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Letter from the author
Big Deal About Smartphones
Scheduled Transportation
Reminders and Notifications
SPEDSTA – Mobile Apps and Senior Transportation
Dispatch and Scheduling
3
.
The telephone took 7 decades to go from 1% market penetration to 75%.Many middle aged
Americans recall how reluctantly their parents transitioned from letter writing to using the phone in the
70s.That same change is happening now with today’s older generation transitioning from the telephone
to the mobile phone and internet. Unlike the telephone though, the internet leaped from 1% market
penetration to 75% in only 7 years..10X faster. Although the older generation may show some
hesitation at using the latest Web App, don’t be surprised if they do it faster than you expect.
As the digital divide between the
elderly and the digital youth are
narrowed, an interesting “hand-me up”
behavior is happening where the
younger children are teaching their
elderly parents how to use mobile and
internet technology. It could be said
today that the elderly are at their most
disadvantaged both in technology and
when loss of license occurs. Loss of
license usually results in loss of
independence, social isolation and
resulting health declines which could
be solved through the very capabilities
of technology.
This eBook will describe some ways that technology is perfectly suited to solve the problems of the
elderly and scheduled transportation. We will dive into the specific capabilities of Mobile phone App
technology and where the opportunities are for Senior Organizations, Senior Homes and other Senior
Care centers to more efficiently run their senior transportation program while better connecting
volunteer drivers and other paid services with the elderly.
SPEDSTA – Mobile Apps and Senior Transportation
4
What is the Big Deal About
Smartphones Anyway?
Most people think of a mobile phone just as a smaller version
of their laptop or tablet. And that is the way many people think of
accessing the internet on their phone…just a compressed or
smaller view of what they see on their other devices. But the true
power of the mobile phone and Apps is just beginning to be
realized and can be thought of in four unique buckets which can be
leveraged to truly help people do things better and with more
efficiency:
1. Your second brain: by always having the ability to connect to
the cloud we are essentially growing a second brain. This
second brain allows us to access unlimited information and give
us suggestions we could not think of before.
2. Sensors: we interact with the world through our five senses.
The mobile phone is now adding dozens of new sensors to our
capabilities through GPS, Photos, videos, accelerometers and
more. Our perceptions can now extend to describing the world
in whole new ways.
3. Social: through mobile phone Apps we can instantly connect
with anyone to help us with our problems.
4. Notifications in Real time: the phone allows us to interrupt us to
get the latest information in real time. No longer do we have to
make effort to look for things, our phone can do it for us.
So lets dive into each of these capabilities and see how it helps
senior transportation.
The average person
has more access to
information in their
pocket than the
President of the USA
did a mere 15 years
ago!
SPEDSTA – Mobile Apps and Senior Transportation
5
Scheduled Transportation and
Drivers
Unlike most on-demand transportation services that exist
and are built on mobile phone app technology, it is equally
important to think about that population of elderly riders that are
in need of scheduled transportation. The elderly’s most frequent
needs are doctors appointments, grocery trips and other trips
which are in need of advanced scheduling. The volunteer and
paid drivers that can accommodate these types of rides demand
that these scheduled rides seamless integrate into their own
personal and daily schedule.
Mobile App technology is perfectly suited for suit this
demand from drivers. In particular the extended sensors of the
mobile phone such as GPS and mapping technology give that
capability for the drivers to know a number of things which make
their experience much better:
• Exact understanding of trip length, trip time and any
payments or reimbursements even before the ride begins
• Understanding how far from their current location is to the
pickup of the passenger
• Any traffic, route or other conditions which may affect the
ride.
• Allowing the passenger to understand the estimated time of
arrival and location of the driver. No more waiting time or
phone calls to make sure that everyone is meeting at the
right time.
All these small improvements add up to an exceptional
experience for the driver, motivating them to do more.
5 SPEDSTA – Mobile Apps and Senior Transportation
6
Memory
In the overloaded and hyper connected world that we all live in,
the ability to remember appointments, schedules and daily living
information is a challenge. For the elderly who are already
challenged with normal aging related memory loss, this problem
can be very acute. With consistent family and caregiving support
this impact can be somewhat lessened but seniors who do not
have that in-person contact could do with an automated way to
help their everyday living.
What would do with a second brain that will never lose its memory, be able to continually store
more and be always available anytime? This is what mobile devices connected to cloud based memory
can do for everyone and especially be impactful on the lives of seniors. Instead of writing on paper,
looking at calendars or relying on memory to be the guide to scheduled transportation appointments
this burden can now be shifted to a free and almost limitless digital resource.
By using always connected devices, information can freely be accessed and reminders setup for
any daily or weekly scheduled events. Now this is not only useful for the Senior, but having this freely
available to family members, caregivers and service providers gives an extra layer of support the
Senior would not normally get.
Reminders and Notifications
SPEDSTA – Mobile Apps and Senior Transportation
7
1-800-complaints
In a recent test by a major civic government, they
attempted to look at the differences between setting up
a compliant telephone line and using App technology
to report potholes in their city. The survey results were
clear as there was a 30% more participation from
people using Apps than using a telephone line. The
reason that most people cited was that by calling in
they felt they were “complaining”…when they did it
through the App they felt they were “helping”.
Dispatch and Scheduling
The telephone has been the mainstay of taxi
dispatch systems for the last 80+ years and continue to
serve that role today. During this time, this has been the
only communication device that many Seniors have
known but like any technology it has its drawbacks which
people get use to.
We have all had the experience of trying to reach
someone by phone and getting voicemail or some
automated system that takes you on an endless button
pushing path. The unique advantage of the phone is that
it can connect you with people that are not in your
immediate area, but the drawback is that the other
person must be the near the phone to get it.
Mobile phones take us one step forward by
allowing communication to happen anywhere and
anytime but it still takes direct synchronous contact for a
phone call. By using Apps and software, the
transportation world is going through a new
transformation where ride scheduling information can be
directly passed to the driver in a way for the driver to
respond on his own time. This also applies to dispatch
people and passengers where they don’t need to have
direct voice contact with drivers to confirm rides.
Not only does this make things more efficient, data
can be generated and fed back to Ride Manager,
Passenger and Driver to influence behavior and make
the whole program better.
SPEDSTA – Mobile Apps and Senior Transportation
8
Try Spedsta’s
Ride Management Tools and Passenger/Driver App
Free for 30 Days.
From managing your drivers to increasing your
transportation budget, Spedsta brings your entire
transportation program together. The result? Better
experience for the driver and senior passenger and a
lower cost way to manage your transportation
program.
Start Your Free Trial Now
www.spedsta.com/signup
888 756 3617
SPEDSTA – Mobile Apps and Senior Transportation