News Archives
June 2008
Fleet Companies Hit with High Delivery Costs Searching for Answers - The Wall Street Journal
Click Here to Learn More
May 2008
Fleet Owner Magazine: Secret Success Stories
Click Here to Learn More
May 2008
Turnpike adds 58 new customers in 60 days
Turnpike Global has signed 58 new orders in the past 60 days. Many customers are citing the increasing price of fuel as a compelling reason to implement RouteTracker. TurnpikeDirect combines GPS tracking and engine diagnostic reporting to help customers reduce out of route miles, monitor fuel usage, automate IFTA reporting, and replace paper hours of service logs.
April 2008
Turnpike adds Motorola I335 to approved handsets for RouteTracker GPS and Fleet Management reporting
Click here to learn more
March 2008
Turnpike joining Sprint at Eye for Transport Wireless Conference
Turnpike Global Technologies will be joining Sprint at their booth for 6th Annual Transport Eye for Transport Wireless and Mobility Technology for Trucking & Delivery Fleets Conference inOrlando. The conference runs March 26th and 27th at the Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate. Please stop by the booth to view the latest version of RouteTracker Electronic Hours of Service and GPS Management. Additional information is available at http://www.eyefortransport.com/wirelesstruck08/
March 2008
Sprint Now Offering Turnpike
Click Here to Learn More
January 2008
Case Study: Electronic On Board Recorder (EOBR) Helps Trucking Firm Lower Fuel Costs; Raise Profitability
Carmen M. Pariso, Inc., is an expanding dump truck and heavy haul company based in Tonawanda, NY. It specializes in the transportation of stone, dirt, concrete and debris to and from quarries and construction sites. It also moves construction equipment, industrial machines and fabricated parts.
But with fuel costs doubling in the last couple of years and competition growing, the company saw its margins shrinking. Further, with 34 trucks to deal with and a largely manual operation, its two dispatchers struggled to stay in control of the fleet.
"As we really didn’t know how the drivers were driving, where they were or when they took breaks, it was impossible to monitor efficiency," said Tony Pariso, president of Pariso Trucking. "As inefficiency was hurting our bottom line, we realized we needed to find a way to lower costs while boosting the quality of service." The company carefully evaluated several Electronic On Board Recorder (EOBR) packages before selecting RouteTracker due to its wealth of features and low cost. This GPS tracking and engine diagnostics system is manufactured by Turnpike Global Technologies of Buffalo, NY.
According to Pariso, installation was a simple affair. The small EOBR took a little more than five minutes per truck to install. Driver training amounted to no more than a short briefing.
Improving Driver Performance
Once in place, the system immediately began monitoring how vehicles were driven, tracking fuel usage and creating a database from which to draw driver rating scorecards. Pariso uses it daily to keep an eye on driver performance. He says it takes a single click to create a scorecard report.
One of the first things he noticed was that his trucks spent too much time idling. He immediately used the Turnpike reports to address this issue, as well as other bad driver habits.
"We grade drivers based on four criteria," said Pariso. "As a result, we have eliminated excessive idling, hard braking, speed limit violations and keep our truck rpm below 1800. This led to a decrease in fuel consumption of at least 5 percent."
Each week, he prints off a RouteTracker report to view the best and worst drivers. It highlights the specific violations of the worst drivers, which he employs for corrective purposes. The top five drivers, on the other hand, receive awards.
Saving Money on Fuel Tax, Payroll and Toll Payments
RouteTracker also confirms arrival and departure times, and verifies payroll by providing accurate reports or driver/truck activity. In addition, it automates fuel tax reporting and automates Hours of Service.
"We have saved ourselves a whole lot of time and money by using RouteTracker to automate the fuel tax process," said Pariso. "It’s a relief to take all that paperwork away from the driver and have it generated automatically."
An unexpected benefit occurred with the automatic toll payment system known as E-Z Pass. Sometimes in the past, trucks would go through the toll without being scanned properly. As a result, the company would be billed the maximum amount. An administrator at Pariso would then have to spend hours filing reports that demonstrated where trucks had been and how much they should actually have been charged.
"The office manager had to grab all the driver sheets and figure out each billing error," said Pariso. "Doing it manually took about 15 minutes per error compared to seconds using RouteTracker. And each one can save us anywhere from a few dollars up to as much as $55."
