The problem
A coach on a school run with an expired annual test or a missed safety inspection is a serious problem for the operator's license, and the dates come round all year: inspections at your declared interval, the annual test, tax and tachograph calibration for each vehicle. With 7 coaches that's dozens of dates a year, often kept on one person's wall planner.
What the AI does
FleetCheck's Essential plan, $5£4€5A$8C$8 per vehicle a month excluding VAT, lists live MOT and vehicle tax information, key dates for vehicles and drivers and maintenance planning. Its site describes traffic-light alerts for key dates such as MOTs, road tax and servicing, and email reminders to users. Your forward planner and your workshop's inspection schedule stay the main record; FleetCheck is the second check that flags what's coming up.
A worked example
A 7-coach operator in Devon with a PSV O-license and six-weekly safety inspections done in its own workshop. The owner keeps a wall planner and a diary.
Before
Dates for 7 coaches in one person's planner, checked when they remember
After
Dates in the forward planner first, copied to FleetCheck, and the two compared every Monday by 2 people
What it's worth
No money saving is claimed: this is a backup so a test, inspection or tax date is far less likely to slip. FleetCheck bills a minimum of 10 vehicles, so 7 coaches on Essential cost $53£40€48A$77C$75 a month excluding VAT. The value is in never sending a coach out of date, especially on a school contract.
How to set it up
- Record every inspection, annual test, tax and calibration date in your forward planner first, checked against the paperwork by the transport manager.
- Start FleetCheck's trial and add each coach; enter any test dates it doesn't fill in for you.
- Add your inspection interval and set email reminders to go to two people.
- Every Monday, compare the forward planner with FleetCheck's alerts and fix any difference that day.
- Update both whenever a coach is bought, sold or off the road.
What goes wrong
- Reminders can fail silently: an email goes to spam or a date is typed wrong. The weekly check against the forward planner is what catches it.
- FleetCheck's page talks about live MOT data; check whether PSV annual test dates come through for your coaches or need entering by hand.
- The contract is 36 months with a 10-vehicle minimum charge. A 7-coach operator pays for 10.
- The trial terms on the page are for fleets of 10 or more vehicles; ask what applies to a smaller fleet.