Tag: parent app

10 Interesting Features of Excursion Management Software

Posted on by TSB Super Admin

School excursions are fun, but to organize one is a challenging task.

Managing children during a school excursion is not easy either.

However, school excursion software can make things much easier for schools.

The software enables the transportation manager to form a students’ team and schedule an excursion with the start and end points.

And also designate a contact person, assign driver and assistant, and allocate a vehicle for the trip.

Read Also

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For additional safety, smart bands can also be employed.

The software also makes carrying paperwork everywhere redundant.

However, the best school excursion management software will have the following interesting features:

1. Student Safety

The excursion management software is very helpful in not only ensuring but also in managing the safety of the students on an excursion trip.

Student safety is dealt with by giving staff members instant access to certain things such as student medical conditions, personalized care instructions, etc.

And also provides access to emergency contacts even when there is no connectivity or the mobile devices are offline.  

All that the schools have to do is train their staff on what they are supposed to do in an emergency.

2. Management of Transportation

There is a module incorporated into the excursion management software helping schools to plan routes in an efficient manner.

The software helps in the management of trips with a focus on student safety.

The vehicle and driver details, including the exact location of the school bus, are tracked to improve safety. 

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School Bus Transportation Software – 10 Things to Note

3. Data Safety and Security

Medical records of students contain their personal information.

As in paper forms, there is a chance of getting lost, stolen, read by someone, or photographed.

Access can be restricted, ensuring the utmost security and safety of data, when school excursion software is used.

Only specified staff members get instant access through password, fingerprint, or code to comprehensive student records, including medical records, and their access can be cut off on completion of the event.

This is because data automatically expires after the excursion so as to keep the information secure.

Even when authorized staff access information, they are tracked.

Therefore, it is easier, more secure, and more practical in all respects.

4. Unplanned or Unexpected Trips

Sometimes, the need to take a child or children to a nearby place either for educational purposes or any medical emergency.

In such kind of situations, the staff members need not to have panic at all.

A unique feature of the school excursion management software called “Instant Trip” can be made use of to handle all unplanned or unexpected trips.     

5. Student Attendance Management

Keeping track of the students as the excursion progresses is a challenging task, especially when it has to be done manually.

The excursion management software leverages the mobile technology to ensure 100 percent accurate attendance marking.

The mobile linked excursion student attendance module enables staff to mark off their presence at several checkpoints throughout the excursion (for example, on the bus, at the bus stops, etc.).

6. Smart Wristbands

In some situations, there might be a need for additional safety when taking school children on an excursion.

The school excursion management software comes with a provision for that too- smart watch technology.

This is integrated into the student attendance management module ensuring additional safety for the children. 

7. Parent App

This is one of the unique features of the school excursion management software.

It is linked with the parent app.

This enables the school to keep the parents in the loop and provide them with relevant information in real time. 

8. Auto Routing

This is another interesting feature of the excursion management software.

It makes navigation easy.

The auto-routing module works on the basis of the start point or the source and the endpoint or the destination.

The auto-routing feature helps to reduce the running time of the vehicle, fuel usage, efforts of the transport manager and driver, and saves fuel, among other things.

It makes use of the algorithm ‘Smart Routing’ to find solutions automatically.

9. Smart Notifications

The Smart Notifications feature is helpful in many ways and mainly in case of emergencies.

This features school administrators and authorized teachers or staff members to send messages or notify all concerned profiles instantaneously about an emergency situation or changes in plans.

This is normally a helpful feature when school children are taken out on an excursion.

The fact that if the school is using excursion management software, then  it provides a great deal of confidence in parents.

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10. Geofencing

A geofence refers to a perimeter or a virtual fence around a physical location.

The school excursion management software employs this technology to keep track of students during excursions and manage proximity risk.

This technique does not make use of satellite communication to find the coordinates of the student(s) that has gone astray.

Instead, it keeps checking whether the students in a group are staying close to one another.

The proximity risk management program works by creating a beacon.

Typically, the instructor or the teacher accompanying the students is defined as the beacon.

A random student could also be made a beacon.

The software keeps checking whether each student in the group is close to their beacon or not.

