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GPS tracking devices on your vehicles

Each vehicle reports its position through a GPS unit or the driver's phone to our own Traccar tracking server. SmartMy Transit reads the positions from there for the live map, arrival times, trips and alerts. Your Entity's speed limit goes to every device.

PLANSFrom Growth

Built and tested in code against a stand-in tracking server. No GPS unit model has been tried yet; the first unit is tested with you before go-live.

Compare plans How it works

The problem it solves

You cannot tell where a bus is without calling the driver, and the driver should not be on the phone while driving.
A tracker from one vendor works only with that vendor's portal, so the map sits apart from your routes, riders and runs.
Some vehicles have no tracker yet, and you do not want to wait for every bus to be fitted before you start.
Nobody notices when a tracker has been unplugged or has stopped sending.

How it works

Buy GPS units from any dealer you trust, with a data SIM. You own them; SmartMy does not sell, rent or service hardware.
Your unit is pointed at our Traccar server (server address, port and the SIM's APN, set by the dealer or by us with you).
In Transport > Configuration > Vehicles and Routes > Tracking Devices, press New. Give a name such as Bus 12 tracker and the Device ID (the IMEI on the label). Then the type GPS Unit, the SIM number and the vehicle it is fitted to. Press Send to Traccar.
On the Entity's Transport tab, the administrator presses Send Devices and Stops to Traccar. Every stop with a position becomes a circle around the stop on the tracking server, so arrivals are seen there.
Press Create Event Webhook URL and give the address to whoever looks after the tracking server. SOS, overspeed, power cut and stop arrivals then reach SmartMy Transit as they happen.
For a vehicle with no unit, add a device of type Phone. The driver's SmartMy Transit Crew app then sends the phone's position while a run is on.

Everything it does

Devices

Name, Device ID (IMEI of a unit, or the identifier a phone reports with) and type GPS Unit or Phone. Also SIM number, the vehicle it is fitted to, Entity
A Device ID can be registered only once
Filter Not Fitted for devices with no vehicle; group by type or Entity; archive a device you no longer use
Every change to a device is kept in its history
Send to Traccar on each device; Send Devices and Stops to Traccar for the whole Entity
One active device is used per vehicle

The tracking server

Our own Traccar server, the open-source tracking server that reads the protocols of most GPS units
Positions stay in the tracking server's database and are never stored in SmartMy Transit. They are read when you open the map, play back a track or the nightly trips are worked out
The tracking server keeps positions for 90 days and removes older ones every day
Your Entity's Overspeed Above (km/h) goes to the server with each device, so overspeed is found there
Each stop with a position becomes a circle of the stop's radius (100 metres to start with) watched for every device
Events come back through a secret webhook address; New Webhook URL makes a new one and the old one stops working
If the server cannot be reached, the map shows vehicles without a position and nothing fails

The driver's phone as the tracker

A device of type Phone on the vehicle, and the Entity's Phone Tracking URL
The Crew app sends the position while the driver's run is running: every 10 seconds moving, every 30 seconds standing, also with the screen off
Without signal, positions wait on the phone and go in order later
An SOS button sits at the top of the app while it tracks; it asks once, then the transport office gets an SOS alert
Tracking stops when the run ends or the driver signs out

What the positions feed

The live map and route playback
Arrival times at each stop, and arrival and departure recorded at a stop
Each vehicle's trips, daily kilometres to the odometer and the driving score
Alerts: SOS, overspeed, power cut or tamper, device offline, long idle, ignition out of hours, sudden fuel drop

Who uses it

Transport administratorFills in the tracking server, makes the webhook address, adds devices and sends devices and stops to the server.

Transport officeSees the devices and uses what they feed: the map, arrival times, trips and alerts.

DriverWith a phone device on the vehicle, keeps the Crew app tracking during the run and presses SOS if needed.

GPS dealer or installerFits the unit (power, ground, ignition wire) and points it at the tracking server.

Where you use it

Web: Transport > Configuration > Vehicles and Routes > Tracking Devices, and the Entity's Transport tab (group Tracking Server (Traccar))
The SmartMy Transit Crew app: the phone as the tracker, with SOS (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
Not linked to VAHAN or a state's vehicle monitoring centre
Not tested with any named GPS unit yet: a unit is tested with you before go-live

What you control

Settings

Traccar Server URL, Traccar User and Traccar Password: per Entity, seen only by the transport administrator; the password is stored encrypted
Event Webhook URL: made with Create Event Webhook URL
Phone Tracking URL: where the Crew app sends positions
Overspeed Above (km/h): 60 to start with, sent to every device
Radius (m) of each stop: 100 to start with

Notifications

Transport Alert: alerts from the devices go to the transport office (see Alerts)

Questions

Which GPS units work with it?

Units are read by our Traccar server, which speaks the protocols of most GPS units. We have not yet tested a named model, so we test your unit with you before go-live. Our first test is planned on an AIS-140 certified Teltonika unit.

Do we have to buy the trackers from you?

No. You buy the units and SIMs from any dealer and own them. We point them at our tracking server with you and charge nothing per device.

Can we start without trackers?

Yes. A vehicle can use the driver's phone with the SmartMy Transit Crew app as its tracker while a run is on. The app is built and being tested; it is not in the app stores yet.

Where is the GPS data kept, and for how long?

On our Traccar tracking server, not in your SmartMy database. The server keeps 90 days of positions. Trips, kilometres and alerts worked out from them stay in SmartMy Transit.

Can we use our own Traccar server?

The server address, user and password are settings per Entity, so another Traccar server can be entered. We set it up and support it on ours.

Can we set a different speed limit per vehicle?

Not yet. One Overspeed Above (km/h) applies to every vehicle of the Entity. Per-vehicle limits and custom zones are not built; the only zones are the circles around stops.

Related features

LIVE MAP AND PLAYBACKLive map of all vehiclesThe transport office sees every tracked vehicle on one map: moving, idle, stopped or offline, and its speed. It also sees the run it is on with its driver and how late it is. The stops of the running runs show their expected time and turn green once reached.LIVE MAP AND PLAYBACKRoute playback with a speed-coloured lineReplay where a vehicle went on any day, or on one of its runs, as a line coloured by speed. It is red where it was over your speed limit. Halts of two minutes or more and the alerts on the way are marked, with the time and speed at every point.ARRIVAL TIMESExpected arrival times that learn from real runsEvery stop of a running run gets an expected arrival time, worked out again every minute from where the vehicle is. Arrival and departure are recorded by themselves when the vehicle enters and leaves the stop's circle. The times between stops learn from the route's recent runs on the same weekday.TRIPS, KILOMETRES, ALERTSAlerts: SOS, overspeed, tamper, idle and fuel dropThe transport office is alerted to SOS, overspeed, a tracker's power cut or tampering, and a device offline. Also to long idling, use outside your hours and sudden fuel drops. Each alert is acknowledged with a note of what was done.TRIPS, KILOMETRES, ALERTSTrips and kilometres per vehicleEvery night each tracked vehicle's trips of the day before are worked out from its GPS positions. Each has start and end, kilometres, duration, top speed, idle time and who drove. The day's kilometres are added to the vehicle's odometer, marked From GPS.PHONE APPSThe Crew app for drivers and helpersSmartMy Transit Crew puts the driver's and helper's day on their phone: today's runs, start and end. It shows each stop with its riders, boarded, dropped and absent, and the boarding card scan. With higher plans the phone also tracks the vehicle, carries an SOS button, the trip checklist, fuel, breakdowns and boarding by face.

See your own routes on the map.

Send us your stops and routes and we will show you a demo with them.

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