Passenger Transit

The Coach Travel Group standardises safety across 17 fleets with Samsara

Powered by the Samsara Connected Operations Platform

Meet The Coach Travel Group

1000+ EMPLOYEES

17 COMPANIES

670 SAMSARA-ENABLED VEHICLES

The Challenge

Coping with fragmented systems

Coach travel is part of the fabric of many people’s lives in the UK, helping them access education, work, healthcare and leisure. Meet the company determined to take the industry into the 21st century.

The Coach Travel Group was born in 2024 from a merger of 17 regional coach operators from across the UK. The national company allows its sub-brands, who retain strong local identities, to pool expertise and operational support. To better serve their customer base of tour operators, community groups and corporate clients, The Coach Travel Group set out on a digital transformation programme to elevate the experience of coach travel - making it more punctual, more convenient and, above all, safer.

But first, that meant stitching together 17 different companies’ disparate legacy systems. “We had five different telematics providers, all on different contracts, all with slightly different functionality”, said CTO Andrew Luckett. Unable to track where drivers were at any given moment, the team found it impossible to measure on-time performance, let alone offer their customers a connected experience.

These mismatching systems also created safety risks, with some operators lacking basic in-coach monitoring equipment. Drivers’ reliance on consumer GPS apps, which don’t route around commercial vehicle restrictions, also left coaches vulnerable to bridge strikes. To close the gaps, they looked for an integrated solution that would standardise safety and performance across their fleet.

Samsara is a key element of our safety strategy and a key driver of safety improvements across the group.

Elaine Williams

Group Head of Safety, Operations and Compliance

The Solution

A suite of safety-first telematics

After scouring the market for a comprehensive, all-in-one package, The Coach Travel Group found that only Samsara could offer a solution to every one of their challenges. In Andrew’s words, the Group uses Samsara as a “menu” of solutions to address all their operational, safety and commercial needs.

Consolidating their previous solutions into one platform has allowed Coach Travel Group to offer a market-leading, digitally-enabled experience across all aspects of the business.

Samsara Platform

Offering a superior customer experience

Modern passenger transport businesses need real-time insight into live vehicle locations. Thanks to Samsara’s strong API functionalities, the Group can collect tracking data from their operators’ planning software tools onto the Samsara Platform, keeping customers and internal teams informed on journey times.

Six coaches parked in a row, three teal Barnes coaches and two yellow and blue Johnsons coaches, in an overcast car park.

Cameras and video

Shining a light on safety risks and improving driver morale

By capturing all road incidents through Samsara’s AI Dash Cams, Coach Travel Group has standardised safety across the business, clamped down on risky behaviours, and exonerated drivers from fraudulent insurance claims.

Drivers now report feeling safer and more supported, backed up by a system that watches the road for threats and backs up their claims against false testimony.

Several coaches parked in a car park, including Jones Holidays blue coach and Worthing Coaches silver coach.

Tachograph

Saving hours of manual admin every day

UK coach drivers must abide by strict legal driving hours, tracked by in-vehicle tachographs. To avoid arduous manual data collection and free up their staff’s time, The Coach Travel Group uses Samsara’s remote tachograph downloading solution.

With less compliance admin, the team has more headspace to focus on delivering the best possible experience for clients and passengers.

A white Horseman coach parked on a gravel road surrounded by autumn trees under a blue sky.

Fleet Telematics

Giving everyone a reason to strive for fuel efficiency

Fuel is one of Coach Travel Group’s biggest expenses, but much of the total cost is downstream of driver behaviours like idling and harsh braking. That’s why Coach Travel Group uses Samsara to power their idling reduction project, incentivising more fuel-efficient habits.

The team tracks exactly which vehicles and drivers are most prone to leaving their engine running, intervening with instant, in-cab alerts where needed. All this data empowers managers to design coaching regimes and reward drivers for positive behaviour changes.

Better driving creates a virtuous circle of improved outcomes for the whole business. As Elaine Williams, Head of Operational Performance, notes, “there's a safety benefit to improving that driver's behaviour, there's a commercial benefit to improving that driver's behaviour, there's a sustainability benefit to improving that driver's behaviour.”

A smiling man in a dark suit sits in the driver's seat of a modern coach, with a steering wheel and capacity signs visible.

The Road Ahead with Samsara

Harnessing more data to drive better outcomes

Thanks to all these successes, Coach Travel Group is embedding Samsara further into its daily operations.

The company is trialing Samsara’s commercial navigation features to proactively guide drivers away from dangerous low bridges, restricted roads, and other route conditions that standard sat-nav apps don’t surface. Drivers receive customised routing instructions, giving them the confidence to drop off passengers safely and on time, every time. Having seen its immediate operational value, the company is fast-tracking its rollout.

Safety is the cornerstone of Coach Travel Group’s partnership with Samsara. Following the success of their Dash Cam implementation, managers are testing out a more preventive safety model. The company is beta testing AI-based side and reversing camera systems that identify vulnerable road users and potential collision risks and prompt drivers to take avertive action.

The Coach Travel Group is also exploring how Samsara can help them win new business. The company provides high-frequency shuttle services to major tourist attractions, where clients want exact ridership numbers for each coach in real time. The Coach Travel Group’s ongoing trial of the Samsara AI Multicam System allows them to analyse headcounts and adjust service frequency in response—a major differentiator for these high-value contracts.

Founded in 2024, The Coach Travel Group is still at the start of their journey. But they’ve already claimed a head start by using Samsara to run safer, smarter, more cost-effective operations.

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