Transportation

In-cab tablets that run the route app and nothing else.

Shuttle, charter, non-emergency medical transport and small trucking companies use NounDesk to lock in-cab Android tablets to a dispatch, route or ELD app with kiosk mode, keep driver phones on the Field Worker policy, and manage devices that pass between drivers at shift change. A tablet missing from a depot can be locked, located while in lost mode and erased, and dispatchers can lock or reboot devices without being able to erase them.

Recommended policy: KioskDevices: Driver phones, in-cab tablets and dispatch tablets

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The situation

A small transportation company runs vehicles from early morning to late at night: airport and hotel shuttles, charter coaches, non-emergency medical transport vans, a handful of trucks. Each has a tablet on the dash running the dispatch, route or ELD app, and drivers swap vehicles at shift change. The tablet has to show the right app every time, whoever is driving.

What NounDesk does for a transportation company

In-cab tablets locked to one job

Use kiosk mode to keep the tablet on your dispatch, route or ELD app, or a multi-app kiosk with navigation alongside. Home button off, settings blocked, volume locked, screen awake while it charges on the mount.

Devices that belong to the vehicle

Keep each in-cab tablet in a group per depot, unassigned and named after the vehicle, such as Shuttle-04. Drivers change at shift change; the tablet's setup does not.

A missing tablet in a depot of thirty

Lost mode locks it with dispatch's number, shows a trail of recent locations while lost, and warns you if it stops reporting. Erase keeps factory reset protection so it cannot be set up elsewhere.

Dispatchers who can lock, not erase

Give dispatch the Operator role: they can lock and reboot devices, move them between groups and acknowledge alerts, but cannot erase a device or change a policy.

Recommended setup

Setting	Choice
Policy template	Kiosk for in-cab tablets; Field Worker for driver phones; Standard Business for dispatch tablets
Groups	One per depot or contract, plus “Spares”
Kiosk apps	Your dispatch, route or ELD app, plus navigation if needed
Blocked	Apps from outside Google Play; screenshots and USB file transfer on medical transport devices
Wi-Fi	Depot network pushed, so updates download in the yard
Alerts	Kiosk app missing, offline over 24 hours, lost mode

Why Kiosk is the starting template

Most devices in a transportation fleet are in-cab tablets with one job, so the Kiosk template fits the majority of the fleet. It locks the tablet to your apps and schedules updates overnight. Driver phones, which also need maps and the camera, use Field Worker in a separate group.

Transportation or delivery?

If your drivers carry parcels and scan proof of delivery, see delivery and logistics. This page is for companies that move passengers or freight on scheduled routes, where the device lives in the vehicle and drivers rotate through it.

Why transportation companies pick NounDesk

In-cab tablets are set up by scanning a QR code in the yard. Status is honest: a lock shows Waiting for device until the tablet confirms it. And there is no driver tracking to explain to your team, because location is reported only while a device is in lost mode.

In transportation the device is a fixture in a moving vehicle. The in-cab tablet is the dispatch screen, the route and often the hours-of-service log, and it is used by whoever is driving that shift. The risks are distraction, a tablet that drifts off its app, and a device that disappears from a yard. NounDesk keeps the tablet on its app and lets you lock it from the office, without tracking your drivers.

How a rollout works for a 12-vehicle shuttle fleet

A typical small shuttle, charter or medical transport operator runs 8 to 30 vehicles, an in-cab tablet in each, a few driver phones and one or two tablets at the dispatch desk.

1. Build the in-cab kiosk
In the kiosk wizard, choose your dispatch, route or ELD app, and add navigation if drivers need it. Turn the Home button off and keep the screen awake while charging.
2. One profile per depot
Kiosk policy, the depot's group and a naming rule like Van-01. Enroll each tablet in the yard before it goes on the mount.
3. Driver phones on Field Worker
Driver phones get their own group, assigned to each driver, with maps, messaging and the camera for vehicle inspection photos.
4. Dispatch as Operator
Dispatchers get the Operator role, so they can lock or reboot a tablet mid-shift without being able to erase one.

Kiosk mode →Remote actions →

Kiosk wizard

Pick the app
Set behaviour
Set the screen
Lock down the device

What a 12-vehicle fleet costs

12 in-cab tablets, 4 driver phones and 2 dispatch tablets: 18 devices × $1.50 = $27 a month.

