Dysons Australia sets a new standard for public transportation with Consat Telematics
From fragmented systems to a unified fleet platform
Dysons Australia is Victoria’s largest wholly family-owned bus business with a long history of operating public transport and private bus services across Victoria. When Mark Brown joined Dysons as its first-ever Chief Information Officer, the company was already undergoing a significant business transformation. However, from a technology perspective, particularly in fleet and vehicle systems, the organisation had trialled many innovative solutions but were yet to find the right solution.
With more than 15 years of experience leading digital transformations in transport, logistics, and agriculture, Mark quickly recognised familiar challenges. The bus industry, he observed, was facing issues he had already solved in other transport sectors many years earlier.
“What I’m doing now in the bus industry, I did in the truck industry about 15 years ago.”
Mark’s mandate was not simply to modernise individual systems, but to fundamentally rethink how technology could support the business. His focus was on simplification, integration, and data – building a standard that could scale with the organisation and meet future expectations from both customers and government authorities.
Project overview
Partners:
Dysons & Consat Telematics
Head office:
Melbourne, Australia (12 depots across Victoria and New South Wales)
Objective:
To consolidate vehicle technology, standardise data across the business, and establish a scalable, future-proof digital platform for operations, analytics, and electromobility.
Completion date:
Initial rollout completed between March–May 2025 (Fleet-wide rollout approved, continuation planned following capital raise)
The challenge:
Fragmented fleet technology
When Mark arrived, Dysons’ vehicle technology environment was highly fragmented. The fleet relied on 13 different vehicle technology vendors, supported by more than 60 applications across the business. Multiple SIM cards were installed in each vehicle, systems were poorly integrated, and data was scattered across disconnected platforms.
Mark initially assumed the consolidation would be relatively straightforward. However, conversations with suppliers at industry events revealed a broader issue: the Australian bus industry had lagged behind other transport sectors in terms of technology maturity.
“I was surprised by how far behind the industry was.”
Rather than selecting point solutions, Mark set out to define a clear technology strategy. Vendors were informed early on that Dysons would select a limited number of long-term partners and transition to those platforms within 12 to 16 months.
“I didn’t want
to talk price. I
wanted to talk
technology.”
– Mark Brown,
Chief Information Officer,
Dysons
The situation:
Selecting the right
technology partner
Following an initial introduction at an event, Dysons invited Consat Telematics to participate in a formal technology evaluation. In total, 20+ vendors were invited to present their solutions, covering areas such as telematics, CCTV, reporting and analytics, passenger counting, school manifesting, and electronic work diaries.
The evaluation was structured around a weighted scoring model focused on technical capability, integration, scalability, and future readiness. Consat Telematics emerged as a clear standout.
“Out of the total score, the closest anyone got to Consat was about half.”
What impressed Mark most was not the surface-level user interface, but the depth of the underlying data architecture.
“If I was going to design a bus system myself, I would do it the same way the Consat Telematics team has.”
Consat Telematics was selected as a core technology partner, enabling Dysons to reduce its vendor landscape from 13 providers down to six, with Consat Telematics at the centre of the ecosystem.
A key requirement in the selection process was the ability to host Consat Telematics within Dysons’ own data environment. Consat Telematics was deployed in Dysons’ Oracle Cloud infrastructure and integrated directly with its enterprise data warehouse. While Consat Telematics provides robust operational reporting, Dysons also extracts regular data snapshots, including passenger counts, alerts, vehicle status, and kilometres, into its own data warehouse for advanced analytics and performance reporting.
Equally important was Consat Telematic’s onboard computer, which acts as a central integration hub within each vehicle. The computer enables Dysons to connect CCTV systems, driver devices, and additional applications using a single private SIM, significantly simplifying vehicle architecture while improving security.
Core functionalities
Consat Telematics enables Dysons to centralise, control, and scale fleet data across the business, including:
- CAD/AVL & real-time fleet monitoring
- Vehicle telematics & CAN bus data
- Automatic Passenger Counting & reporting
- Driver Assistance – navigation & route support
- Push to Communicate
- CCTV integration via onboard computer
- Private SIM & secure vehicle connectivity
- Data export to enterprise data warehouse
- Travelito for temporary bussing such as rail
- Electromobility monitoring & charger management
A scalable platform delivering measurable impact
One of the most immediate and tangible outcomes was a dramatic reduction in driver training time. Previously, new drivers required up to 10 days to learn routes across the network. With Consat Telematics navigation and driver support capabilities in place, this has been reduced to just two days.
“The whole solution paid for itself just through the training reduction alone.”
This improvement alone was sufficient to secure board approval for a fleet-wide rollout. From a cost perspective, the solution has proven to be cost neutral when compared with traditional telematics providers. Consat eliminates the need for multiple SIM cards, enables direct CCTV integration, and removes the need to replace driver terminals every four years. With hardware designed to last the full 20-year lifecycle of a bus, total cost of ownership is significantly reduced.
“It’s cost neutral – but the value we get is three to four times higher.”
Beyond cost savings, Dysons has fundamentally transformed its data capabilities. By consolidating fleet and operational data into a single platform, the organisation now considers itself among the leading bus operators globally from a data maturity perspective.
“We may not have the biggest fleet, but we definitely have the best data.”
The initial rollout itself was completed at speed, with 170 vehicles retrofitted over approximately three months. An additional 400 buses will follow in 2026.
Local Consat Telematics expertise played a critical role, enabling rapid installation and configuration, an area where previous solutions had struggled. Consat Telematics has also enabled Dysons to create new value through data. By providing passenger counting data to government authorities at no charge, Dysons has secured funding for additional passenger counters, strengthening long-term partnerships and positioning data as a strategic service rather than a compliance requirement.
At the same time, Consat Telematics forms the foundation for Dysons’ long-term electromobility strategy. With a roadmap to 170 electric vehicles over the next 8.5 years, Dysons is already using Consat Telematics to trial EV monitoring, charging integration, depot-level energy management, and mobile workforce solutions through Travelito.
“Dysons’ relationship with Consat Telematics is emblematic of our determination to digitise our business and play a leading role in the new economy. Making the necessary transformation in our business required us to partner with solution providers who make us more competitive in delivering outcomes of value to our clients.”
Andrew Jakab, MD & CEO at Dysons Limited
In summary:
A unified, data-driven future
By partnering with Consat Telematics, Dysons has moved from a fragmented technology landscape to a unified, datadriven platform that supports operations today and enables future growth.
The solution has delivered measurable business outcomes, faster driver onboarding, lower operational costs, stronger government relationships, and a scalable foundation for electromobility – without increasing total cost of ownership.
For Dysons, Consat Telematics is not simply a system provider, but a strategic partner helping to define what modern, data-led public transportation can look like.
Improved passenger experience
Higher levels of service to passengers, enhanced safety for drivers and passengers
A safer environment for the driver, and a local presence
Reduced operational expenses