Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
The most common questions about how Sentinel-Locate works, its data handling and pricing.
How does phone-based tracking work?
A phone assigned to the bus sends the route's GPS position to the system every few seconds. The operator and the client see live where the buses are, and get an automatic alert on delays. The phone is assigned to the bus, not the driver – there is no tracking outside working hours.
What employee data does the system store?
No employee names at all. Boardings are recorded with an anonymous card ID, together with the route and time. Matching the card ID to a person happens only at the client, based on its own records. This way Sentinel-Locate handles minimal data from a GDPR perspective.
What hardware do you need?
A single Android phone per bus (with Web NFC) or a HID RFID reader. No expensive built-in onboard GPS unit is needed: the driver's phone is both the reader and the tracker. A broken phone can be swapped in minutes.
How is Sentinel-Locate priced?
Pricing is modular and per-headcount (per person / month): you pay only for the modules you switch on and the actual headcount transported. Every operator receives a tailored quote after the assessment – no hidden fees and no expensive hardware investment.
How long does onboarding a new operator take?
From assessment to go-live it usually takes a few weeks. Since there is no hardware to fit, rollout is fast: we install the app on the driver phones, issue the cards, and it can even run in parallel with an existing system until a safe cutover.
Is the system self-hostable?
Yes. Sentinel-Locate can be deployed on your own infrastructure (e.g. Proxmox or a VPS), or Diavox can host it for you. The map is open source (MapLibre + OpenStreetMap), so there is no Google Maps licence and no vendor lock-in.
What happens with no signal, or if a bus is late?
Check-in is offline-first: with no signal the phone stores the data locally in a queue and syncs idempotently (without duplicates) once connectivity returns. The system monitors routes against the timetable and sends an automatic email alert to the client's contact on delays.
What device and platform does it run on?
The driver side is a web app (PWA) running on an Android phone: Web NFC needs Android + Chrome, and boarding can alternatively be captured with a USB/Bluetooth HID RFID reader. The operator admin and the client portal work in any modern browser (desktop or mobile) – no client to install.
How does the client match a card to an employee?
Sentinel-Locate stores only the anonymous card ID. Mapping a card to a specific employee happens at the client company, in its own internal records – exactly as it already manages access cards. The platform delivers the headcount report at card-ID level; any naming, if needed at all, stays solely on the client's side and under its responsibility.
Can several companies or clients use it at once?
Yes. Sentinel-Locate is multi-tenant: one platform serves many client companies, each with fully separated data. Client users see only their own company's route and boarding data, and isolation is enforced by query-level access control, not UI filtering. A new client can be added safely, without touching the others.
In what formats can the data be exported?
Reports export to XLSX and CSV – in daily, weekly and monthly breakdowns, with headcount per route and per client, route performance and billing-base data. This lets the data flow straight into the client's billing or planning process.
Why OpenStreetMap instead of Google Maps?
The live map is built on MapLibre + OpenStreetMap. This means no per-map licence fee and no vendor lock-in to a map provider – a Google Maps dependency was exactly a recurring cost driver in the legacy system. The open map is also free to use in a self-hosted deployment.
See your fleet running live on Sentinel-Locate
Request a demo or a quote – we show you the platform and put together a module package tailored to your fleet.