Lower Maintenance and Driver Costs
Although drivers offered some initial resistance to change, he reports that the system is now very much part of the company’s standard operating procedure. Drivers accept it completely and work hard to earn their scorecard awards each week.
"It’s great to know where drivers are, where they’ve been and whether they took the best routes," said Pariso. "The increase in efficiency we have experienced has directly translated into savings in maintenance and driver costs of as much as ten percent."
December 2007
Turnpike announces new pricing that includes GPS tracking, Engine Diagnostics, IFTA reporting, and Optional Electronic Hours of Service
Click Here to Learn More
November 2007
Turnpike Leading the Charge for Automated Electronic HOS
Turnpike Global Technologies, the industry's leading regulatory compliance telematics
provider, has recently added more automated features to their Hours-of-Service (HOS)
Reporting Solution. "These new features will further free up the driver to focus on
driving - not log keeping, says Brendan Staub, CEO of Turnpike". The system now has
the ability to make available automatic ‘duty status’ changes by utilizing engine
data provided through the ECM’s J-1708 data port. This will further simplify the
driver-log process by automatically changing the driver’s duty status when certain
parameters are met. The Web based reporting system also flags drivers who are
approaching or are in violation of any rule. RouteTracker is fully compliant with
FMCSA section 395.15. See the attached picture of the Hours-of-Service application
running on an approved Java handset (image) (Win Mobile also supported).
October 2007
Turnpike Exhibits at the ATA MCE in Orlando, FL
From October 20th to the 23rd Turnpike Global Technologies attended and exhibited at the
American Trucking Associations Management Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, FL at the
World Marriott Center and Resort. Throughout the show Turnpike demonstrated their
RouteTracker’s ability to automate the IFTA fuel tax process and its capability to
verify routes, speeds and driver payroll. Also, Turnpike demonstrated how their
RouteTracker’s data can provide idle times, fleet and customer stop reports, hard
brake incidents and fault code reporting. However, most interest at the Turnpike pavilion
was the premier of their most recently updated product — an automated Hours-of-Service
(HOS) reporting solution that is resident on handhelds, such as Java enabled cell phones,
and works in compliment with their RouteTracker electronic on-board recorder (EOBR) which
provides an electronic leash to the vehicle. The application will eliminate manual log
keeping by the drivers and is fully FMCSA Section 395.15 compliant.
View Photos »
September 2007
30 Days, 22 New Fleets
We are pleased to announce that Twenty Two (22) fleet owners have selected Turnpike as their
FLEET MANAGEMENT supplier over the last 30-days. The companies range in size from 15 to over
400 units in multiple areas of transportation and service. We would like to welcome them into
our family of clientele and look forward to many years of allowing us to help provide safer
fleet operations and workload reduction to increase cash flow and reduce overall operating
expenses. Welcome aboard…..
August 2007
Turnpike Global Technologies will be exhibiting at the American Trucking
Association’s Annual Management Conference and Exhibition in Orlando,
Florida at the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort & Convention
Center. October 20-23, 2007. Please stop by booth #833.
July 2007
Turnpike Global Technologies would like to welcome 16 new customers. These
customers represent a broad cross-section of the trucking industry and
clearly demonstrates Route Tracker’s value for multiple industries including:
construction, beverage distribution, moving companies, grocer chains, building
supply, recycling, intermodal, and construction supply. These customer fleets
range in size from just 10 trucks to over 350 trucks.
June 2007
Fleet Owner article - Turnpike offering EOBR’s at no charge.
Click here to learn more.
May 2007
Turnpike would like to welcome 24 new customers including Two Men & and Truck from Colorado Springs Co.
Vice President of Two Men and a Truck, Colorado Springs, Jeff Walker stated "RouteTracker has helped us
verify payroll, increase productivity, and manage how safely our vehicles are driven. We can now monitor
truck speeds and hard braking as well as receive engine diagnostics that will help us run a more efficient
fleet. We are looking forward to continued improvements in our operations while utilizing the system."
April 2007
Turnpike Global Technologies has released a $0 hardware to purchase and $25 per month pricing
option for new customers (minimum volume requirements apply). RouteTracker can monitor how vehicles are driven, confirm arrival
and departure times, verify payroll, track fuel usage, provide remote engine diagnostics,
create driver rating scorecards and automate their IFTA reporting all for only $25 per month.
