Tobi wanted to automate the dispatching process for a non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) fleet, which at the time was being operated manually by individual people. In addition to automating dispatch, the goals were to add features to the system like ridesharing with other passengers and reduce operating costs.
The dispatch software needed to seamlessly manage what previously took up three screens and had live dispatchers monitoring all three at once—the live run of a vehicle, the dispatch screen, and a new booking screen. Moving forward, Tobi wanted a single screen for all these interactions, as well as software that could manage invoices and interact with riders.
The client wanted a way to better manage the fleet, improve passengers’ pick-up and drop-off experience, and automate dispatch—essentially making it error-free. The software solution needed to be able to instantly calculate the optimal combination of vehicles and routes to best manage the demand.
This project required in-depth domain expertise from both the healthcare and transportation sectors. We created a fully autonomous, comprehensive application using data science and real-time variables to optimize routes, automate scheduling, and offer instant dispatching.
The software integrates real-time traffic data to come up with optimal routes—avoiding traffic delays and creating a streamlined process. We also devised a system that allows passengers to share a ride assigned for a particular area, saving time and money for both the customer and the NEMT fleet operator.
Drivers are provided with an Android or iOS application that tracks the ride, allowing drivers to manage ongoing requests. With the application, fleets of any size are able to dispatch their trips automatically and communicate seamlessly with both drivers and riders.
We used Microservice architecture to make the application highly scalable. The mobile apps for drivers were designed and developed in the native environments of Android and iOS. MariaDB, a fork of the MySQL relational database management system, was used to manage fleet records, patient information, and vehicle records.
RabbitMQ was for quick signaling and messaging between drivers and the central server. On the backend, Web Sockets provides real-time, interactive communication between the client browser and the server. The solution is hosted at the data center of Taazaa.
As the system’s complexity grew, regression testing took longer and longer. The number of regression tests reached roughly 2,000, requiring nearly a week of manual effort and four testers to complete.
At this point, the Taazaa QA team implemented an automated testing solution. 1,600 of the 2,000 regression tests now run overnight each night, saving significant human hours.
In addition to reducing testing costs, the test automation allowed for greater test coverage and reduced the chance for human error and missed test cases. Human testers were freed up to focus on more complex test cases, resulting in an improvement in software quality.
Test automation accelerated the overall development cycle. Instead of struggling to close sprints, the team now does two to three releases each week.
All in all, automated testing allows Taazaa to save time, improve quality, and accelerate the development cycle, allowing Tobi to get new features to market faster.
The application has reshaped the way we think about NEMT transportation and dispatching.
The solution employed high-level route optimization algorithms and an autonomous dispatch engine to find the most efficient, cost-effective routes. The custom software also continuously improves dispatch processes and allows dispatchers to create a booking, dispatch a vehicle, and track the live run from one single screen.
A user can easily book, track, cancel rides. From a patient management perspective, our application gives providers a view of details linked to each patient on one screen. Here, dispatchers can see the patient’s source, Medicaid number, billing details, card details, history of trips, upcoming trips, present-day trip, total billing amount, and invoice details for each booking.
For invoice management, we introduced a new module known as the ‘Power Workbook,’ which allows dispatchers to easily track invoices for each passenger. Dispatchers can view payment status, issue refunds, and send invoices to patients via e-mail.
Integrated with Google Maps, our client can now provide individualized routes for transportation. The client is also able to effectively address passengers’ special pick-up and drop-off needs while multiplying efficiencies through the ride-share feature. The solution simplifies the dispatch process and saves time and effort for both patients and fleet owners.
Tobi and Taazaa continue to innovate and grow the solution, adding new features and constantly improving capabilities. We’re currently incorporating AI into the solution to streamline routing and planning.
Taazaa did a fantastic job of quickly understanding and translating our needs into a user-friendly and feature-loaded application. Their ability to execute our vision has helped us quickly become an established non-emergency medical transportation business.
