QRoutes

QPaths

QPaths calculates the shortest walking routes between multiple origins and destinations. The user can set in QPaths which roads or paths should be avoided in the calculation.

QPaths is particularly useful for local authorities performing school admission and/or school transport eligibility checks.

Features

• Fast, automated calculation of walking routes & distances
• Calculation of many routes & distances in batch mode
• Accurate and up-to-date calculations using Ordnance Survey maps
• Mark path and road segments as unsuitable for walking
• Map-based interface showing calculated routes
• Ability to set either/or destinations, e.g. multiple school gates
• View any point on a route using Google Street View
• Address validation using Ordnance Survey's Address Base
• Automated catchment in area and out of area checks
• Find Closest Schools using school attributes and distance

Benefits

• Produces highly accurate results using Ordnance Survey maps
• Produces consistent results - To assist with appeals handling
• Stores path and road segments deemed not safe for walking
• Batch processing significantly reduces human processing time
• Reduces the number of people eligible for transport, saving money
• Setting multiple school gates further reduces entitlement
• Combines both distance and catchment area checks
• Informs the business case for infrastructure improvements
• Speeds up the response to client queries and appeals
• Supports automated online applications using an API

£11,800 to £16,700 a licence a year

• Education pricing available
• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at david.stewart@qroutes.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

130255428794969

Contact

David Stewart
0117 3329499
david.stewart@qroutes.co.uk

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model: Private cloud
• Service constraints: Older browsers, e.g. Internet Explorer, which can't support the latest data in transit protection (TLS 1.2 and above) are not supported.
• System requirements:
  • A web browser supporting security standard TLS 1.2 or above
  • A program to view and edit CSV files (e.g. Excel)

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: The user can contact support via the in-application help. Tickets can also be raised by email to support@qroutes.co.uk or at qroutes.zendesk.com.; ; QRoutes will reply to all emails and tickets within 1 normal working day.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: Yes
• Online ticketing support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: QRoutes prides itself in working closely with customers. The subscription price includes example processing of the customer's data, tailored training for all users and unlimited online support.; ; Each customer is provided with a technical account manager and a support manager.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: Training is typically provided online (although onsite can be arranged) using wherever possible, the customer's own data. QPaths is a relatively straightforward product and most users find it intuitive and easy to use. It also has user documentation built into the application.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats: HTML
• End-of-contract data extraction: The application does not retain any customer data with respect to walking route or other eligibility calculations. The customer uploads their data, processes it and downloads the output.; ; The application stores establishment information which can be downloaded as a CSV file. Path and road segments which have been marked as unsuitable for walking can also be downloaded at any time in a CSV or GeoJSON file of unique Ordnance Survey identifiers.; ; The application also stores any catchment area polygons uploaded by the customer. These can be exported in a standard format at any time.
• End-of-contract process: The customer simply decides whether to re-subcribe or not. There is no tie-in of any sort.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
• Application to install: No
• Designed for use on mobile devices: No
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
• Description of service interface: QPaths provides a GIS-based user interface through a web browser. There is a map view with the user able to control what is shown with respect to the students whose transport eligibility is being assessed. ; ; There is also an API interface to support an online application workflow where walking distances are required.
• Accessibility standards: WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
• Accessibility testing: We seek feedback from all users on the usability of the interface during training, workshops, and user conferences. We also have a feedback box on log-out for users to leave comments. ; ; The user can customise the visual view to suit their preference, e.g. from choosing a greyscale map view through to a full colour version.
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: Users first create a log-in account on the cloud software. They then use those same authentication details to begin a session via the API. The core batch calculation of exact walking route distances (using Ordnance Survey map data) is provided. In each case the walking distance is the minimum walking distance avoiding any path or road segments identified by the customer as unsuitable.
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats: PDF
• API sandbox or test environment: Yes
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: Users can manage and maintain their list of establishments along with the attributes such as phase of education, age range and the gate locations. Users can also mark segments of paths or roads as unsuitable for walking by clicking on them on the map view. Subsequent walking route calculations and transport eligibility assessments will not use these unsuitable sections. ; ; Note unsuitable segments are set at the account level, i.e. they are common across all users from the same customer organisation, including any API calls.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: QRoutes has a scalable hosting architecture, whereby multiple servers are available for the potentially extensive back-end computations. Customer processing requests are allocated to free resource, meaning no one customer's usage affects another. The servers are used exclusively by QRoutes applications.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: No

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• Government security clearance: Up to Security Clearance (SC)

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations: United Kingdom
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• Datacentre security standards: Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0)
• Penetration testing frequency: At least once a year
• Penetration testing approach: Another external penetration testing organisation
• Protecting data at rest: Physical access control, complying with another standard
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
• Equipment disposal approach: A third-party destruction service

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Users download their processed data directly from the application as CSV files.
• Data export formats: CSV
• Data import formats: CSV

