Employee shuttles and vanpools
Fixed-route and commuter programs for corporate and campus employers, with ridership, on-time performance, and vendor performance tracked on a fixed rhythm.
Fleet management & compliance
Run the fleet. Prove the compliance.
Regulators, customers, and insurers ask the same question: can you show it? Buses, vans, sedans, limousines, on-demand and mapping fleets, gas, hybrid, and electric. I build the compliance, vendor, and reporting systems that let an operator answer yes without a scramble, and I make them run on a calendar instead of on one person’s memory.
Every kind of fleet
Not just buses.
Fleets differ by vehicle, by use, and by what powers them. The compliance, cost, and vendor questions change with each, and many operators run several at once. The approach stays the same: find out which rules and costs apply to which vehicle, then build the system around that.
Vehicles
- Sedans and SUVs
- Vans and minivans
- Limousines and executive sedans
- Minibuses and cutaways
- Motorcoaches and shuttle coaches
- Transit buses
- Wheelchair-accessible vehicles
- Light and medium duty work trucks
- Light and medium duty classes
Powertrains
- Gas and diesel
- Hybrid and plug-in hybrid
- Battery electric
- Mixed fleets in transition
On-demand fleets
Dispatch-based and app-based service, including wheelchair-accessible on-demand, where utilization, wait times, and driver availability decide whether the economics work.
Executive and for-hire car service
Limousine, sedan, and charter operations, where permits, insurance, driver standards, and customer experience carry as much weight as the vehicles.
Mapping and data-collection fleets
Sensor-equipped vehicles run by technology companies, where upfit documentation, calibration schedules, driver data-handling rules, and route logs sit on top of ordinary fleet compliance.
Paratransit, campus, and municipal
ADA-compliant service, lift and ramp readiness, and fleets that answer to boards, grant rules, and public records requests.
Private service fleets
Light and medium duty work trucks, delivery vehicles, and company cars, where cost per mile, maintenance, and driver programs matter most.
How the rules change by vehicle
Thresholds depend on seating, weight rating, state, and whether you carry passengers for hire. The first job is a map of which rules apply to which vehicle. This is a starting list, not legal advice.
| Cars and SUVs | Registration, insurance, driver record checks, and state and local rules where used for hire. |
|---|---|
| Vans and minibuses | Federal and state passenger carrier thresholds by seating and use, driver license class and endorsements, inspections, and permits. |
| Limousines and charter | State for-hire permits and insurance minimums (in California, CHP and CPUC), driver qualification, and vehicle inspections. |
| Buses and coaches | CDL class and passenger endorsements, DOT inspections, hours of service, drug and alcohol testing, and ADA lift and ramp readiness. |
| Mapping and data fleets | Standard vehicle rules plus sensor upfit records, calibration logs, and driver privacy and data-handling procedures. |
| Hybrid and electric | Charger permitting and uptime, high-voltage safety training, battery health tracking, and incentive paperwork such as HVIP. |
Compliance
A program that holds up under an audit.
Compliance fails in the gaps between people, systems, and dates. The work is closing those gaps and writing down how it runs, so the next audit is a review and not a rescue.
- DOT, FMCSA, and CHP requirements mapped to your operation
- Driver qualification files and review cycles
- Drug and alcohol testing programs
- Hours-of-service and ELD oversight
- CSA score review and corrective action
- Registration, permit, and renewal calendar with a named owner for each item
- Annual inspections and audit readiness
- Documentation standards and a single source of truth
- A compliance dashboard with alerts before anything lapses
I’ve owned CHP audits and annual inspections, run drug testing programs, built a Smith System-based driver safety program, and handled driver qualification files and CSA scores.
Compliance dashboard
Every vehicle and driver on one screen.
Most compliance misses are not surprises. The date was in a spreadsheet, an email, or someone’s head. A compliance dashboard puts every due date, document, and open item in one place, with an owner on each, so a lapse shows up weeks before it counts.
What it tracks
Registration, permits, and inspections by vehicle. Licenses, medical cards, qualification file completeness, and drug and alcohol testing by driver. Open corrective actions and audit findings, each with an owner and a due date.
Status you can read in seconds
Green, amber, and red by vehicle, driver, location, and vendor. Renewals due in 30, 60, and 90 days. Click through from any red item to the document and the person responsible.
Built where you already work
Where possible it runs on the tools you have: spreadsheets, your ELD or telematics platform, and your maintenance system. I define the data, the rules, and the alerts, and we only buy software if a real gap remains.
A report leaders will read
A one-page summary of compliance status, risks, and blockers for executives and insurers, drawn from the same data, so the report and the reality never disagree.
At Meta I used dashboards to monitor every transportation program input, including on-time performance, service utilization, parking, and vanpool ridership.
Software selection and integration
Systems that talk to each other.
Most fleets run five or six systems that don’t share data, and the integration work between them is where the time actually goes. I help you choose what you need, connect what you have, and retire what nobody opens.
Map what you have
An inventory of every system, spreadsheet, and manual process, who uses each, what each costs, and where data is typed in twice. The map shows what is redundant and where the real gaps are.
Vendor-neutral selection
Requirements, scorecards, demos, reference calls, and a recommendation you can defend. Fleet and maintenance management, dispatch and scheduling for on-demand service, routing, driver and qualification file management, compliance and document tracking, fuel and charging management, and incident and claims.
