Transporting kids to and from school can be a challenge. It’s important to have measures in place that ensure that students can get to classes on time to combat problems like chronic absenteeism.
Plan Out Routes Ahead of Time
School districts have clear plans of what routes they’ll run — whether a district uses the old-fashioned pen and paper for routing or they use the more modern solution of school bus routing software.
Investing in the right software tools can be useful in planning routes effectively:
- Lower Costs: It’s easier to have an outside-in look when using software tools. Not only can you do planned vs actual route comparisons and runs, but also run route optimization to find the shortest run time, leading to fuel savings and lower maintenance costs.
- Eliminate Slack Time: With GPS data and advanced analytics tools, it’s easier to find inefficiencies along routes and find idle times along routes.
Have a Contingency Plan
How many times have you ditched what seemed to be a flawless plan because something unexpected happened?
In student transportation, something or the other can always go wrong. That means it’s important to have something up your sleeve to deal with the unexpected. Here are a couple of things that can happen:
Case 1: A Driver Fails to Show Up
Picture this: everything is going according to plan when suddenly one of your drivers calls in sick. What do you do?
One option is to sit there and hope for a miracle, but everyone knows that’s not going to happen. The most practical solution is to have a tool to reassign school bus routes to other drivers based on their schedules and locations.
Case 2: There’s a Road Closure
Imagine that everything is going right. Now I know what you’re thinking: in student transportation, that never happens. But let’s assume things are going swimmingly.
All of a sudden, there’s a road closure due to an accident or a storm knocks down a tree, causing a blockade. What now?
Well, that’s where GPS tracking and analytics software is your best friend. Using live data, you can avoid any potential roadblocks and hazards to ensure students get to school on time.
Spend Lesser Time Answering Parent Phone Calls
Nobody in student transportation enjoys receiving angry parent calls. Let’s face it, how many times has your office phone rang with a parent on the other end to deliver good news? The odds of that happening are pretty low.
Not only does it cause undue stress, but parent phone calls can take away precious time from other tasks. It’s a good idea to have some way to efficiently communicate with parents that saves you time.
Mobile apps that work with your student transportation software can be great for this:
- Updates on Bus Location: Parents can get anxious if the bus is running late. They need updates and information if there are any changes in plans to manage their day effectively. The best way to do so is by giving parents visibility on where the bus their child is on using a live map.
- Better Communication: One of the most important aspects of student transportation is communication. Apps allow parents to communicate with school districts. This way, districts can know if a student will not be taking the bus on a particular day and parents can get updates on when their child will be picked or dropped. It’s a win for everyone!
Keep Your Fleet in Running Order
The best way to keep your buses running is to ensure they’re well-maintained. School bus fleet management software can help streamline the hassles of maintenance and day-to-day care.
- On-Time Maintenance: With detailed maintenance records, you can pull data for when all buses in your fleet had their services, what parts were replaced, and when they need to be in the shop for their next check-up.
- Decrease Downtime: Knowing what part is in stock is critical in planning for the unexpected. Having a way to track what’s not in the inventory allows you to order commonly used parts in advance, leading to lesser downtime if something needs replacing.
Streamline Your Workflows
Nothing helps with efficiency more than having proper workflows and processes in place. Keeping paperwork down to a minimum is a must if you want to save time looking for important documents.
Online form integrations in school bus software take care of everyday tasks, allowing you to tackle other challenges that spring up. The automation tools take care of the grunt work and eliminate human error.
Also dealing with lesser paperwork means that you can digitally archive documents, leaving you with more desk space. Additionally, with autofill features, you never have to worry about making mistakes.
Stay in Touch With Your Team
Communication is the crux of student transportation. We’ve already highlighted the importance of keeping parents updated, but what about your team?
It’s critical for transportation leaders to have frequent meetings with their team, and ensure solid internal stakeholder communication. What you need is a secure communication platform that ensures data safety while you relay important information to drivers, operators, dispatchers, and all other employees.
Another thing to take care of is providing route manifests and reports to drivers before they start working to ensure they have the latest information.
How We Can Help
If at any point while reading this article you had a thought along the lines, “Wow, that’s awesome and will make my life simpler,” then we have good news for you!
BusPlanner is a student software management suite packed with all the features you need for route optimization, planning, and management. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can help transform operations at your district like we’ve done with many others across North America!