An alarm is initiated or an alert message is sent if a student moves out of the geofence. 

Why Tracking App is Inevitable for a School Bus Attendant

Posted on by TSB Super Admin

School administrators operating school buses are always faced with two primary concerns. While one is about the safe, to and fro transportation of students from the school to their homes.

The other concerns the efficient management of their fleet of school buses. So, how do these administrators ensure the above concerns are addressed in the best possible manner and at all times?

They invest in what are called as tracking apps which not only resolve the above mentioned issues, but also improve the goodwill of the school that patronizes these apps.

Alongside offering convenience of monitoring the trips of students, these tracking apps serve as a leading light to school bus attendants. Here we shed light on the benefit of these apps to a school bus attendant.

An Overview of TrackSchoolBus and Its School Bus Tracking Apps

TrackSchoolBus, as the name suggests is a provider of technology-powered school bus tracking apps that come as convenient and safe means of transportation for students.

Additionally, these apps not only help school bus attendants to know of the real-time location of any particular school bus but also provide invaluable on-road information.

TrackSchoolBus presents 4 unique tracking apps which are:

1. Parent App

2. Bus Attendant App

3. Transport Manager App

4. Driver Console App

Here we shed light on the 3 important tracking apps that are meant for school bus drivers and attendants.

1. Bus Attendant App

True to its name, this state-of-the-art tracking app enables attendants to lay hands on the information concerning the next destination that the bus is heading towards.

Tagged as route planning app, it is through this app that bus attendants can take well-informed decisions through real-time notifications and announcements indicating a traffic jam or bad weather conditions.

This app helps bus attendants assign feasible pick-up and drop points. It is through this app that school bus attendants will be notified about every student in the bus and where he/she should be picked up and dropped.

Additionally, this app helps them make alternative arrangements for all those students who have missed their bus.

This app sends notifications to school bus attendants and administrators informing them about instances when a student gets dropped at an unlisted point.

The list of benefits of the bus attendant app does not end here. You can employ this app to enjoy a couple of advanced features, namely: re-center facility and manifest feature.

The re-center feature comes into play when there is a change in the pick-up point. Given the sudden relocation of any child, it is through the re-center feature that school bus attendants can get the details of the new pick-up point from where the student needs to be picked up.

The manifest feature shows up all the details concerning every student who boards the school bus.

Details like the pick-up points, a route map indicating the exact location for a pick-up and the entire list of students who are onboard will be displayed.

In the event a student is absent on a particular day, the manifest feature does not display his/her details on the stop list for that day.

2. Transport Manager App

TrackSchoolBus offers a tracking app called as the Transport Manager app which comes handy to all the school bus fleet managers. It is through this tracking app that transport managers can exercise a strong control over the entire fleet of school buses.

While allowing the managers to track each and every school bus that is plying on the road, this app ensures connectivity with other app users.

So, with this app in your hand, you as a transport manager can send voice instructions to bus attendants. Last but not the least, the transport manager app helps managers locate untracked vehicles.

3. Driver Console App

Recognized as an innovative offering of TrackSchoolBus, the Driver Console App is a trip-friendly app that provides a host of features to all the drivers at the wheel.

In addition to helping the driver to schedule pick-up and drop trips, this app gives out invaluable information like the speed of the school bus while also gathering the details of different school buses.

It is through this app that school bus drivers and bus attendants can lay hands on live camera feeds of the activities inside the bus along with managing pick-up points.

School bus attendants can make the most of the real-time notifications and alerts given out by this app to plan daily route trips.

The Promise of Real-Time Notifications Given Out By Tracking Apps

TrackSchoolBus, through all the above described apps helps all the stakeholders including students, parents, the school authorities and all those concerned to heave a sigh of relief with every school bus trip.

Providing top quality software that should be installed in superior quality tracking systems, TrackSchoolBus, the provider of school bus tracking apps delivers real-time notifications along with an auto optimization feature.

It is through this innovative feature that school bus attendants can get to know the exact pick-up point as is displayed on Google Maps.

With this information, school bus drivers can save a great deal of time when they can effortlessly optimize the student’s pick-up and drop points.

