The new “Imaroke” service, which enables bus operations management and on-site communications to be handled on a single smartphone, has launched. As its first deployment, it will be introduced on a trial basis to ease congestion on the school buses operated by Katayanagi Academy.
Shobunsha Holdings,Inc. and Organon announced that they have developed and will begin operating the new location service “Imaroke” in cooperation with Katayanagi Academy. The service will visualise operating conditions in real time, with the aim of improving convenience for students and advancing campus digital transformation.
The project will centre on 3 measures: installing tablets on all school buses, visualising operating conditions, establishing a framework for adding services through analysis of travel data, and encouraging users to disperse to other stations. Congestion data from the library is also scheduled to be included in the correlation analysis.
“Imaroke” enables real-time operating conditions to be made publicly available by affixing QR codes or tags. Drivers can operate the system with 1 tap when departing, while arrival is detected automatically, reducing the operating burden. Standard features also include broadcast communications for administrators and congestion data visualisation, supporting digital transformation in the field.
Implementation starts at ¥0 in initial fees and ¥6,000 per vehicle per month, excluding tax. Operations can begin in as little as 1 day using smartphones and tablets. The companies also intend to expand the initiative as an industry-academia collaboration, including potential applications in autonomous driving research.