Brokerage & Call Center Management
We
have found a neat and obvious extension to our transportation business is the
provision of call center (co-coordinating trip requests) and brokerage
contracts (co-coordinating and distributing multiple trip requests to multiple
service providers and modes of transportation).
For us, the call center or brokerage is not an afterthought. It is a critical
factor to the overall success of the contract and we devote the same level of
attention to call center management as we do to vehicle operations and
maintenance. The five key tasks of the call center—trip reservations, vehicle
routing and scheduling, dispatching, customer care and IT support are the same
interdependent variables needed to operate our contracts and the connection is
clear.
Our experience of call center management dates back to the 1980s when
coordinated paratransit services were a new concept. The advent of the ADA in
the 1990s, automated routing and scheduling systems, improved telephony, and
other advanced technologies have all improved the call center concept and
Veolia Transportation has kept pace with the changing environment, not only
through extensive training, but also with the attention to procedures and
accurate record-keeping practices that have ensured success in the past.
We start by ensuring that each trip request matches with the most suitable and
cost effective transportation solution that will meet the rider’s individual
circumstances and eligibility status. We take our safety responsibility
seriously and we ensure the provider network meets the health and safety
standards for vehicle operation, that the drivers are qualified and well
trained, and that service is delivered in a safe, courteous and timely manner.
Our experience has resulted in some long-standing partnerships with some of the
nation’s largest brokerage operations. For example we manage ACCESS
Transportation, under contract to the Pittsburgh Port Authority, since the late
1970s. It is one of the largest coordinated paratransit programs in the county,
providing 1.9 million rides annually to individuals with disabilities and
low-income and older adults. Through a partnership with 125 entities, ACCESS
uses 430 subcontracted vehicles to provide paratransit, accessible taxis, fixed
route transit passes and brokerage support
We have provided the East Bay Paratransit Consortium with their brokerage needs
since the consortium’s inception in 1995, taking responsibility for ADA client
certification, reservations, routing and scheduling, complaint resolution,
carrier contracting and management. And since April 2000, we manage the ADA
complementary paratransit service for MUNI in San Francisco, taking
reservations, dispatching, routing and scheduling 1.3 million trips annually.
In fact, we have planned, implemented and managed multiple brokerage/call
center operations for a number of agencies such as the Rhode Island Department
of Transportation, The State of Florida Transportation Disadvantaged
Commission, New Jersey Transit and various state Medicaid programs.