Merrimu Services Selects RouteMatch Software for Its New Social Enterprise, SmartRun, to Improve Service Efficiencies With Intelligent Transport Technologies

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA and BACCHUS MARSH, AUSTRALIA--(Marketwired - Apr 9, 2013) - Merrimu Services, Inc., a not for profit community organisation supporting adults with a disability, based 60 kilometers outside Melbourne, Australia, has selected Brisbane-based passenger transport technology provider, RouteMatch Software, to help them more efficiently operate their transport services and improve service to riders and their community.

RouteMatch will provide Merrimu with a new, state-of-the-art community transport management system which includes user-friendly scheduling, dispatching and coordination capabilities. Tablets will also be installed in the organisation's vehicles for real-time automated vehicle location, electronic manifests, and driver-dispatch communications.

"Our goal with using RouteMatch Software is to deliver better service to the people we support, in a way that is meaningful for them," says Frances O'Reilly, CEO of Merrimu. "We aim to provide individualized services to meet people's actual needs and change the way community transport is delivered by using technology to help us do more. We chose RouteMatch because it was the best software we found after completing two years of research."

"We are establishing a social enterprise called SmartRun Community Transport, so other organizations can benefit from this world class software and a better way of delivering community transport to their community more efficiently and making their funding go further," Frances continued. "We are trialing this locally first but we will be rolling it out further in the near future."

Merrimu provides training, work experience opportunities, and recreational activities across Melton and Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, and provides transport so the people they support can access community facilities and programs. Currently, schedules are created and maintained manually. RouteMatch's automated and highly customisable solution will allow SmartRun to easily manage data and develop more efficient schedules and routes in less time.

SmartRun will also have the ability to configure user settings and assign employees secure credentials to facilitate the scheduling and operation of vehicles independently from their two locations. RouteMatch's innovative tablet mobile data devices, currently deployed in Australia and worldwide, appealed to SmartRun Community Transport for their flexibility, ease of use, and proven deployment at other agencies.

SmartRun will extend beyond Merrimu's vehicles and transport provision to other organisations that also provide some form of community transport. "We have been part of our local Transport Connections Project in the Grampians Region and received some funding to purchase and set up RouteMatch. Our partners in the project, including Moorabool Shire and Hepburn Health Service, will be using SmartRun for community buses in Ballan and Daylesford," said Frances O'Reilly. "We hope this will be a new way of operating community transport across our towns to provide a better service a lot more efficiently." SmartRun has been funded through the Transport Connections Innovation Fund which supports the development of innovative local and regional initiatives to address identified access issues.

"We are excited to be working with Frances and her forward-thinking staff to help achieve their goals in the community," said RouteMatch Software's Steve Bailey, Director of Sales. "Our growth in Victoria is indicative of our commitment to Australia on whole and helps us create a stronger user-group, from which agencies will continue to gather best practices."

About RouteMatch Software

RouteMatch Software, Inc. is the leading provider of intelligent transport software and solutions. RouteMatch works with more than 600 transport agencies worldwide. Partnering with public and private sector passenger transport providers, the company provides an end‐to‐end technology platform focused on operational, safety and ridership needs. RouteMatch's technologies address routing, scheduling, dispatching, billing, reporting, fixed route, CAD/AVL, paratransit and fixed route integration, traveler information services, fleet management, community transport, and more. Additional information about RouteMatch's technologies in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region is available at www.routematch.com or by emailing steven.bailey@routematch.com.

About Merrimu Services, Inc.

Merrimu Services, Inc. was founded by a group of parents in 1973, catering for children and adults with an intellectual disability. We are about people, dreams and creating a life. We provide support to allow people to be active, valued members and participants in their community. Merrimu provides planning, training programs, work experience and volunteer opportunities and recreational activities for adults with a disability. We have campuses in Bacchus Marsh and Melton, with a retail store, Christabelles, in Bacchus Marsh.