Puzzle of hundreds of thousands of rides

Have you spotted someone wearing a pink high-visibility vest at a school in Espoo? That person is there to meet pupils arriving by school transport. The bright pink vest makes it easy for the driver to identify them.

The idea for the pink vests came from the City of Espoo’s Logistics Unit, a tight-knit team of 12 people in charge of a wide range of operations. The list of tasks they handle is astounding: the logistics team is responsible for managing the city’s vehicles and equipment, passenger transport, taxi cards, charter buses, moves, postal services, and printing.

Keeping all of this running smoothly requires strong expertise, organisational skills and the respect of customers and partners alike. Many areas of logistics are fundamentally tied to the activities of the city and society and the daily lives of residents.

“Mutual respect between us and our customers and stakeholders is crucial. It builds trust in everything we do,” says Niina Kemppainen, who is in charge of logistics support.

“We are responsible both for ensuring that children get to school safely and for preventing chaos during snowfalls in the winter,” adds Reetta Björkroth, who is in charge of mail delivery and passenger transport.

The city cannot do everything on its own. That is why many of the logistics services are outsourced to service providers.

“Our main tasks include procuring the necessary services and vehicles in cooperation with procurement staff and the various city sectors, monitoring service providers’ activities and their quality and tracking the costs of the activities. Our role is to coordinate, guide and ensure that everything runs as agreed. In the area of passenger transport, advising municipal residents is an important task, and we work closely with Espoo Info on this,” Reetta explains.

The logistics team is currently developing an auditing and driver training service.

“We have already carried out audits on school transport, but now the aim is to improve the quality of transport even further. We plan to monitor things like the condition of vehicles, driver behaviour, the fastening of seat belts, and the proper attachment of wheelchairs,” says Reetta.

Driver training, set to begin next year, aims to help drivers working in passenger transport perform their jobs even better. Training is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2025.

“In the training sessions, we will cover topics outlined in the transport agreement, such as how to interact with special needs passengers and how to handle various emergency situations. Drivers often play a crucial role in the smooth running of family and school routines. We hope this will also increase the drivers’ own appreciation of their work,” Reetta emphasises.

The purpose of the training is to ensure that all drivers working in passenger transport receive the necessary information.

“The idea came from the need to improve operations and increase safety. The project gained momentum when we heard that a similar model has been successfully used in Tampere. We also want to give drivers the opportunity to ask the logistics staff questions directly,” Reetta describes the background of the initiative. 

And what about the pink vests? It’s a small thing but a significant improvement.

“We noticed that drivers were having difficulty identifying the individuals at schools who were there to receive the children. So, we developed the pink vests, which schools can use when there is someone meeting pupils arriving by school transport. Thanks to the pink vests, drivers and receivers recognise each other easily,” Niina Kemppainen explains.

The back of the pink vests has the text ‘Koulukyyti’ while the front is adorned with the City of Espoo logo.

“More than half of the schools have already started using these vests. The long-term goal is to get all schools to use them. They are free for schools,” Niina points out.

Passenger transport services are particularly busy in early autumn when schools start.

“Peak seasons require adaptability and advance planning,” Reetta adds.

Text Pi Mäkilä.