real time tracking Archives

7 Advantages of Having a School Bus Routing Software

Posted on December 12, 2018 by TSB Super Admin

The ultimate aim of a school transportation system is to ensure that the students come to school and get back to home in a safe manner. Technology has always helped human beings solve many of their problems since the personal computer revolution in the 1980s.

Advances in the field of wireless communication have also contributed a great deal towards developing solutions to vexing problems. Now, the software may not be able to solve all the problems, but it can definitely help schools in alleviating school bus routing challenges.

Schools can add school bus routing software module to reap a lot of benefits. Here are some of them:

Also Read : How School Bus Routing Software Enhance School Transportation

1. Cost Savings

Modern school bus routing software allows schools to save a significant amount of money across various aspects related to their bus operations. They include the following:

A substantial reduction in route sizes, theoretically to the extent of being in a position to cut an entire vehicle depending on the situation.
A great deal of savings in fuel costs across all of the school’s vehicles.
A shorter route contributes to reducing the wear and tear of the vehicles and extends their lifespan.
The collection and analysis of data at a central point enable school authorities to track and spot trends easily. This, in turn, allows them to sort out small issues such as reduced fuel efficiency. The warning signals help them to tackle the problems and devise solutions before they turn into difficult-to-handle headaches.
The driver tracking capability of the software allows schools authorities to easily identify the best and most cost-conscious drivers.

2. Planning

Another area in which the school bus routing software could make significant contributions is future planning. The integration of school bus routes into the redistricting process was generally being done as an afterthought because of the difficulty in quickly implementing large-scale changes.

Now, the availability of the school bus routing software makes it easier for the schools to manage their transportation changes up front along with the redistricting plan.

Schools can generate number of hypothetical route maps with the help of the software and identify the best routes, in line with redistricting plans, and make optimum routing recommendations in a timely manner to achieve great cost benefits.

The software helps to map the impact of changes in routes and clearly work out the costs involved. This helps the schools to choose the best routes that provide the desired cost benefits.

Similarly, the bus routing software also helps to ease the process of school closings. It has the potential to quickly redistribute the load across the remaining schools and thereby keep the costs incurred at the lowest possible levels.

3. Map Generation

It is not an easy task to draw a school bus route map by hand. Schools and districts that are not moving in tandem with technological change would have to make the concerned staff members to spend a great deal of time during their summer holidays moving strings and pushpins across maps in order to decide the best routes for the upcoming school year.

Moreover, the routes have to be changed during the midst of a semester due to the student movement.

The school bus routing software provides solutions in a matter of minutes, saving authorities months of manual work. All that the authorities have to do is feed database with the addresses of students and their needs and other required information.

The bus routing software will analyze several millions of possible routes within minutes and plot out the most optimum routes. The software can perform this analysis number of times and create hypothetical maps or optimize routes based on the school’s requirements or priorities.

4. Substitute Drivers

The requirement of substitute driver is dependent on the availability of the number of regular drivers. This is because drivers fall sick, go on a vacation, and have to deal with personal issues.

The school bus software’s optimization feature enables authorities to quickly find a substitute driver when one of the regular drivers is absent due to any of the reasons mentioned above. In this situation, the aspects to be considered are whether the driver has a license, knowledge of the routes, and experience in driving in those routes.

5. School Calendars

Timings, sessions, and holidays vary from one school to another. For example, the timings of public and private schools are not the same.

School bus routing software integrated with school calendars will be of great help in determining the best routes for specific days when only the public or schools is closed or working.

Some advantages of using the routing software in this respect would be as follows:

Identifies alternative routes depending on whether the private or public schools are working or closed.
Drivers will be informed of the routes well in advance.
Alerts can be sent to students and their parents to notify the changes instantaneously.

6. Real-time Weather Alerts

When changes in weather conditions causes damages to roads and make travelling on those roads risky, the software determines alternate routes so that students can be transported safely to and from the school.

The best part is that the software allows alerts regarding a change in route to be sent in real time, making things easy for students and their parents.

7. Driver License

School bus drivers are expected to keep their licenses valid all the time. The school bus routing software provides alerts when renewal is due for each driver as applicable. This enables authorities to avoid issues related to non-availability of drivers because of the expiry of their license validity.

Further, the software also enables driver background checks including criminal activities and child abuse, among others. Finally, the software can also be employed for implementing preventive and scheduled bus maintenance procedures so that it is possible to ensure that the buses are in good running condition.

Conclusion

This is not an exhaustive list of advantages that school bus routing software can provide. There are many other indirect benefits as well.

All said and done, the routing software is an invaluable tool for district and school administration authorities as it enables to improve operational efficiency and send customized alerts to students, and more importantly to parents so that they can safely and confidently go to and come back from their schools.

