FLEET COMMS
CLEAR COMMS Auckland’s Howick and Eastern Buses hits the road with an Icom NXDN digital radio solution.
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ew Zealand’s Howick and Eastern Buses has operated in Auckland for over 95 years and prides itself on providing a dependable service to the public. In order to support Auckland Transport’s goals of improving the city’s public transport network, as well as continuing the company’s focus on service improvements, Howick and Eastern last year invested in a new dispatch and radio system — based on Icom gear — for its entire fleet of buses. Troy O’Dea, Howick and Eastern’s Operations Manager, said it was a major purchase for the business, with the health and safety of its drivers at the top of its list of priorities. The company had not had success with a previous system installation (from a different supplier) less than 18 months earlier. “We [had] endured frustration after frustration as the system failed time and time again,” said O’Dea. “We had to put up with interruptions to our business, complaints from staff and the union… It seemed like it would never end. We had installed a new system that was just not fit for purpose.”
This issue is sponsored by — ROHDE & SCHWARZ (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD — http://www.rohde-schwarz.com.au 27