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks: TLS (version 1.2 or above)
• Data protection within supplier network:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: QRoutes uses commercially reasonable endeavours to make its services available to users at qroutes.co.uk 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except for planned maintenance carried out between 10.00 pm to 2.00 am UK time.
• Approach to resilience: QRoutes' services are hosted by iomart (https://www.iomart.com). Each application is backed up to isolated locations with a dedicated recovery environment. QRoutes maintains an additional environment on Azure that can be used for additional resilience in the event of the loss of 2 datacentre environments.; ; QRoutes will establish the severity and impact of any outage within 15 minutes and troubleshoot the cause within 30 minutes. Normal service will be resumed within 60 minutes.
• Outage reporting: QRoutes notifies all its users by email of any scheduled service down time 1 week, and again at 1 day, prior to the down time. ; ; QRoutes emails affected users as soon as there is any unexpected outage and keeps users updated with the reasons for the outage and the likely time for resumption of service thereafter.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication:
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Access to all user accounts is controlled by username and password. Users must all use an email address from their organisation's domain. ; ; There are two levels of customer user: User and Administrator. Only an Administrator can change the configuration of the service for the customer organisation and view audit history logs of usage. ; ; Security settings are customisable for each organisation including settings for passwords, with a minimum security of eight characters long; not containing the user name, real name, or company name and containing characters from at least three of: Uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numerals, symbols.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: Users have access to real-time audit information
• How long user audit data is stored for: Between 6 months and 12 months
• Access to supplier activity audit information: Users have access to real-time audit information
• How long supplier audit data is stored for: Between 6 months and 12 months
• How long system logs are stored for: At least 12 months

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: Alcumus ISOQAR Ltd
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 27/10/2023
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: The ISO27001 accreditation covers the hosting provider services for the production, primary disaster recovery and testing servers and networking environments.; The secondary disaster recovery is stored on Microsoft Azure which has separate ISO accreditations. Internal systems are not held in an ISO accredited environment.
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: Yes
• Who accredited the PCI DSS certification: One Compliance Cyber Limited
• PCI DSS accreditation date: 23/02/2024
• What the PCI DSS doesn’t cover: This PCI DSS certificate covers the hosting provider for QRoutes software infrastructure.
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: Yes
• Other security certifications: No

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: Yes
• Security governance standards: ISO/IEC 27001
• Information security policies and processes: QRoutes ' services are hosted by iomart (https://www.iomart.com); ; The iomart Information Security Management System (ISMS) determines and outlines how iomart organises and manages the company’s information security in relation to internal information systems, operation and support including the provision of complex managed and cloud computing services for customers. The verifying body is ISOQAR.; ; iomart is also accredited with Cyber Essentials Plus. Its business ICT defences have been assessed as satisfactorily protected against commodity cyber threats, i.e. attacks using identified capabilities and techniques freely available on the internet. The verifying body is Alcumus.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Configuration and change management approach: Software updates are evaluated on a test server hosted by the same data centre company as the live servers. Change requests are processed in the support site (https://www.qroutes.zendesk.com) and the corresponding workflow, along with new feature development, is managed in JIRA. ; ; New versions are triple-blind tested manually for functionality, usability and security before their release to the live servers. An automated test suite is also run prior to deployment on the test server and after deployment on the live servers. It contains functional, regression, performance and stress tests.
• Vulnerability management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: The iomart vulnerability management process is aligned with ISO27001:2013 control A12.6.1 which addresses 3 key areas:; Timely identification of vulnerabilities; Assessment of or exposure to a vulnerability; Defined measures to address the risk.; ; QRoutes also runs regular externally sourced penetration testing of its applications.
• Protective monitoring type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Protective monitoring approach: Iomart Protective Monitoring process is aligned with ISO27001:2013 control A.12.4 which details: Event Logging; Protection of log information; Admin & operator logs; Clock synchronisation; Incident Management. ; ; QRoutes operational staff also monitor account log-in attempts and usage for abnormal activity on a daily basis.
• Incident management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example, CSA CCM v3.0 or ISO/IEC 27035:2011 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Incident management approach: Iomart incident management process is aligned with ISO27001:2013 control A.16.1 which details: The full incident management procedure; Responsibilities & procedures; Assessment of and decision on security events; Response process; Evidence collection; Learning from incidents. ; ; QRoutes reviews any incidents at its monthly management and board meetings.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Conforms to a recognised standard, but self-assessed

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Wellbeing

  Fighting climate change

  Transport accounts for 26% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions (UK Government, Oct 2023). Active travel is a key to reducing this number and it helps to build these habits from an early age. QPaths enables local authorities to understand where they could encourage more children to walk to school by making routes safer. As is often the way with active travel infrastructure, this has cost benefits too. Improved active travel routes often reduce entitlement to free school transport.

  Wellbeing

  QPaths helps local authority education (or school transport) teams quickly and accurately assess children’s eligibility for free school transport. It alleviates stress in those teams by speeding up processing and providing an audit trail which reduces both the number of appeals and friction within the appeals process. ; ; More broadly, improved active travel routes reduce traffic congestion around schools, improving safety and reducing air pollution. What is more, just getting children out of cars reduces their exposure to pollution - levels inside a slow-moving car are 2 to 3 times more than outside. ; ; And finally, even a short walk significantly boosts brain activity, and there is a positive correlation between physical activity and academic performance.

Pricing

• Price: £11,800 to £16,700 a licence a year
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: QPaths will be provided to interested organisations free of charge for one week (longer periods are possible upon request). ; ; The free version of the service will be limited to calculating walking routes to a single destination e.g. one school.
• Link to free trial: Please contact info@qroutes.co.uk for a free trial account.

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at david.stewart@qroutes.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.