transportation Archives - trackschoolbus

How To Start A Student Transportation Business

Posted on May 28, 2019 by TSB Super Admin

In today’s world, parents struggle to find a balance between the conflicting schedules of their children and their own. A child’s daily schedule might include being picked and dropped from pre-school.

Later in the day, the child might need to go for extra activities like Sports, arts or language classes. The different timings and locations make it hard for busy parents to pick and drop them from school and from the other varied activities.

A solution to this wide-spread problem would be a trusted and viable source of transport which would reach the children to various places at the right times and bring them back home safely.

This type of service would be of great help to working parents who cannot take time off to take their children around.

1. Business Plan

Starting a children’s transport business is like running any other business. The business involves more than picking up and dropping children.

The key to success lies in marketing the idea and finding the right users. A research will reveal the markets that can be tapped for business.

The idea or motive behind starting a business should be the lifeline of the business. In children’s transportation business is customer and service driven.

A service that offers something different, from what the specific or similar industry do, will make it stand apart.

A plan detailing what ages and areas are to be served, hours of operation, fee structure, finances have to be drawn. A well written business plan will serve as a reference for future checks throughout the year.

Structure of the business will depend on whether it is a partnership or sole proprietorship. Once the structure is finalized local and state licenses, tax identification numbers and other legal requirements have to be applied for.

Sufficient capital is required to pay expenses until the business becomes profitable. These funds come from own savings, friends or private investors. Bank loans can be availed to start the business.

When executing you enter the market in a low or medium key. It can be further expanded depending on the response.

Workspace can be one’s home or space shared with another business or a leased office. Customer is the key to any business.

2. Objective

The objective of a transportation business catering to children should be to provide a safe and convenient method of transportation. It should be licensed, reliable and available to parents at reasonable prices.

The aim of the business is service. The children’s transportation business is service driven offering maximum satisfaction to customers. The priority is to become a trusted source for parents to rely on.

3. Market

Children’s transportation service is required and highly essential for any child activity that does not have its own form of transport.

Day-care facilities, pre-school, activity centers, recreational arena that do not provide transport facilities can be targeted for business.

Periodical agreements with them will assure a minimum number of children availing this service.

The market should be focused on the middle class working parents, both single and dual. This segment of the population is found to be the most active and so are their children.

The working parents are interested in activities to keep their children occupied. Their children avail day-care services summer schools and sports activities.

Households with children under the age of 18 have to be targeted. The Organizational focus should be on children. Their safety and welfare should be the priority.

Densely populated residential areas which are in proximity to the day cares or activity centers can be identified as the area of operation. A specified radius in kilometers can be fixed within which the transport can be used.

4. Promotion

Formal introduction letters giving an explanation of the services provided are to be mailed. A request to respond if interested is to be included.

The letters can be sent to households in the vicinity identified for operation. They can be sent to day-care owners, pre-schools, recreational activity centers.

The brochure must include operational information required by the clients. It should include the features and benefits of using the service.

Rules and regulations, hours and rates should also be mentioned in detail. Description of your qualifications, the process of selection of drivers, reliability and safety of vehicles can be mentioned.

Advertisements can be inserted in the local publications. As a part of personal selling, parents and schools in the community can be made aware of the existence of the intended service.

Creating special offers for the first time users and repeat customers can ensure customer loyalty.

5. Vehicle Selection

The type and size of the vehicle needed is to be decided initially. Mini-vans are easy to maneuver in traffic but the number of seats may be limited. Small buses require special operating licenses but can carry more passengers.

Mini-vans which meet the federal safety standards are a good option to ply in populated areas.

Child safety features of seat belts, safety locks, shoulder harnesses and dual airbags are a must and should be provided in the vans.

Stringent maintenance schedules have to be adhered to ensure that the vehicles are safe and reliable to travel.

GPS units and radio communication equipment in the vehicle would be an added advantage. If special needs children are served handicap capable vehicles would be needed.

6. Staff

Every business has two main aspects. One is the customer and the other the employee. If attractive benefits are offered to employees they will take care of the customers.

If interesting options are provided to customers they will use the service which leads to increase in profits.

If the business has to run smoothly, dedicated employees should be hired. Hiring good people will increase productivity.

They will cause less trouble. It is important that they are paid on time, appreciated in public and reprimanded in private.

In a children’s transportation business the driver is the main employee. He is the one in constant interaction with the children, their parents and the owners of the business. So hiring competent drivers is the first step to ensure success.