School Bus Designs : Why They Remain Unchanged

Posted on by TSB Super Admin

First of all school buses are designed well and serves its purpose. School buses are the primary mode of student transportation in the United States.

Over half the student population in the country rely upon school buses for transportation to school and back to home. It is estimated that over 26 million students travel in school buses.

Transportation wasn’t the same in old times. Some of the first school buses were carriages that were drawn by horses which were called kid hacks or school hacks.

These were made by Wayne works around the year 1886. There were even sledges and farm wagons that were used by students to get to school or sometimes even walk to school through the snow covered lands.

With the popularity of automobiles rising in 1914 the same Wayne works moved on to automobile chassis to help students reach schools faster. With the introduction of these buses students sat on the perimeter of the bus facing towards each other rather that towards the front as they do today.

It was later on that the Blue Bird Company took an effort to create a design for the bus that resembles the buses of today even though they had a long way to go.

Some of you might wonder why the colour of a school bus is yellow. It has been yellow since its inception. This makes it easy to distinguish it from other vehicles on the road. The yellow colour is recorded as Federal Standard No. 595a,

Colour 13432 with both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Buses usually operate in the morning and evening so the colour is better visible during these times.

It is supposed that the colour helps drivers to notice and slow down their vehicles keeping in mind there are children on board.

Why School Bus Design Have Remained Unchanged

School bus designs are made to safeguard the children on board. Parents worry about their child’s safety and the modes of transportation they take to reach school or come back from school.

So there is a genuine need for standardizing the way children travel. The present mode of transportation is satisfactory and safer. School buses are typically safer as they are not driven very fast.

According to the studies by National Academy of Sciences and National Transportation Safety Board school buses have closely spaced seats which are shock absorbent and are able to protect children in case there is an accident.

Little Bit About TrackSchoolBus

Various apps can be used to monitor the daily activities of students, drivers and attendants. These help to know what is happening to your child when he leaves for school and comes back from school.

Parent App – TrackSchoolBus has come up with the parent app so that parents can make use of this app to build a rapport with the drivers. The app lets you get to know when a bus reaches a pick up point or the drop point.

Parents can also monitor the speed of the bus. If the bus is being driven recklessly they are immediately notified regarding this. You can mark a leave for your pupil using this app.

You neither have to call the driver or the school management. With track school bus’s app parents are notified regarding the real-time location of the child and also the route that is followed by the school bus.

Driver Console App – Using the driver app from TrackSchoolBus drivers get to communicate the route taken by them and the number of stops during the trip with parents as well as school management.

This helps them to take the shortest route possible which is beneficial to both the drivers and the school management as this saves a lot of fuel and time. They get to pass information with the transport manager.

Using the driver’s app by Track School Bus, transport managers can give drivers instruction regarding best route that can be taken by looking at the traffic on each road.

School Bus Attendant App – Bus attendants will have an app that has all the student details like pick up and drop points. This helps them to work more efficiently. Another added feature for the TrackSchoolBus app is that the birthdays of the students will be notified to the bus attendants.

With this the attendants can wish the pupil on his birthday which creates a better rapport with the students. They get to know which students have boarded the bus and those who haven’t. Using the Track School Bus App they can contact the parents to check if the students are on leave or if they have failed to board the bus.

School Transport Manager App – In some cases the schools have a transport manager or the school bus contract is given to a third party in which case the fleet is managed by a transport manager.

By using the TrackSchoolBus app, the transport manager can track the school buses from anywhere using the app. The transport manager will be notified regarding route traffic, unfavourable weather conditions, bus break down, or anything that is related to the vehicle status.

Is My School Bus Tracking App Safe to Use

Posted on by TSB Super Admin

Parents are always worried about whether their child has boarded the bus from their pick up point and got down at the drop point. They are concerned if the driver or attendant in the school bus is well behaved and is taking good care of your child.

These concerns are real and parents look forward to a system which can help track the movements of their children. If there was an effective system which can undertake this task it would be easier for parents, drivers, attendants and school management.

One of the questions that is raised by everyone is that if the school bus tracking app is safe to use. The sensitive data of the students need to be protected from all piracy.