Every vehicle, every feature
Kiosk mode, lost mode, alerts and the audit log are in the same $1.50 per device. No tiers.
Seasonal routes
Add vehicles for a busy season with no minimum and no annual contract.
Try it on the fleet
The 14-day free trial covers up to 50 devices and needs no card. Managing more than 50? Email support@noundesk.com first.

Pricing →

Common situations

What happens when…

The situations that actually come up, and what you do about each one.

A driver leaves the dispatch app to watch videos

They cannot, if the tablet is in kiosk mode. It shows your dispatch or ELD app, plus navigation if you add it to a multi-app kiosk, and nothing else. The Home button is off and settings are blocked, so there is no way to the Play Store or a browser.

A tablet goes missing from the depot overnight

Turn on Lost mode. The tablet locks with dispatch's number on the screen and reports its location while lost mode is on, including a trail of recent locations. If it is switched off or its battery runs flat, NounDesk warns you that it stopped reporting. Erase it if it is not found.

Two drivers share a van across shifts

Keep the van's tablet unassigned in the depot group and name it after the vehicle. The morning and evening drivers find the same app in front of them, and the tablet's setup does not change when the driver does.

An ELD app update needs to reach every truck

Set the new minimum version on the app in your policy. Tablets below it show as outdated in the app compliance view, and updates run in the overnight window rather than mid-route. Check the list in the morning and chase the two trucks that missed it.

A new shuttle joins the fleet

Factory-reset a tablet, scan the Kiosk profile's QR code, and it comes up on the dispatch app in the depot group, named for the vehicle. Tablets bought through an authorized zero-touch reseller enroll the first time they are switched on, with no QR code.

A driver leaves with a phone that holds passenger contact details

Deactivate them and choose what happens to the phone: keep it managed and unassigned for the next driver, or erase it if it is not returned. Nothing is erased until you choose, and the decision is recorded in the audit log.

A tablet freezes in a vehicle on the road

Reboot it from the device page; the command shows as Waiting for device until the tablet confirms. If your company has a TeamViewer, AnyDesk or Splashtop licence, NounDesk can link it so a support session opens in one click from the same page.

Features this industry leans on

Remote actions

Remotely lock, reboot, erase, reset the password or clear app data on any company Android phone from your browser, with bulk actions and honest status.

Lost-device recovery

Lost company phone? Lock it in lost mode, show your number on screen, see where it last reported and erase it if needed. Location only in lost mode.

Kiosk mode

Android kiosk mode with no kiosk app to install. Lock a tablet or phone to one app, a few apps or a web page in a four-step wizard, and see each kiosk's health.

Team & roles

Administrator roles for a small Android fleet: invite your team by email as Owner, Admin, Operator (no erase or policy changes) or Viewer (read-only).

Other industries

Field service Construction Cleaning & home services Delivery & logistics Security companies Restaurants & retail Clinics & small healthcare Small schools & training Property management All industries

From the blog

Transportation: questions answered

Which policy should in-cab tablets and driver phones use?

Kiosk for in-cab tablets, because they do one job: show the dispatch, route or ELD app. Field Worker for driver phones that also need maps, the camera for vehicle inspection photos and messaging. Tablets at the dispatch desk can use Standard Business.

Does NounDesk stop drivers using the tablet while driving?

NounDesk does not know whether the vehicle is moving. What it does is keep the tablet limited to the apps you choose, with no games, browser or settings, and the volume fixed. Your driver-distraction policy decides when drivers may touch it.

Does NounDesk make our ELD setup compliant?

No. Compliance comes from your ELD provider and how drivers use it. NounDesk keeps the ELD app installed, at or above a minimum version you choose and in front of the driver in kiosk mode, and shows which tablets are missing it.

Can I track where my vehicles are?

Not with NounDesk. It reports a device's location only while it is in lost mode. Vehicle tracking belongs to your telematics or dispatch system; NounDesk keeps that app installed and the tablet protected.

Our medical transport tablets show passenger trip details. How are they protected?

Use a policy with a strong screen lock and encryption, with screenshots and USB file transfer blocked. Erase needs a typed confirmation and keeps factory reset protection, and the audit log records who did what. NounDesk does not see what is inside the apps.

Ten phones. Ten minutes. Protected.

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