ZOOV

ZOOV has been the supplementary transport system for the Achterhoek region in the east of the Netherlands since 1 January 2017, and the successor of Regiotaxi Gelderland. Munckhof is the contracted control centre for the transport and bears responsibility for the call centre, the scheduling of the transport and the management of the taxi vehicles. Despite the scale of the contract, the start-up went without a hitch and Munckhof can look back on a successful implementation phase. Jos Poortinga, taxi director at Munckhof, explains. ‘Once we had been awarded the tender for the control centre, we set to work with our implementation team straight away. As we wanted to make a flying start with the transport, we devoted a great deal of attention to good communication with the various parties. Weekly consultations with the client on location, solid agreements with the affiliated taxi companies and plenty of communication with travellers were essential elements in this. The cooperation with the various municipal authorities has been outstanding, and I am certain that this contributed to the good start.’

Satisfied client

The client can also look back on a good start to the transport services. Geert Jan Verzijden, coordinator of ZOOV Beheer, talks about the cooperation: ‘ZOOV has been operating in the Achterhoek region since January 2017. Through ZOOV Reisplanner (the ZOOV Travel Planner), Munckhof ensures that travellers get to their destinations on time. The start-up period was certainly exciting, but frequent and constructive discussions with ZOOV Reisplanner (Munckhof) and with the transport companies meant we had a smooth start. Punctuality is in fact better than the standard set, and the number of complaints has been limited so far! The next step is school transport. Munckhof also addresses its role of adviser well in this purchasing process. After the summer holidays, the scheduling and implementation of this type of transport will have been integrated into ZOOV and ZOOV Reisplanner. We have every confidence!’

Regional call centre

The tender for ZOOV meant a substantial expansion of the call centre for Munckhof, as Poortinga explains. ‘We opted to expand the call centre in order to set up a new location with experienced telephonists in the heart of the transport area. We consider it important that our telephonists are familiar with the local traffic situations and that they understand and are able to speak the local dialect of people requiring transport. By setting up our call centre in Lichtenvoorde, we have been able to do this from the start.’ Besides taking and dealing with journey requests, the call centre is also responsible for advising travellers on alternative travel options, such as public transport and voluntary initiatives such as the Naoberbus or the ‘dorpsauto’ (village car).

www.zoov.nl