School bus tracking enables parents to monitor the child or school bus location while they are on the go. Let us look at how safe school bus tracking applications are.

Parent’s concern

Why is the bus late, have my child boarded the bus, where is the school bus right now, will the bus drop my child before I finish my work. These are some of the worries that parents have when they send their child to school or while they come back after school.

After realizing the concerns of parents an app was developed to solve the basic problems that parents and school management faces. It gives a peace of mind to parents who worry about their child’s safety. Parents worry about when the bus will reach to pick up their child and when it will drop off their child.

Another concern is that they don’t have any contact with the bus driver or the attendant. In case there is a delay in pick or drop the parents want to be notified regarding this. If there is a change in the point from where the child is picked up or dropped that needs to be reallocated that is to be communicated with the driver or the attendant.

Driver app

Using the driver app, drivers can have all the details regarding the students that he needs to know. They can mark the attendance of the children so that they know which student is attending school and who is not.

This helps them to plan the best routes so that it saves money and time.

They can collaborate with transportation managers and take the route that is best suited. They can also monitor students from the inside and ensure the student’s safety.

Drivers can view live cam feed so as to monitor activities without leaving the driver console. This also makes sure that your child is not bullied while they are in the bus.

Drivers have an instant access for student details which helps them to take the best routes to reach the pick up or drop points.

Drivers receive notifications regarding change in pick up points and even birthdays of students which helps them to build a rapport with the students.

Parent App

Parents can check on their pupil as the application marks the attendance four times a day when a student gets on or off the bus in the morning and in the evening. Thus parents get to know the attendance of the child without contacting the school management.

Parents get real time notifications of the activities of their child which gives them a peace of mind. Thus they get to know the location of the bus.

This can help them know when the bus if arriving to pick up or drop their child. The parent app can be used to assign a new pick up point without having to call up the driver or school management.

The app can be used to manage more than one child who comes from the same house.

Bus Attendant App

Bus attendant can make use of this app to perform their duties clutter free. They can figure out the next location which the school bus needs to make a stop.

The trip history can be mapped which helps to record the journey taken. When a student boards or gets off the school bus a notification is sent to the attendant. It even notifies the attendant if a child misses a school bus.

Attendants can schedule and direct driver throughout the trip as when a trip is confirmed, it automatically moves to the trip history.

Just like in the driver app attendants also get notification about the student birthdays. Students will be happy to be wished on their birthdays.

Transport Manager App

Sometimes the whole trip is conducted and managed by a transport manager. A school might have a fleet of vehicles that needs to be managed from a control centre.

They can also help with planning the best routes and efficiently manage the fleet. If in case a vehicle is not being tracked the transport manager will get an immediate notification regarding this.

They can send group messages which help to communicate a message to all drivers and attendants. Each bus can be tracked by the transport manager and this real time location can help to choose the best available routes.

Conclusion

School bus tracking apps not only is safe to use but it also ensure the safety of our kids. There are various facets of school bus tracking application that ensures co-ordination with parents, bus drivers, bus attendants and transportation managers.

It is definitely a value addition for schools and parents looking for the safe transit of their children to and from school.

12 Different Technologies that Help School Bus Drivers in Driving

Posted on by TSB Super Admin

Technology is considered as an influential component of modern day lives. Nevertheless, while penetrating into every aspect of human life, you now have the luxury of obtaining real-time information on the whereabouts of your school-going kid.

Alongside supporting parents to be informed about the whereabouts of the school bus, a host of technological tools aid school bus drivers commit their jobs to the best of their abilities.

Here is the list of a dozen technological innovations that assist the professionals at the wheel in a multitude of ways.

  1. School Bus Tracking Apps

A school bus tracking app renders real time data regarding the exact location of the bus and the duration of arriving at your stop.

As a consequence, when such an app is in place, schools can steer clear by eliminating a number of distressed calls from parents checking about the pickup and dropping times of their wards.

In the meantime, tracking apps insist the school bus driver to drive cautiously with a conviction that parents are informed about the timing of pickup and drop.

