made it difficult to provide real-time updates to customers about bus locations, which was particularly problematic in city environments where a two-minute delay could mean a difference of 10 blocks. Additionally, their existing camera system only collected harsh driving events in large batches during the evening, limiting their ability to provide instant feedback on driver behavior and customer experience. The company also needed a more efficient way to manage maintenance, as motorcoaches require regular maintenance to deal with diesel particulates through a process called regeneration. Not performing regeneration on time could cause the vehicle to stop, posing a significant operational risk.
The Solution
To address these challenges, Holiday Tours deployed Samsara Vehicle Gateways to add GPS tracking to their fleet. This allowed them to have real-time location data for every vehicle, significantly improving their ability to provide accurate updates to customers. The company also invested in Samsara dual-facing HD dash cams to get a full picture of what was happening on the road. This enabled them to see harsh driving events as they happened, providing instant feedback on driver behavior and customer experience. Additionally, Samsara's fault code alerts notified the team when regeneration was needed for their motorcoaches, even before the bus dash indicator lit up. This proactive approach allowed them to notify drivers to get to a safe area for maintenance, preventing potential operational disruptions. The Samsara Driver App further streamlined their maintenance management by enabling electronic DVIRs, moving them from a paper-based system to a fully electronic workflow. This instant communication improved clarity of information and coordination between departments, saving the team at least 10 hours a week.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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