School Bus Transportation Software – 10 Things to Note

Posted on August 27, 2018 by TSB Super Admin

Schools across the globe invest in automated school bus transportation solutions majorly to serve two main objectives. While the primary motive is to ensure all-time safety of its students in school bus, the other objective is to efficiently operate its fleet.

In order to lend a helping hand to schools to address these two major concerns, TrackSchoolBus offers a holistic solution in the form of school bus transportation software. The software is really useful for both school authorities as well as parents.

Here we are listing out 10 things that you must know about the indigenous school bus transportation software of TrackSchoolBus.

Ensures Real-Time Safety of Students via 4 Different Apps

The TrackSchoolBus school transportation software comes with a host of safety features that are delivered through 4 different apps. They are – the Bus Attendant App, the Parent App, the Driver Console and the Transport Manager App.

All these apps in the hands of different people concerned about the safety of students perform the primary function of ensuring real-time safety of students.

The Bus Attendant App is a holistic solution that enables bus attendants to plan every trip, receive notifications and announcements and help them assign correct pickup points to students.

Aptly named the Parent App, it is through this app that parents will be able to track the route of their wards’ school bus. They will have real-time information about the exact location of the bus. Parents can also keep a watch on the attendance of their wards through this app.

Every fleet manager of a school will find it handy to use the Transport Manager App provided by TrackSchoolBus. All in an attempt to exercise complete control over the fleet of school buses, this fleet management app can also step in to locate untracked vehicles.

The Driver Console App can be tagged as an innovative and driver-friendly offering of TrackSchoolBus. This app enables drivers to perform a number of monitoring activities like scheduling trips, planning school bus routes and keeping a watch on the speed of the bus.

Use of High-End Hardware Components

You can rely on the seamless performance of the TrackSchoolBus transportation software suite as it built using high-end hardware components. This superior hardware when integrated with the state-of-the-art software leads to a robust school bus transportation software that can be tailor-made to suit your specific requirements.

Easy to Install and Maintain

TrackSchoolBus vouches for the top-class quality of hardware that makes up its indigenous school bus transportation software. Leaving no room for duplicating its integration to the system, this suite demands minimal maintenance. Added to this, you can easily install this software in a jiffy.

Compatibility With Various Hardware Configurations

Another significant pointer that makes the software suite of TrackSchoolBus stand out from the rest is its compatibility with different hardware configurations. Along with this feature, it is important to note that this is a very affordable solution which can be availed by different schools.

Additional Security and Tracking Features

Tagged as an affordable software from TrackSchoolBus, you can avail the features of video surveillance and the built-in attendance system. Real-time notifications are the most important data points that can be helpful in averting unforeseen exigencies.

Given the scenario that your child has boarded the wrong bus or has missed the bus, you as parents will be notified about such instances.

Artificial Intelligence Automates Many School Bus Transport Features

Parents and all those who are concerned about the safety of school students should be aware of the fact that TrackSchoolBus employs cutting-edge AI technologies. AI steps in to support three main transportation functions: auto allocation, auto optimization and auto routing features.

Auto Allocation is a function that permits the automatic selection of the pickup location by simply checking the residential address of a student on Google Maps.

Through Auto Optimization, school bus drivers can effectively optimize the pickup and drop points of students. This is an innovative feature that helps drivers save their efforts and time with every school trip.

The school bus transportation software from TrackSchoolBus provides the Auto Routing feature. As the name suggests, fleet managers who sign up for this software will be in a position to optimize school bus trips and routes, eventually picking the right vehicle that matches their requirement.

Vehicles Benefit A Great Deal

As mentioned earlier, the school bus transportation software offered by TrackSchoolBus meets the dual demands of student safety as well as effective fleet management.

With this software in place, school administrations will be able to cut down vehicle overheads considerably. Automated fleet management techniques supported by TrackSchoolBus pave the way for reduced vehicle maintenance and fuel expenses.

In addition to improving the operational tenure of every school bus, this software can keep you away from roads having high traffic.

Use of Technology Creates Goodwill

All those schools which sign up for the school bus transportation software of TrackSchoolBus can take pride in their foresightedness.

This indigenous software which promises student safety and efficient fleet management at all times can become the strongest reason for schools to have a good reputation. Parents and fleet managers would definitely want to get associated with schools which employ modern technology.

A Worry-Free Alternative for Parents and Schools

Schools which sign up for the school bus transportation software offered by TrackSchoolBus will always enjoy peace of mind. They will be rest-assured that their students and vehicles are constantly under the watchful eyes of this multi-faceted software solution.

Alongside ensuring the safety of kids on board, this solution which helps in regular attendance management can be the biggest asset to every school.

A Multi-Faceted Software Solution

After having learnt about the striking characteristics of the school bus transportation software offered by TrackSchoolBus, it will not be an overstatement to mention that this is an all-in-one solution.

Constantly meeting the various needs of parents, school bus drivers and fleet managers, this school bus transportation software promises a great deal of convenience coupled with student safety.