  1. Tracking Systems

The School bus tracker utilizes RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) and GPS tracking, which intends to bring in transparency and convenience to both the parties concerned; the currently appointed school bus drivers and the parents.

As a matter of fact, such tracking systems not only notify the parents about the journey of the school bus, but also work as tabs on speeding drivers.

Parents who are waiting for their kids to be either picked up from home or dropped back can approach these tracking systems to monitor on the speed of the bus along with certain unscheduled bus stops that the driver is taking.

Moreover, this information can apparently become invaluable data points to parents to assess the performance of school bus drivers.

 

  1. Cameras – Tools to Peep Into What’s Happening Inside the Bus

Installing cameras inside the school bus is another technological move that establishes safe driving. Consequently, these cameras are activated when the bus stops for capturing the number plate of the vehicle that passes by in the territory of School Bus Danger Zones.

All in an attempt to evade the instance of accident, school bus drivers through the implementation of cameras can save the lives of students from being hit by other vehicles on the road.

  1. Digital Cameras

Another propitious technology that assists school bus drivers keep a watchful eye on the road is through the installation of digital cameras.

Meanwhile, modern digital cameras installed in the school buses help the driver to constantly monitor and realize what is happening inside the bus when he is at the wheel.

In addition, these cameras also capture the audio and video of the school bus happenings, sparing the driver to turn around and control a group of mischievous students.

It is through such devices that school bus drivers can better engage and handle behavioral issues of misbehaving students.

  1. The Prominence of Mirror Grid Systems

School buses fitted with mirror grid systems will help drivers relish a superior vision of the surroundings of the school bus.

On the other hand, through the usage of electric grids, which are fitted behind the mirrors, school bus drivers will be able to tackle extreme cold weather conditions while at the wheel.

Once the grid is heated, the frozen particles on the mirror get evaporated clearing the vision for drivers to appreciate an enhanced vision impending from clear mirror views.

  1. Spouts in Front of Tires – Another Climate Control Mechanism In Favor of School Bus Drivers

Unfavorable weather conditions should in no way induce a concern for drivers at the wheel. In an attempt to counter all such circumstances, school bus tires come with spouts, which are located in front of them.

This is a technological innovation that helps bus drivers drive on icy roads. You might perplex how this is possible.

Spouts come into the picture of safety driving practice when they drop sand on the slippery and icy road. This sand constitutes friction to the tires allowing the driver to drive safe.

Another facility that comes through these sprouts is to chain up the tires if the bus is progressing on a route that is not safe for driving.

  1. The Benefits of Computerized Diagnostics

Preparation is the key to effective decision-making. This preparation comes in the form of being informed about the need for vehicle repairs and maintenance.

Be it the vehicle engine which should be fine-tuned in accord of the Revolution per Minute (RPM) or the replacement of a damaged indicator light, drivers attach a lot of importance to computerized diagnostics.

Paying attention to the faulty functioning of oil tanks, issues concerning transmission and all the alarms concerning exhaust systems, school bus drivers can drive with a sense of preparedness.

  1. Sensors Help Conduct Pre-Service Checks to School Buses

Technology also aids in improving the safety level of school bus drivers. The state of Connecticut takes pride in the installation of a wireless device that helps drivers to conduct pre-service checks, including emergency door inspections and brake checks.

It is through sensors that the school bus supervisor is informed about any malfunction that can lead to a driving disaster. 

  1. The Promise of Automatic Door Entry System

School bus drivers can invest in modern technology offering push buttons to better manage the opening and closing of bus doors.

Automatic door systems fitted with push buttons bestow a great deal of comfort to bus drivers, avoiding shoulder pains and fatigue that comes with manual operation.

  1. Driving Made Comfortable With Air-Cushioned Seats

Air-cushioned seats are a boon to school bus drivers who can now drive comfortably. These seats, which come with a strong lumbar support ensure the correct posture while the driver is at the wheel.

This way, the school bus driver can enjoy every journey through a better driving position that will help him focus on the road ahead.

  1. The Effectiveness of Smaller Engines

 The diesel-powered school buses come as the safest and reliable modes of transportation for millions of school children. However, the size of a school bus engine has a bearing on the performance of a driver.

