Overview
Operating 900 daily trips, FNMA provides urban and suburban services to thousands of daily passengers across Varese, Como, and Brescia in northern Italy.
Planner/scheduler Stefano Frau is part of the FNMA team that manages route planning, scheduling, fleet deployment, driver and payroll management, and emergency response.
Outdated systems made these tasks increasingly challenging. Using Optibus, his team is working faster and more efficiently, resulting in better services for drivers and passengers.
Challenge
Fragmented and inefficient tools prevented FNMA from keeping up with modern demands, resulting in:
- Scheduling bottlenecks: Manual processes delayed scheduling updates and introduced errors, reducing operational agility.
- Payroll challenges: Disconnected systems created payroll inaccuracies and delays. They also limited drivers’ access to timely, accurate information, leading to frustrated workers.
- Slow emergency response: Reacting to unexpected disruptions, like landslides, took up to five hours, jeopardizing service reliability and safety.
“Managing day-to-day operations was becoming unsustainable,” Stefano shares.
Solution
To overcome these challenges, FNMA turned to Optibus for a centralized, cloud-native platform that would unify all their work processes and improve their operations.
The implementation of two core modules — Planning and Scheduling — was completed in just four months, even with a summer break.
Results
- Faster Emergency Response: With Optibus, FNMA reduced emergency response times from five hours to just two, which was invaluable during incidents like landslides. “This response time reduction has greatly improved our service reliability,” Stefano noted.
- Improved Payroll Accuracy: By integrating their payroll system with Optibus, FNMA minimized manual errors and streamlined data tracking, which increased transparency and accuracy.
- Increased Driver Engagement: The Optibus Driver App provided direct access to shift and payment details, improving driver confidence. “Our drivers appreciate the transparency, and it has positively impacted their experience,” Stefano stated.