To learn more about RouteTracker please call 1.800.790.9018 or e-mail
sales@turnpikeglobal.com
March 2007
Turnpike signs a record number of new customers in March
Turnpike Global Technologies had its most successful month since the
Company’s inception. New clients will fully implement
Turnpike’s RouteTracker device and take advantage of the suite
of online reports that accompany Route Tracker. These reports include;
complete automation of IFTA and IRP, verifying vehicle speeds, hard
brakes, idle times, MPGs and vehicle fault codes, as well as verifying
payroll and GPS Tracking.
March 2007
Turnpike Integrates its Hours of Service application to run seamlessly on the Sprint/Nextel I605/615 cellular phone
Turnpike Global Technologies has integrated its Hours of Service Application to run on the Sprint /Nextel network via Sprint/Nextel’s I605/615 cellular phone. Drivers can now select duty status via the cellular phone, make comments, and maintain pretrip inspections while completely eliminating paper logs. The Turnpike integration to the I605/615 phone utilizes the Bluetooth connection to fully integrate vehicle diagnostics between the phone and Turnpike’s RouteTracker which connects directly to the vehicle diagnostic port of medium and heavy duty trucks.
February 2007
Turnpike Global Technologies Outfits The Erb Group of Companies with RouteTracker™
The Erb Group of Companies was developed from a one-man company in 1959 to one
that currently employs over 1,200 employees and 140 owner/operators. Today,
companies rely on Erb transportation for the delivery of time and temperature-
controlled products to over 24,000 consignees. Erb currently has over 600 power
units and 1000 refrigerated trailers.
February 2007
Transport Technology Today (T3) article - Following a Winding Path
Click Here to Learn More
January 2007
Turnpike Global Technologies to exhibit at Wireless Fleet 2007
Turnpike Global Technologies will be attending and exhibiting at Eye for
Transport’s Wireless Fleet 2007 Conference in Miami FL on February
20 & 21. Wireless Fleet 2007 is North America’s only exhibition that focuses
on the implementation and use of wireless and mobile technology in commercial
vehicle fleets. The Wireless Fleet 2007 exhibition will run concurrently with
a number of related industry conferences and a program of free seminars.
January 2007
Fleet Owner article - Bluetooth at the Border
Click Here to Learn More
January 2007
Fleet Owner profiles Turnpike Customer Bruce R. Smith Ltd.
Click Here to Learn More
December 2006
Turnpike helps smooth border crossing (Fleet Owner)
Click Here to Learn More
November 2006
Turnpike would like to welcome the following new customers
Standard Distributing, BC Transport,
J&S Trucking, Oneida, LCA Development, Riverside Gas and Oil, Phelps Sungas Inc., Price Trucking,
Warehouse Express, and The Gardewine Group of Companies
November 2006
Turnpike Global Technologies exhibits at the American Trucking Association in Dallas, Texas.
September 2006
Turnpike announces seven (7) new customers: Erb Transportation, Challenger Motor Freight,
Labatts Canada, 3J Fuels, SB Collins Inc. and R.L. Vallee
August 2006
Turnpike Global Technologies Signs On Grand Island Sales And Services.
July 2006
Fleet Owner June 2006 Article: Turnpike Global Technologies’ EOBR Connects To Handhelds (PDF)
June 2006
Newest Additions To Turnpike Global Technologies Customer Portfolio (PDF)
May 2006
Turnpike Global Technologies Attends And Exhibits The National Private Truck Council Annual Conference.
April 2006
Turnpike Global Technologies To Attend And Exhibit At The American Tucking Association Annual Conference In Dallas, TX October 28-31.
March 2006
Windsor Star Pens Article: Feds To Track Buses. GPS To Monitor 10 Buses While Traveling In Tunnel.
January 2006
Info Systems Logistics Magazine Publishes Article On Turnpike Global Technologies Routetrackertm: Routetrackertm: Keeping Canadian Truckers On The Right Track (PDF)
December 2005
Turnpike Global Technologies To Attend And Exhibit At The National Private Truck Council Annual Conference In Nashville, Tn April 30 - May 2.
November 2004
Case Study: Route Tracker Meets Home Hardware’s Call For Improved Productivity.
Part One (PDF) | Part Two (PDF)
July 2003
Forbes Hewlett Selects Canada’s First 100% Automated Fuel & Mileage Tax Service
