First Bus, one of the largest bus operators in the United Kingdom, present in 40 of the main cities of the country, including Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh and Glasgow, has selected Jaltest, the multibrand diagnostic tool from Cojali, a leading company in the development of diagnostic software and technologies for the management of commercial vehicles, to reduce maintenance costs and improve the efficiency of its vehicle fleet.

To carry out any repair or maintenance of its vehicles, First Bus had until now a great variety of tools from numerous suppliers. However, such disparity of tools involved an important additional burden for the company with high individual costs resulting from the different tools, from the obligation to carry out the maintenance and update of each tool to the necessary investment to guarantee that all members of the technical team were trained and certified in each and every one of the tools.

With a fleet with more than 5.800 vehicles, including urban and long-distance buses, any modification involved First Bus making a significant investment.

First Bus and Eclipse Automotive, distributor of Jaltest in the United Kingdom, began working together to identify a system that met the expectations of the operator’s engineering team, including the completion of a number of tests that led to the selection of the best multibrand diagnostic tool on the market, ensuring the necessary support in the sparse First Bus network.

During the assessment and testing phase, Jaltest tool was used successfully in demonstrations and real performance tests carried out at several First Bus headquarters. In those tests, Eclipse and the project team made sure that all the functionalities of Jaltest menu were operational and tested conveniently.

After numerous and proficiency tests carried out by the project team and the First Bus engineers, Jaltest diagnostic tool was clearly highlighted as the best option. At that stage, the project intended to assess the ability of each supplier to provide the necessary support to both the project team and the engineers of the First Bus fleet.

“The proper management of fleets, the immediacy and professionalization of the processes is increasingly important in order to make the transport companies competitive and always capable of offering the best service”, says José Ramón Serrano, Global Sales Manager of Cojali. “The solutions of preventive maintenance, fleet management and remote diagnosis, such as those offered by Cojali through its Jaltest Telematics and Jaltest Diagnosis projects, are fundamental for optimizing the performance, developing savings strategies, and offering the best service.”

First Bus chose Jaltest Diagnostic solution not only for the functionalities of the tool, but also for the support services offered as part of the contract. A support service that includes an internal team of qualified technicians located in the headquarters of the distributor, and available to assist First Bus engineers to interpret fault codes if necessary, at any time. A service available in person, by phone or via internet.

About FirstGroup

First Bus is member of FirstGroup plc, the leading operator in the United Kingdom and North America. With a turnover of more than £7.1 billion (approximately 8 billion euros), First Group employs more than 100,000 people and transports more than 2.2 billion passengers per year. For its part, First Bus transports more than 1.6 million passengers and is present in 15 largest conurbations in United Kingdom. For further information, visit https://www.firstgroupplc.com/.