What to perceive the connection between these two parameters? Here it comes! A smaller bus engine means a shorter front part.

At the same time, with smaller engines, bus drivers will recognize as comfortable to maneuver when they enjoy a wide view of their surroundings.

In fact, it is because of this wide angle vision that school bus drivers will be able to manage the bus efficiently so as to avoid the issue of accidents caused due to inaccurate judgment of spacing.

Of course, smaller engines, thus come as another technological change that favors bus drivers to do their job in the best possible manner.

  1. Wi-Fi Connectivity in the Bus

At times, kids on board can become a distraction to a school bus driver who not only has to concentrate on the road but also ensure the decorum of travel.

Furthermore, ruckus in school buses created by bullying and mischievous students can mar the performance of a driver. All for the sake of assisting the driver to better concentrate on the traffic, schools are looking at offering in-house Wi-Fi connectivity to school buses.

Identified as a trick to occupy students, Wi-Fi in school buses can work both ways. While the Internet connectivity helps students to complete their homework or play games during travel, school bus drivers are the benefactors as well.

As a result, drivers who drive Wi-Fi connected school buses cannot be affected by futile chatter from students on board and drive cautiously.  

Closing Thoughts

After learning about the numerous ways in which technology can convince bus drivers to drive safe, it makes sense to go with the flow and institute these innovations on every school bus.

This way, you as a school administrator or a transportation manager will not only simplify your job, but will also become a truce to both parents and students.

With the safety of children on-board being your paramount responsibility, you can bank on the above mentioned technological advancements as your daily guide to safe and uneventful school bus journeys.

Keep Track of School Bus Drivers with School Bus Tracker

Posted on by TSB Super Admin

 

School bus tracker software can be said to be effective only when your child’s safety is assured to the fullest. So, it is mandatory that school bus drivers are also tracked using the system as they play a major role in the safety of school children. Wouldn’t it be helpful if you get a chance to assess the performance of school bus drivers as well, apart from tracking the location of the school bus and the whereabouts of the school students?

Track School Bus Tracker software can be of great help to school fleet managers in this regard. It offers features that help these managers to keep tab on drivers in the following ways:

Collect Performance Data

Monitoring school bus driver performance is a challenging task for most fleet managers. There are usually no reliable source to know their actual performance other than from the bus travelling students and parents. With school bus tracker systems, these drivers are provided with a driver console, which prompts them to login when they enter duty and log off when they leave.

As GPS data is transmitted by the system to the fleet manager, he will be able to know the speed at which a driver drives, how punctual he is, if he is making unwanted stops or idling too much or braking harshly. All this data is conveniently stored away for future access, probably during performance evaluation.

The system also has parent app, with the provision for parents to rate and comment on each individual driver.

School Bus Travelling Student Safety

The single biggest concern of school bus travel is student safety, and the driver is the best person to ensure it. School bus tracking system has smart route optimization features that can help drivers to quickly reorganize their route in case of difficulty in maintaining their regular routes.

The fleet manager would also be able to provide assistance to him by constant communication through the various options available through driver console.

Restrict Unwanted Usage

As school bus tracker software provides real time location data, it can also be used to spot side trips and other aberrations. Once the drivers are aware of this facility, it would naturally curb such tendencies in them. Even if they do, it can be used as solid evidence of school vehicle misuse.

Monitor Behavior to Students & Parents

It is common for parents and students to complain about School bus drivers. The bus surveillance cameras can come to the aid of school transport fleet managers under such circumstances. In general as well, fleet managers can monitor driver behavior towards students and vice versa.

Vehicle Health and Fuel Economy

A vehicle’s maintenance frequency and fuel consumption largely depends on driving style. Too much acceleration, harsh braking, idling and rash driving can shorten the maintenance period and reduce fuel economy. For large school bus fleets, it can make a significant difference in the short term itself, while it would be unwanted expense for smaller fleets in the long term.

Analyzing the performance of the drivers can be of real benefit to the school management as it will help improve safety, streamline expenditure and enhance performance. Employ our GPS school bus tracker and have a great time managing your drivers and providing safety to your students.