Passive (non real-time) systems log all of the same vehicle usage data as active systems but you cannot contact the AVL unit on the vehicle for real-time data. A passive system is designed to log all of this data in the AVL unit and then download this data once it returns to the company's home base. There are several ways you can download the data from the vehicle to the company computer (direct connection to the AVL unit using a laptop computer, the removal of a memory module from the AVL unit that plugs into an office PC interface unit), but they are all very cumbersome compared to our system, which automatically downloads data to the company PC using wireless 900 MHz technology when the vehicle returns back to the home base.

The passive system is designed more for companies that need to manage their fleets by reviewing the usage of the vehicles but does not need this information in real-time. The passive system hardware is typically less expensive than the active system hardware; in addition, there are no ongoing airtime costs for the passive system since there is no cellular connection.