Integration that holds together
Data definitions, feeds from your ELD and telematics platform, a single source of truth, and the dashboards and alerts built on top. Data migration, testing, and go-live support, so the new system replaces the old one instead of running beside it.
Contracts and adoption
Pricing and service-level terms, security and data-ownership review, exit and data-return clauses, and training so drivers, dispatchers, and managers actually use the system.
I led the team that built Meta’s integrated rider app, which brought transit, shuttle, parking, valet, bikes, and rider feedback into one product across several regions.
Platforms in this space
Examples of the systems I evaluate and integrate, with no preference built in:
- Fleetio · fleet and maintenance management
- ViriCiti · EV fleet monitoring and charging data
- Optibus · scheduling and optimization
- And others
Product names belong to their owners. TSI Impact is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
In-vehicle hardware such as cameras and telematics devices is handled separately by FleetSafetyIQ, so software recommendations carry no hardware interest. I will integrate data from whatever you already run. See also Sort out the software stack.
Vendors and performance
Hold partners to the contract.
A fixed review rhythm
Shift-level and daily review of pull-outs, staffing shortfalls, and incidents. Quarterly business reviews on failures, risks, opportunities, and what is working.
KPIs people actually use
A short list of measures per vendor, on-time performance, utilization, safety events, and cost, shown on one dashboard so a bad month is visible in the first week.
Executive reporting
A one-page report on status, risks, and blockers that leadership will read. Decisions that need a leader are separated from updates that don’t.
Automation where it pays
Manual trackers become renewal calendars, document collection, and exception alerts. Not every process needs software. I will tell you which ones do.
I governed transportation vendors this way across more than 700 vehicles.
Fleet operations
The rest of the fleet, too.
Utilization, preventive maintenance, parts and warranty recovery, acquisition and leasing decisions, total cost of ownership, asset lifecycle, resale, and disposition. For electric and hybrid vehicles: charging operations, range planning, and battery health. Cost structure review that finds money without cutting safety. The same operator-led approach as the compliance work.
For electrification, vehicle specification, and transit vehicle procurement and inspection, see Transportation & Fleet.
Fleet safety technology
Looking for AI dashcams?
Cameras and driver behavior monitoring are handled by FleetSafetyIQ, a separate practice, so my fleet advice stays vendor-neutral.
Questions
Common questions.
What does fleet management and compliance consulting cover?
A compliance program for vehicles and drivers that holds up under an audit: DOT, FMCSA, and CHP requirements, driver qualification files, drug and alcohol testing, hours-of-service and ELD oversight, CSA score review, registration, permit, and renewal tracking, and documentation standards. It also covers vendor performance, KPI reporting, and fleet lifecycle.
Who is fleet management consulting for?
Operators and private fleets, from ten to several hundred vehicles, including contracted transportation, corporate shuttle, delivery, service, and charter fleets, and the organizations that hire them.
Can you help us stop missing renewals and paperwork?
Yes. The usual fix is a single renewal and document calendar with an owner for each item, exception alerts, and a short monthly report. Where tracking is manual, TSI Impact helps move it into simple automated workflows.
What types of fleets do you work with?
Buses, vans, sedans, limousines, minibuses, motorcoaches, wheelchair-accessible vehicles, and work trucks, across light and medium duty classes. Use cases include employee shuttles and vanpools, on-demand fleets, executive and for-hire car service, paratransit, campus and municipal fleets, private service fleets, and mapping and data-collection fleets run by technology companies. Powertrains include gas, diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric, often mixed in the same fleet.
Do compliance rules differ by vehicle type?
Yes. Requirements depend on seating, weight rating, state, and whether passengers are carried for hire. Buses and coaches typically involve CDL classes, DOT inspections, and drug and alcohol testing, limousines and charter vehicles involve state for-hire permits, and electric vehicles add charger and high-voltage safety requirements. TSI Impact starts by mapping which rules apply to which vehicle.
Do you help select and integrate fleet software?
Yes. TSI Impact maps the systems and spreadsheets a fleet already uses, runs a vendor-neutral evaluation where there is a real gap, and handles integration: data definitions, feeds from ELD and telematics platforms, dashboards, alerts, data migration, and go-live support. Examples of platforms in scope include Fleetio for fleet and maintenance management, ViriCiti for EV fleet monitoring and charging data, and Optibus for scheduling and optimization. It also reviews contract, service-level, and data-ownership terms. In-vehicle hardware such as cameras and telematics devices is handled separately by FleetSafetyIQ, so software advice carries no hardware interest.
Do you build compliance dashboards?
Yes. A compliance dashboard shows every vehicle and driver on one screen: registrations, permits, inspections, licenses, medical cards, qualification files, drug and alcohol testing, and open corrective actions, each with an owner and due date, with renewals flagged at 30, 60, and 90 days. It is built on the tools you already use where possible, and TSI Impact only recommends new software if a real gap remains.
How do you hold fleet vendors accountable?
Shift-level and daily review of pull-outs, staffing shortfalls, and incidents, plus quarterly business reviews against contract terms, a KPI framework, and a dashboard that shows which vendors are performing and which are not.
Do you sell dashcams or telematics?
No. AI dashcams and driver behavior monitoring are handled by a separate practice, FleetSafetyIQ, so TSI Impact’s fleet advice stays vendor-neutral.
Start here
Not sure where the gaps are?
Most engagements begin with a 90-day 360 operations review that scores compliance alongside seven other dimensions and prices every finding. Thirty minutes, no deck, no pitch.