Drivers with a valid chauffeur’s driving license are to be recruited. A background check has to be done. They should have had previous driving experience withexcellent track records.

They must have a First aid and CPR certificate. They must be genuinely interested in the care and welfare of children.

Other employees too should be chosen carefully as they are the ones who talk to customers. They should be easily available and should make the customer feel important. They should be capable to respond to requests as soon as possible.

Employee training and monitoring are very critical to providing an excellent service to customers. Background checks are done for all employees. All employees have to be trained in customer service and office procedures.

Drivers need to work with parents while establishing routes. They have to keep a detailed record of pick-ups and drop-offs. A time log, records of distance and fuel consumption are essential.

They have to have good time management to be punctual at all times. They have to be patient with children. They should be able to handle the pressure of traffic outside and also the screaming and noisy kids inside the vehicle.

Periodic feedback from the users is to be sought to ensure that the service is to the satisfaction of the customer. Any shortcomings need to be addressed with minimal delays.

Checking constantly or on a daily basis with the drivers and employees on what they require to perform better is essential. Resources have to be provided so that they can to do their job most effectively.

7. Vehicle Utilization

The vehicles can be utilized to transport children during the peak times – early morning 7-8am, mid-afternoon 11-12 and evening 3-5pm. Routes can be charted taking into account the number of children and destinations.

During non-peak hours administrative and marketing work can be done. The vehicles can be used to run emergency trips to clinics with sick children or for prior appointments.

8. Fee Structure

Rate schedules should be handed over to parents once they have enrolled their ward for the service. Detailed rates for scheduled and un-scheduled one-way trips and round trips and for extra miles have to be shown on the rate schedule. Any discounts for siblings and incentives of extra rides have to be mentioned.

Fees should be taken in advance. Payment can be made in cash or by cheque. Credit cards can be accepted if required.

9. Operating Expenses

A detailed record of day to day expenses has to be maintained. A competent accountant can keep track of the progress and problems of the business in real time.

In addition to the wages of the staff, the budget should include the cost of maintenance of the vehicle, regular cleaning charges of vehicles and fuel costs.

10. Special Requirement

Some states stipulate other requirements to operate in their areas.

Safety concerns require photo identities of the children. The necessary equipment and camera to create the ID cards will be required.

Liability insurance to cover vehicles, employees and passengers are required.

A thorough screening for drugs and background check for all employees including drivers have to be done.

Fingerprint clearance is required by many states if working with children. This is to ensure that the employees are not a threat to the safety of the children.

The business allows the advantage of being your own boss. The service offered is highly needed and appreciated. The business is ideal for at-home parents and those who love children or special needs children.

The business can be expanded if required. At the beginning it would be advisable to concentrate on hiring the right people. Later on, when a good customer base has been formed and goodwill is attained, professionals can be hired and advanced technology can be used to manage the business.

The adverse factors are driving in bad weather, high insurance rates and distractions from boisterous children.

A friendly and efficient child transportation system will offer parents the comfort of knowing that their children are in the best hands.

9 Ways To Reduce School Bus Transportation Costs

Posted on April 24, 2019 by TSB Super Admin

Schools and school districts are constantly on the look-out to reduce operational costs wherever possible. The reduced budgets given to schools prompt them to cut costs in areas that do not directly affect classroom studies. School Bus transportation costs thus become a target when school administrations seek to curtail their expenses.

Bus transportation costs depend on the age of the fleet, wages, maintenance expenditure,fuel-consumption, insurance charges. This comprises of 80% of the total cost.Capital costs include purchase cost of new vehicles and cost of fleet replacement. Operating a school bus fleet at optimal efficiency has a direct impact on the costs saved.

Methods to reduce school bus transportation costs

1. Reducing the number of buses

Operating a fleet of school buses is expensive. The best method to reduce costs is to reduce the number of buses in operation. Trimming the fleet automatically decreases driver wages, fuel consumption, wear and tear of vehicles etc. These factors contribute enormously in saving costs.

School-Transport-Software--Ensure-enhanced-student-safety

Efficient route management is the most practical way to lower costs without hampering the quality of service provided.The best model in cost-cutting serves to get students to school efficiently while optimizing transport times.

2. Route management

Transporting pupils to schools is a complex matter. Technological advances have helped school administrators tackle the issue with considerable ease. Software systems are used to develop bus routes. Some schools still do the route mapping manually.

Schools have to periodically review their bus routes in terms of the actual number of students using the bus and the total time utilized. Simple adjustments to the previous year’s routes will not help in lowering operational costs.

