The ACSS Group have been providing technology based services to the transport services for over 25 years. Our experience has included working with major transport operators throughout the UK and Europe. This includes for instance, Transport for London (TfL), Police and Ambulance Services, and numerous Local Authorities. We have carried out over 20,000 vehicle installations and we are authorised distributors for some the finest names in CCTV technology. We operate an ISO9001 quality assurance system and we are accredited for working in a wide range of highway, rail, and industrial environments. From our base in Surrey we provide a warehouse, installation and test facility, field maintenance depot, sales, and administration. We have partners throughout the UK with specialist experience in vehicle mounted technology who can provide customised system configurations, installation, and field support services.
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Thandi wanted to deal with a number of issues on their bus and coach fleet. These included:

• Monitoring drivers and vehicles to improve efficiency
• Monitor other road traffic to reduce down time and lateness
• Verifying the number of passengers being carried against the fares collected
• Reduce the amount of vandalism on their buses

ACSS proposed a solution which used 4 cameras per vehicle. These were focussed on the passenger entry/exit door, the driver, the upper deck and the lower deck of the vehicle. The system provided a dual capability with regards to viewing video information; firstly the on-board digital video recorder (DVR) recorded all the data on its secure hard disk. Secondly, the DVR was fitted with a 3G streaming option which allowed the bus operating Company to remotely monitor live video feeds at any time. This remote 3G connectivity provides facilities to review recorded footage whilst the vehicle is in service, and to change settings on the system if required. In addition a facility to send video footage to mobile phones allowed managers to obtain service and vehicle information even when they are not directly sat by the control terminal.

The system was installed by ACSS sister company Pageantry Electronic Systems, and it immediately produced outstanding results:

• Revenues overall increased by approximately 30%
• Revenue on some vehicles increased by £150 per day
• Vandalism on tour coaches significantly reduced

Thandi have been very pleased with the results of the system which paid for itself in a matter of just a few weeks.
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247247 Taxis is a Hastings based minicab operator. The approached ACSS to provide them with a solution for CCTV recording on their vehicle fleet consisted of 68 saloon cars and 17 people carriers. Requirements included:

• Full internal video coverage of the vehicles
• Audio recording
• A forward facing camera giving coverage of the road ahead
• 24/7 recording

The 247247 Taxis requirement specification needed amongst other things a very discrete video camera. These were developed and assembled by ACSS to meet the specific requirements of 247247 Taxis.

The customer also required 24/7 recording which meant that the DVRs would have to be permanently powered-up. This raised concerns that the vehicles' batteries might go flat in the vehicles were left unused for long periods. To address this issue, ACSS liaised with the DVR manufacturer to provide a new firmware version with a "Battery Protection" function enabled. This feature allowed the DVR to automatically power-down if it detects that its supply voltage has fallen below a user-configured threshold. The DVR automatically re-activates when the vehicle's ignition is turned on.

247247 Taxi staff attended an ACSS training course, designed to familiarise vehicle installers with the use of ACSS mobile DVRs. Thereafter, the 247247 Taxi staff were accredited to carry out the DVR installations on their fleet. During the first two days of the installation roll-out, ACSS engineers were present at 247247 Taxis workshop to assist with any queries arising from the installations. 247247 Taxis installers found the installation process to be relatively simple and were soon completing the installs in good time.

To date, the 85 vehicles in 247247 Taxi’s fleet have been installed. 247247 Taxis are now planning to offer a service of installing this CCTV system to other minicab operators in their area.

The system has been a great success. Within the first few weeks of use it has already proven that four accidents were Non Fault because of CCTV footage, it has protected drivers against false complaints, and also Police have used CCTV footage of Passengers who got a Taxi after they had just broke into a house.

You can find out more about 247247 Taxis on the ir Facebook page here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hastings-United-Kingdom/247-247-Taxi-Company/61275627752