You can also substantially reduce your vehicle expenditure when you are in perfect control over the different routes, trips and pickup points. All these are the collective benefits of this school bus transportation software suite from TrackSchoolBus.

Closing Thoughts

Safety is indeed everyone’s concern, especially with kids who are expected to reach their destination on time and safely; every day. Additionally, schools face the challenge of effective fleet management when they have to employ modern means to reduce vehicle overheads and avoid mishaps.

All in an attempt to provide a workable solution to these two major concerns, TrackSchoolBus has come up with an indigenous school bus transportation software. Go for this software to be at the receiving end of a multitude of benefits.

School Transportation Apps are Booming Now. Know Why?

Posted on June 25, 2018 by TSB Super Admin

School buses play a vital role in transporting students promptly and safely to and from their schools. The current soaring of offenses, particularly during student travel, has become a subject of concern. Parents are increasingly worried about sending their children on school buses.

The school transport system often lacks any accountability or communication after it leaves the school. This makes school districts look for a reliable way to resolve all these issues. This makes them install a powerful and effective school transportation app in their school buses.

The countless beneficial features, reliability, and safety of these apps make them more and more popular and essential amid schools, parents, as well as students. Some of the other valid reasons that make the school transportation app an essential one include:

Real-time Tracking

The school transportation apps aid the school management and parents considerably in estimating the precise location of school bus. This feature helps them in knowing the expected arrival time as well as the scheduled pickups of school bus accordingly. In addition, any hindrances to the route of the school bus can be informed digitally.

This greatly reduces the pressure on physical communication. Moreover, these applications allow parents to follow the school bus on its route and keep their eyes on it to boost accountability. The real-time tracking feature of the apps has turned out to be an extra benefit, as well. This is because the school management can use school bus transprtation apps as a way to ensure the safety of kids.

Driver Responsibility

Another major reason is that they ensure responsibility as well as the accountability of school bus attendants and drivers. Once students board their school bus, they become the accountability of bus attendant and driver. However, increasing number of crimes in mind, holding the bus attendant and driver responsible has become extremely important. School authorities have been employing several safeguards, including using nannies for their school buses.

However, a nexus, which creates between the nannies, attendants, and drivers, is likely to make such a protection useless. This can be done easily with a school bus tracking app. It will prevent the bus attendant as well as the driver from involving in a crime. This is because the entire bus crew will know that it is under the real-time observation of school authorities and parents. Thus, this works as a way to hold the driver responsible and accountable for his or her deeds.

Efficiency

Using a reliable school transportation app will reduce the wastage of time and resource and will increase the efficiency. This means that it will boost efficiency in many ways, including monitoring and thus, decreasing the costs. This is because the school management can monitor the routes of school bus over a period to value the fuel and time investment for a particular route.

Furthermore, schools can explore alternative routes to make their bus arrive at the similar destination. These alternative routes are prone to be less fuel concentrated, reducing fuel expenses for the schools. In addition, driving the school along a route that involves less traffic will benefit the students, as well. This is for the reason that it will help them reach their school or home quickly and safely. Habitually, such time and fuel efficiency will create an optimistic impact on the ecosystem of city.

Schedule Improvement

The schedule of school bus can be greatly improved through a school transporting app by predicting delays. The substantial traffic jams that subsist today can be a main reason for the school bus delays. These delays habitually become a reason for disappointment and discontentment amid the parents.

Usually, parents call the school management to know the reason for delay that in turn will contact the school bus staff. This will result in wastage of effort and time. On the other hand, the school transportation software can help you out in this. Parents are responsive to traffic jams or school bus delays through tracking their school bus in real time.

A school transportation app will lessen their worries and will offer them a peace of mind in knowing that their kids are safe in their school bus. Conversely, if the school bus is late while coming from school, the real-time tracking features of these apps will allow the transport manager of the school to reschedule vital assemblies or tests. This will prevent any cultural or academic loss that the kids may come across because of delays.

Ensure Traffic Compliance

A school bus transportation application will ensure observance with the existing traffic regulations and safety procedures. Often, schools receive complaints regarding their drivers for not following the traffic regulations and other safety strategies. The school transportation software will not only supply the real-time location of the bus but also watch other logistics.

Any reliable school bus tracking software can aid school authorities considerably in monitoring the standard speed that the driver of their bus follows. Exceeding the specified speed limit may be a reason for alarm. Therefore, these tracking applications can assist school authorities to compel their drivers to obey the road safety regulations.

Furthermore, they can use the school bus tracking software as the evidence of misbehavior of their drivers on road, if driver rejects the needless speeding.

Conclusion

With the help of these apps, the school transportation authorities can track all their buses on one map as well as comprehensive route logs at any time on any day. This is because these apps come with multiple tracking features, including the real-time locations of the school buses and barcodes that track the location of students while getting in and getting out of their school buses.

Therefore, all these benefits and features make the school transportation apps more popular amid many modern-day schools.