School administrators cut backs on stops and routes to stay within the budget. Minor changes in operations like minimizing trips and routes, often result in great advantages.

3. Trip planning

The number of students at each bus-stop, stop locations and bus capacities has a direct impact on the charting of bus routes. Minimizing the number of trips minimizes the number of buses required.

Trips can be linked together on a single bus route if school start and finish timings are altered slightly. The elementary, middle and high school start and dismissal times are fixed to fall within a certain time slot.

Then it becomes possible to link more trips together on a single bus. This decreases the number of buses required in total. The optimal combination of alternate bell timings and trips results in saving costs and increasing efficiency.

4. Route planning

A method used to increase operational efficiency is route planning. A single route is designed for children of different schools in a school district. Trips of different schools are combined to form one route.

A single bus is assigned to this specific route. This reduces the time the buses run without students on board as well as the number of buses on each route. Each route becomes longer but serves more trips on one single route.

This minimizes the number of routes resulting in lower operational costs. Pollution caused by diesel exhaust fumes is reduced to a large extent. This model is viable where schools fall under the purview of one governing authority and the services of a centralized bus company is utilized. Private schools which own their own buses might not be open to this model.

5. Walking School Bus

‘Walking School Bus’ is a new concept which has been adopted by neighborhoods in the US. When rerouting to optimize costs, some of the routes closer to the schools get eliminated. In such cases, students along those routes group together and walk to school under the supervision of an adult.

The parents and children like the idea of walking as it is healthy. Students feel energetic and fresher. Most often students get to school quicker as school buses normally take more time picking up children on their routes.

These students can either walk or bike to school. This enables students staying further away, disabled or otherwise-able students to avail bus services .Student safe zones have to be ensured.

6. Alternative fuel vehicles

States and cities in the US spend roughly $15 million annually transporting children to school. Diesel, that powers most of the buses, is now very expensive.

Governmental regulations on cutting down the pollution, forces one to adopt alternative fuel sources for running vehicles. Propane, CNG and Electric vehicles are available options. Hybrid diesel-electric vehicles, though expensive, are used by some schools.

Cost of vehicles running on alternative fuel is high as compared to the cost of diesel engine vehicles. There is a significant reduction in fuel costs. Air pollution due to diesel exhaust fumes is drastically reduced leaving lesser carbon footprint. Better utilization of the buses can make it viable in the long run.

The buses in the existing fleet can be retrofitted with alternative fuel engines. This can help reduce the initial capital expenditure. When deciding to retrofit, the age of the vehicle has to be taken into account,to gain maximum benefit.

7. Maintenance cost

Regular maintenance is needed to keep the buses safe on the road. Less number of school buses on the road means lesser maintenance of vehicles. Savings on parts, supplies and labor is considerable when the number of buses is minimal.

A maintenance program that can extend the life of buses is essential.Periodical regular maintenance and scheduled preventive maintenance will reduce the incidence of unexpected breakdowns and the costs associated.

Schools and transport companies need to have policies on disposal of buses that cannot serve efficiently.

8. Staff expenses

A reduction in the number of buses will require less number of staff to man them. The reduced number of drivers brings about a huge saving in wages. Efficient routing and time management will reduce overtime costs.

Fleet management software provides real-time feedback and comprehensive reporting enabling safe and efficient pupil transportation.

Using digital software systems for routing, GPS systems for locations, RFID readers for bus attendance; CCTV to monitor bus discipline reduces the need for administrators handling these functions manually.

The one-time capital expenditure to install the technology and equipment required will considerably save on otherwise recurring expenses.

9. Down-side of cost reduction

Re-routing and elimination of routes will leave a good number of students without transport. Cutting bus routes without proper plans regarding student safety will cause adverse effects.

When bus stops or routes are eliminated parents react with anger. They are concerned about the dangers involved when their wards walk or cycle to school. Parents then opt to drop them to school in their cars.

About36 cars are needed to transport an equivalent bus-load of students. This proportionately increases traffic congestion and corresponding air pollution on the roads.

The incidence of accidents is higher among cars increasing the risk of safety. School buses meet with fewer accidents. Their big sizes allow them to withstand damage better on an impact. School buses are considered to be 13 times safer than cars.

School buses in the US alone transport 25 million students, travelling distances of approximately 4 billion miles each year. Decreasing school budgets and rising fuel prices necessitates minimizing school bus operational costs.

It is worth the effort to stream-line the operations to ensure safer transportation of students at minimal costs to the school.

