CUSTOMER CASE STUDY

Challenge

For MTM Transit, which provides passenger transport for people with disabilities, senior citizens, and others in need of specialized services, safety is non‑negotiable. “We’re always cognizant of the fact that we’re transporting people,” says John Seber, senior director of maintenance for MTM Transit. “The key to doing that is doing it safely.”

Ensuring safe performance touches every part of the business, from drivers and technicians to vehicle repair and cleaning crews. “We have a great safety record,” Seber says. “Our company has done a great job with that. And, you know, at the end of the day, we want repeat customers. We want people to be happy and arrive where they need to be safely.”

Given the nature of passenger transit — with potential risks such as slips and falls, hard stops, and sudden swerves — taking extensive safety measures is essential, especially for passengers with limited mobility.

To go further, MTM Transit needed an AI‑powered safety product that could:

• Help ensure safe driving across all locations
• Provide targeted driver coaching
• Deliver real‑time visibility in the most critical moments

MTM Transit’s former dash cams had an inadequate dashboard experience and limited diagnostic capabilities, making it hard for managers to understand true performance. “Whether there’s a slip and fall, a collision, or a sudden stop, we needed dual‑facing AI dash cams that would have our back every step of the way,” Seber says.

As MTM Transit expanded to new locations, they needed a proven change-management approach they could easily replicate — especially at union locations, where some drivers initially raised concerns about cameras in their vehicles.

Solution

When assessing driver safety products, Motive emerged as the ideal choice for MTM Transit. “In hauling the world’s most precious cargo — human beings — it’s really comforting to know that we have the power of Motive’s AI working for us,” Seber says

While some drivers initially expressed concern about new safety technology, once they understood how the Motive Dual‑Facing AI Dashcam worked and how video would be used, the response was overwhelmingly positive. “Once we explained to drivers how the dash cams work, they got on board pretty quickly,” Seber explains. “They can see why the dash cams are helpful. Even the toughest driver, when they’re in a collision and it’s the other person’s fault, they love having the camera.”

Many MTM Transit drivers have years of experience. Nonetheless, Motive dual‑facing AI Dashcams have heightened their awareness, helping them recognize when they are following too closely, speeding, or rolling through stop signs. MTM Transit uses dash cam clips, Safety Scores, and other data within the Motive Fleet Dashboard to coach drivers, monitor trends, and identify who is improving and who needs more support.

“As drivers get better and better through coaching, our safety events decline,” Seber notes. “Even seasoned drivers had habits they didn’t realize they had — until they got their ‘report card’ with video clips. Then it becomes a simple conversation: here’s what happened, here’s why it matters, and here’s what to change.”

The Motive dashboard allows MTM Transit to monitor performance trends by time frame, making it easy to spot improvement from week to week or year over year. If a driver’s performance declines, Seber can quickly investigate. “I can look at any time period to determine if it’s an issue with one driver or a larger group. I can say, ‘Oh, I see what happened. It’s a new driver.’ We can then retrain the driver right away on whichever skills are needed.”

Beyond real‑time monitoring, Motive’s high‑definition video has been indispensable. The wide‑angle view on Motive’s AI Dashcams captures license plates and blind‑spot activity clearly, providing full visibility in the moments it’s needed most. 

“Motive’s wide angle helps us see risk approaching from anywhere,” Seber says. “The quality of the Motive camera speaks for itself, but that’s not the only benefit of working with Motive. So many providers treat the customer relationship like, ‘We’re selling you this camera, and by the way, good luck.’ But the Motive team has been awesome in answering questions and providing ongoing support. If we’re doing product installations and have a question about something, Motive gets on the phone with us and works through it. Your team has been phenomenal.”

For MTM Transit, installation was simple. Seber and his team installed 87 cameras in MTM’s Denver fleet without a single adjustment. “The Motive product is plug‑and‑play,” he says. “It’s so easy to install. That’s what I love about it. In Denver, we got installation down to 15 minutes per vehicle. And because Motive dash cams are so small, they don’t obstruct the driver’s view like other dash cams do.”

