Ritchies Transport national training manager John Harvey,
of Auckland,uses a state-of-the-art computer and video
system to educate bus drivers, including local depot
assistant manager David Lott, in Dunedin this week. Photo
by Craig Baxter.
A group of Dunedin bus drivers is coming to grips with a
video-camera training system, which uses "big brother"
technology to monitor their moves behind the wheel.
Ritchies branch manager Malcolm Budd said city commuters
would be in line to benefit from the technology, which uses
video cameras to pinpoint how bus drivers can improve their
road skills.
Ritchies national training manager John Harvey, of Auckland,
is in Dunedin this week to train a group of nine new drivers
using the computer video system - the "only one of its kind
in New Zealand".
The $90,000 technology is a portable system, which uses video
cameras and sensors to observe drivers, as a GPS unit records
the route driven and the acceleration, braking, and
side-to-side movement of the bus, Mr Harvey said.
Cameras are attached to the wing mirrors to record the
driver's rear views, while another camera is positioned on
the driver, to watch where he is looking and also observe
driving habits, he said.
The GPS and sensor motions simulate the forces and movement
which passengers experience as the bus is driven along a
route, allowing Mr Harvey to pinpoint where improvements can
be made for new drivers.
"We want to ensure passengers have a much better ride," Mr
Budd said.
Ritchies Dunedin depot assistant manager David Lott is among
the group of drivers undergoing training.
He said the technology ensured trainee drivers were able to
identify - and correct - bad habits.
"Thankfully, I didn't have any ... It far and away surpasses
any other training I've seen in my time driving in Dunedin,"
he said.
A bus driver of two years' experience, Mr Lott is among a new
group of employees who will be involved with passenger
transport services on city routes which Ritchies has recently
been contracted to deliver for the Otago Regional Council.
Mr Budd said the routes would also be serviced by buses
outfitted with cycle racks, a first for Dunedin.
Otago Regional Council support services manager Gerard
Collings said any driver training programmes for public
transport was a "good thing".
"The computer video programme gives guidance to drivers about
passenger comfort and it's a great way of improving service
and standards," he said.
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