School Students Using Public Transportation – Pros and Cons

Posted on December 24, 2018 by TSB Super Admin

The decision to send our kids through public transportation (buses/trains) is, at the outset, a simple one. Most parents would, if they had infinite time and money, choose to drop them off themselves.

Sadly though, this is not the case for a large majority. With limited time and money, juggling responsibilities, they do a cost-benefit analysis. Interestingly enough, these are not the only reasons why the decision is taken.

While the alternatives to public transportation include the children cycling or walking to schools themselves, we will be primarily concerned with private cars (including carpooling) as the choice of public transportation, by default, assuming that there is some distance to be covered to reach the school.

Pros of Using Public Transportation

Minimum ambiguity, Maximum discipline

There won’t be any last minute dashes due to a parent’s hectic schedule. There is a scheduled stop at a scheduled time and the child needs to be there.

If the child doesn’t reach the stop on time, he/she will have to wait for the next bus. Through trial and error, the child knows for certain which bus she needs to catch.

A Multitude of Choices

The child has several choices for spending his/her time. From enjoying the solitude to making friends and spending time with them, to spending time reading or studying, the child makes the time of his/her own.

A Question of Friendship

Studies have shown that the adults who have close long-term friendships do better than their less social counterparts. This is especially important as the age when the child is attending middle school and/or high school is when intimate friendships are most often born.

Public transportation provides space for socialization and making friends with other children through frequent and regular interactions.

A Dollar Saved is a Dollar Earned

Several families have significant financial constraints. Public transportation is a (relatively) safe option for them to send their kids to school. This becomes even more important if their neighbours are sending their kids to the same school through the same means.

Stronger, Faster, Fitter

While this can’t be compared to children walking or cycling to school, children who travel to school via some mode of public transportation are fitter. This is shown through studies which reveal that public transit users, on average, take 30% more steps per day.

A Question of Responsibility

Children who use public transport to go to school tend to become more independent and responsible at an earlier age than their peers. While public transportation may lead to nervousness among the parents, this quickly disappears as the child learns and demonstrates responsibility.

A Benefit to Society

Apart from the increased car traffic and pollution and all the negatives that go with it, it has been seen that children who use public transit systems to get to school develop a healthy appreciation for public transport facilities.

And they have a greater tendency to use as well as support its use through adulthood. This is especially important to those areas where the public transport system is weak and needs to be strengthened.

Cons of Using Public Transportation

Safety – The Primary Concern

While there are several benefits to public transportation, it cannot be denied that there is one area where private transport trumps it; by a fair way.

And this, in the opinion of many parents, is their single most important concern. This is especially true in difficult neighbourhoods. And while using public transit is certainly safer than walking to school, it doesn’t beat the family car in this respect.

Harassment and Negative Experiences

Closely related to the above mentioned one, avoiding being bullied or harassed – and not having a proper channel to address it is an important factor for parents in choosing not to send their child through public transportation.

Children may also get traumatised by events they are not part of, but simply witness. Given these circumstances, in areas where public transportation is the only option, parents may choose to send their children to a suboptimal school as a result.

Sharing is Caring

The primary reason for preferring private transportation to public transportation is that of safety. Parents often compromise due to the difficulty in taking children to their school amidst their own hectic schedules.

This is true especially when both parents are working. This can be mitigated by carpools, where parents of different children alternate the responsibility of taking them to school.

The Hour Expands

Taking public transportation inevitably means that the child needs to spend more time in transit. From walking to their stop to wait for the bus to the longer routes (that have to be) taken by the bus; and back again while returning home.

This is more prominently seen for high schools, which are generally further away. This is a concern both with respect to time as well as safety.

Discomfort and Overcrowding

Most schools start and end around the same time. So, when a bus comes along, it is possible that it may be overcrowded. And this makes for a negative experience for the child, which they may not be able to handle. This effect is even more prominent while returning home.

Differing Standards

A study indicated that among children between the ages of 9 and 13, only 6% play outside a given week. At a time when parents are overprotective about their children, can we reasonably expect the children to be able to handle themselves in public settings?

With unfamiliar people? In a crowd? And then there’s the question of personality. Do they get anxious? Under difficult circumstances, will they be able to call the parent and communicate with them?

So there you have it. Why you should rely on public transportation for your children’s school travel. And why you shouldn’t. Priorities and personal preferences play a big role. But we hope this will help you make a more considered decision.

10 School Bus Safety Tips for Children [Infographic]

Posted on July 23, 2018 by TSB Super Admin

There are more than 23 million children, for whom school bus is the only of transportation for to and from schools. Some parents consider their own vehicles to pick and drop their children to schools, but most of the families prefer school bus due to their busy work schedules.