MTM Transit has found Motive’s AI insights, combined with the Motive Safety Team that reviews every safety event video to remove false positives, make safety data easy to understand. With Motive, they’re also able to reduce video review time and focus their coaching. 

“We are currently working with the Motive team to evaluate performance, not just at the driver level, but across regions, giving our safety teams a clearer, more scalable way to understand trends and take action,” Seber says.

At union locations, MTM Transit proactively partnered with union leadership before rolling out cameras broadly. “At first, some drivers worried we were watching them,” Seber says. “But the reality is, no one has time to sit and monitor 400 drivers.”

MTM Transit’s approach focused on transparency and trust. They met with unions to walk through what the technology does, how it’s used, and how it supports drivers — not just operations. Seber’s team also shared testimonials from other union locations to reinforce that the cameras act as a defensive tool. If a collision or passenger incident occurs, video context can show what really happened. “It actually helps the driver,” Seber explains. “It’s training — but it’s also a defense mechanism.”

To support adoption, MTM Transit established a 30‑ to 60‑day grace period during rollout at new locations. During that time, managers still counsel drivers on safety events, but formal disciplinary actions don’t begin until drivers have had time to adapt (unless a major incident triggers policy). “There’s a learning curve,” Seber says. “We let them know that, we involve them in the process, and we give them a little grace period to learn the system and run through it.”

Motive’s maintenance alerts have also helped MTM Transit cut costs by preventing major mechanical failures. Real‑time diagnostics allow managers to catch early warning signs that could signal a larger issue, such as overheating. As a result, MTM Transit has been able to stop small problems from becoming costly repairs. “When we see a vehicle running a little hotter than it should, we can say, ‘Let’s get it in and look at it,’” Seber says.

Results

Since deploying Motive, MTM Transit has reported the following safety and driver behavior improvements:

• An 86% decrease in overall safety events across their fleet in one year, even as MTM expanded into five new locations.
  
• Improved visibility into driver performance across locations using the Motive Safety Score and other dashboard metrics.
  
• 57% reduction in speeding events and a 74% decrease in tailgating events, helping drivers maintain safer speeds and following distances while transporting passengers with limited mobility.
  
• A 96% decrease in cell phone usage and 36% decrease in distracted driving overall.
  
• An 84% decrease in stop sign violations.
  
• Trendline data shows sustained progress over time month by month, with total safety events per 1,000 miles falling from roughly 7.5 in November 2024 to about 1.8 in July 2025, even as MTM added new locations and supported a 60-day adjustment period for new drivers.

“The impact Motive has made on our operations is clear in the numbers,” says Seber. “The payoff has been huge — I can’t say enough good things about Motive.”

Motive’s impact extends beyond safety. In one instance, MTM Transit avoided a $30,000 engine replacement by catching an issue early and replacing a $22 thermostat instead. 

“You get more bang for the buck from the Motive system — just through the safety events you can capture, the increased visibility you get, and proactive maintenance alerts that reduce costly repairs. We saved two or three engines because we were able to catch issues early. When you have a camera on a vehicle, at whatever the associated cost is, you save one engine, and you just paid for that camera 400 times over,” says Seber.

While MTM Transit has not yet faced major incidents requiring insurance claims, Seber expects significant benefits from having access to this data. “Having cameras on the bus helps with insurance. The camera is that other set of eyes for instant clarification in every incident. Passengers appreciate the AI Dashcams as well because they can see if the issue is with us or if it’s unavoidable. Having the dash cams there to ensure safety gives our passengers peace of mind.”

MTM Transit’s success with Motive in Denver has led to broader adoption of dual-facing AI Dashcams across the company, including installations in Eugene, Oregon, New York, and Florida. “Motive has been a game‑changer,” Seber notes. “The combination of driver coaching, AI alerts, and vehicle diagnostics has improved our performance, keeping our passengers and drivers safe every day.”

The testimonials, statements, and opinions presented on this webpage reflect the real-life experiences of individuals and/or companies who have used our products and/or services. Individual results may vary and past performance is not a guarantee of future results. The testimonials presented on this webpage were voluntarily provided and not paid.