Dutch mapping, navigation and traffic information provider, TomTom, has launched two new services for drivers of freight and ‘blue light’ vehicles, in order to give them real-time route-planning, specific to their requirements.
TomTom has announced the availability of truck trip planning on its MyDrive website. The launch means that professional drivers can now save on driving time by planning a route at any time, and anywhere that an internet connection is available. Truck-specific journeys can be customized with preferred roads or stops, and synced to one of the company’s Trucker navigation devices, including the 5000 and 6000 models. The MyDrive platform allows professional drivers to conveniently plan a multi-stop route for their truck’s specific size, weight, cargo and speed. Favorite fuel and rest stops, as well as community Points of Interest (POIs) can be added, and relevant, personalized customizations can be added. On the route, speed camera alerts and real-time traffic information are shown, helping the driver to complete deliveries on time.
Corinne Vigreux, co-founder and managing director of TomTom Consumer, noted, “The innovative combination of truck-specific routing, with our highly accurate Traffic information, is designed to help save time and increase efficiency. Drivers will know the best time to depart, so when they get in their vehicle, they’re ready to go.”
TomTom has also announced a cooperative effort with a leading German manufacturer of professional radio applications, Elektronik-labor CARLS, to offer special radio applications for Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) organizations based on TomTom’s BRIDGE system; a hardware platform that seamlessly connects business applications with the company’s navigation and traffic information technology. The combination is intended to provide police, fire, ambulance or other ‘blue light’ services with accurate real-time route planning, enabling them to get to their destinations quicker, in what are frequently life-threatening situations.
“Police forces are increasingly moving into connected services and digitalization with interactive police cars; also other blue light services try to combine connected services with their TETRA radio systems, CANbus integrations and fleet management services,” explained Joachim Schulte, managing director of Elektronik-labor CARLS. “TomTom Bridge is an outstanding device that offers best-in-class-navigation with great possibilities to integrate it into various solutions. We will be demonstrating these solutions at the GPEC fair (General Police Equipment Exhibition) in Leipzig (Germany), this week (June 7-9).”
Sebastien Ruffino, VP of sales for B2B products at TomTom, commented, “We are convinced that BRIDGE is the perfect hardware platform for the blue light sector, and the announcement with Elektronik-labor Carls is the ultimate proof of concept. We’re really excited about showing visitors to the General Police Equipment Exhibition & Conference the Carls integration but, more widely, how Bridge can help any type of blue light vehicle on the move to work more efficiently, be quicker, save time and money, and bring innovative services.”