School buses are considered as the safest mode of transportation for school going children staying far away from children. It is a proven fact that opting school bus is thousand times safer than travelling in own vehicle.

When you consider school bus for your children, you worry about their safety which doesn’t have an end even if they get older. Usually children get excited on the bus. Being careless, running and turning around while getting on and off the bus can be dangerous. So it is essential to teach children regarding how to stay safe on the school bus.

It’s a fact that school buses are the safest mode for school going children to travel but still it can be dangerous if they act carelessly. If you are a parent or a teacher, it is your responsibility to teach kids about school bus safety tips.

For your help, we Trackschoolbus have mentioned few school bus safety tips in the form of infographic for children which they must follow for a safe journey.

20 Remarkable Uses of GPS in Everyday Life

Posted on June 1, 2018 by TSB Super Admin

The Global positioning system (GPS) is popular now-a-days as a satellite-based navigation system that gives information about geo-location and data about time to receiver. The facility is available to anyone at any place in the world.

The system does not need the user to send any data as it operates with complete independence without any telephonic and internet connection, although the involvement of these technologies could add to the functioning of the system.

Military, civil, and commercial users get the support of the system because it provides them with vital information about positions of places and things around the world. Owned by United States Government, GPS functions under the supervision of United States Air Force.

As everyone thinks that GPS is only for vehicle navigation, interactive mapping, use in space-age technology, the reality is it has now-a-days advanced a lot to become part-and-parcel of everyday life.

Let’s know about some of the remarkable uses of GPS in everyday life.

1. Convenience in Doing Business Logistics

A new trend has come to exist in the business logistics. Many companies are now-a-days tracking the movement of their trucks through GPS system with an intention to ascertain the whereabouts of their employees and their related movement in transit. This helps in bringing improvement in making timely deliveries and developing a good rapport with the customers.

2. Farming – The Other Important Area for GPS Application

As agriculture is the other important area, where NASA is planning to bring development with the application of GPS system, a remarkable change would get noticed in the methods of farming. In a fresh initiative, NASA has decided to equip tractors with GPS sensors.

The sensors would help remarkably to navigate during night-time and periods of visibility. In addition to that, scientists would plant soil sensors and other types of monitors to know about the areas that need better watering, fertilization, and weed control.

3. Avail Emergency Help at the Road-side

While travelling, a person could need emergency help for anything. He would not have to either shout or call anyone for help but simply press a button to get help. Moreover, the help comes at the specified place, where the person would need it.

4. Let’s Tackle Personal Emergencies

Nowadays, users could tie GPS-based band to their wrist or get taped to their body. The device could monitor vital body signs and in case of medical emergency, the device could alert and call for medical help through wireless communication.

5. No Difficulty in Finding Lost Animals

As now-a-days various companies sell GPS featured tracking device, which they could get implanted to the bodies of pets. The device tracks the whereabouts of the pets and monitors their heart-rate and body temperature.

6. Get Help from the Emergency Personnel

When a person gets lost without finding his/her way out of the place, the GPS could pin-point his/her location and help the emergency personnel search and get him. When travelling in a public carrier service, the installed GPS in the carrier could help in pin-pointing the presence of the person in a particular place.

7. Greatly helpful in finding short-cuts and other directions for the destinations

When the person has a time-bound engagement, the GPS could easily give help by giving him/her alternative directions and short-cuts to reach the place. This feature is greatly helpful as the person does not have to fumble his/her way out and struggle for time management.

8. Most Helpful in Saving Fuel

In a developing nation like India, people experience regular price-hikes of fuel. A tracking device, installed on the top of the bus, could help a lot in controlling fuel cost.

The GPS tracker helps greatly in pre-planning the movement of the buses in their routes. This could optimize the returns from the movement of the buses and bring improvement in fuel consumption and reduction in maintenance costs.

9. Employee Transportation

Using GPS tracking systems, you can manage employee transportation fleet and improve its efficiency. You can save time and fuel, thereby minimizing expenses.

10. Keep an Eye on the Luggage, Laptop, and Important Belongings

While travelling, the feature in the GPS could track the luggage, laptop, and important personal belongings. With this feature, the owner of the belongings would get instant notification regarding any attempt of theft.

11. Track and Find Friends, Family, and Relatives at the Crowded Place

While participating in a crowed gathering, concert, or graduation ceremony, GPS has the feature to track relatives, friends, and family members and help the person in locating his beloved ones easily.

