Pilot Company and Bridgestone Introduce Fleet Tire Monitoring and Service Network
Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) and Pilot Company today announced a collaboration on an advanced tire monitoring and service network for commercial fleets at select travel center locations. This collaboration leverages Bridgestone Fleet Care mobility solutions and Pilot Company’s network of travel centers to provide more convenient, frequent, and actionable fleet tire intelligence. The initial trial phase will begin this summer with a rollout of the tire monitoring technology at 200 Pilot and Flying J locations.
Each router currently being installed in the fuel canopies of select Pilot and Flying J travel centers is linked to the Bridgestone tire pressure monitoring solution, IntelliTire, and transmits real-time tire data in two minutes or less from trucks and buses to fleet managers. IntelliTire combines durable hardware with a software application to allow fleet operators to proactively address specific tire issues and mitigate unplanned maintenance, reducing downtime and improving driver safety. Fleets using this technology will have access to critical data such as tire inflation pressure and temperature, enabling them to continually monitor the health of each tire throughout its lifecycle.
With this intelligence in hand, fleets can also utilize the Bridgestone service event management application, REACH1, to make preventative maintenance, roadside assistance and other vehicle service requests simpler and more efficient by connecting drivers, fleet dispatch, service centers, and technicians under one digital platform.
“Physical, on-the-ground touchpoints are critical elements to the success of digital, data-driven fleet solutions, and together they enable synergies to improve mobility,” said Chris Ripani, president, Commercial Tire Group, Bridgestone Americas. “With a robust footprint and strong fleet relationships, Pilot Company is the perfect partner to help us develop a connected network that is designed to allow our shared customers to minimize downtime, save on costs and improve driver safety now and in the future.”
The use of the Bridgestone advanced tire monitoring system at Pilot and Flying J travel centers allows both companies to expand their service offerings and support the growing need for evolving technology solutions that make it easier and faster to maintain vehicles. This program adds to Pilot Company’s bundle of fleet solutions, which provides trucking companies with full-service financial, maintenance and fuel packages.
“With the safety of our customers in mind, we are leveraging our network of Pilot and Flying J travel centers to help deliver IntelliTire technology to the road—making it easy for fleets and drivers to maintain their trucks and minimize downtime during routine fuel stops,” said Shameek Konar, Pilot Company CEO. “This project is part of our larger focus to add new technologies and services to make road travel better, safer and more efficient for our guests.”
The tire monitoring and service network in collaboration with Pilot Company aligns with the Bridgestone E8 Commitment, consisting of eight Bridgestone-like values starting with the letter “E” that Bridgestone has committed to creating together with employees, society, partners and customers to realize a sustainable society. It specifically aligns with “Efficiency,” “Extension,” and “Ease.”
For more information on Bridgestone commercial solutions, visit bridgsetoneamericas.com. For more information on Pilot Company’s nationwide network of travel centers, visit pilotflyingj.com.
1 To access REACH service event management tool, a subscription and SaaS agreement is required.
Pilot Travel Centers LLC ("Pilot") is committed to showing people they matter at every turn as the leading energy and experience provider people rely on to fuel their journeys. Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, Pilot is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and employs approximately 30,000 team members. As the largest network of travel centers, Pilot has more than 900 locations in 44 states and five Canadian provinces, serving an average of 1.2 million guests per day. In addition to travel center services, Pilot and its partners offer trucking fleets a variety of solutions for fuel, credit, factoring, maintenance and rewards. The company operates North America's third largest fuel tanker fleet and supplies approximately 12 billion gallons of fuel per year. Pilot is shaping the future of energy as one of the largest providers of biodiesel and renewable fuels and through the development of its EV charging network and low-carbon fueling alternatives. For additional information about Pilot, visit PilotCompany.com.