12. No Worries for Getting Lost in an Unfamiliar Place

The traveler does not have to worry if he/she gets lost in an unfamiliar place. In case, the GPS is active, it becomes really easier to get back to the destination without any hassle.

13. Really helpful in documentation

GPS tracker has the utility of real-time documentation. The device could record the event as those take place. This lends incredible transparency to the services.

As it also does not need human intervention, the documentation process literally remains error-free. Leaving no chance for conflicts of statements in the documentation, the documents could become excellent reference papers.

14. Criminals Even Get Tracked

GPS tracking features have really helped police to nab criminals, especially drug peddlers. Police have even successfully tracked drug thieves. Police concealed decoy drug parcels under GPS and tracked the criminals successfully to nab them with important information. This has opened another dimension in the use of GPS and given authorities necessary help in controlling drugs-related crimes.

15. Useful in Drawing Up Artistic Works

Michel Wallace – the famous American artiste – performed a huge etch-a-sketch and showed off her electronic drawings.

Equipping her bike with a GPS tracker, he rode around the American city and artistically drew a wonderful painting with the help of mapping software. His intricate drawing of the lost luxury ship, Titanic, was a sensation on the occasion of 100^th year of the ocean liner’s sinking.

16. Helpful in Improving Driving Ethics

GPS system has proven its mettle in improving ethics in the driving patterns. The device could help in controlling over-speeding, rough-braking, and unnecessary accelerations. This is really helpful in the avoidance of accidents and keeping the lives of passengers safe.

17. Geo Caching – The Wonderful Game by GPS

Researchers have even used the GPS features in setting up hi-tech treasure hunts. Geo-caching hobbyists keep the caches of trinkets. The trinkets are usually souvenir coins or toy plastic animals. The hobbyists keep those at different places on treasure maps.

As they post them online on different websites, it allows others to search for them. Some geo-caching events have even taken place in public parks, while the treasures were kept clandestinely at public places.

18. GPS could Even Guide Driverless Cars

Now-a-days, the car makers are trying hard to manufacture driverless cars. The engineers are making efforts to create a synergy of GPS, censors, and cameras that could make the driverless car see the light of the day.

In this the GPS would play the role of plotting car’s location, speed, and direction, which are related to destination. As in the near future, the car could become a major innovation as the features of GPS would definitely stay central to the functioning of the car.

19. Ingenious Application of GPS could save lives of People Suffering from Dementia

As the population throughout the world ages, there are a growing number of people, suffering from dementia. With the ingenious application of GPS, the researchers have developed inserts in the patients’ shoes that could keep track their movements easily.

The smart device in the shoe could even set an alarm as the patient leaves a designated area. Best tool for a company to minimize operating expenses.

The companies have realized that by investing in GPS tracking system, they could introduce best fleet management system. This would minimize operating expenses and boost up profitability of the ventures.

20. GPS could Even Guard Idols from Theft

In the year 2005, a new GPS technology was launched to protect the statues in the Churches and other religious organizations from theft. The GPS device in the statue could either send an alert signal or a text email to the authorities that would help them to track the idol or statue and recover it from the thieves.

As the cases of thefts of old statues and idols are on the rise throughout the world, such a step in tracking the theft cases would help in saving the heritage of the nations.

How School Bus Routing Software Enhance School Transportation

Posted on December 21, 2017 by TSB Super Admin

Every school aims to provide an efficient school transportation for students. And its success depends on routing. Effective cost management and proper benchmarking policies assist you to determine how well your school bus fleet operates. There is a multitude of factors that lead to the success of school transport services. Need details regarding it?

Let's check out the essentials required for efficient school bus fleet management:

1. Precision in Fleet Data

In order to operate school bus fleets efficiently, you should obtain accurate fleet data. The reason for this is, all the crucial decisions are taken on the basis of this fleet data. Hence, fleet data should be proper and precise. With the support of a school bus tracking software, you will be able to accomplish the tasks without compromising precision level.

2. Proper Organization of Fleets

Fleet operations would be impeccable, if there is proper planning and coordination among personnel and the tasks assigned to them. For effective fleet management, transport managers should be able to organize the school bus fleets correspondingly.

Role of School Bus Routing Software and GPS School Bus Tracking System

With the assistance of a school bus routing software, you can choose the apt and efficient route for your trip, obtain the precise fleet data and thus manage school bus fleets smoothly. Also, with the route optimization feature, you will be able to determine the exact location of a school bus in real time without further delay.

A school bus GPS tracking system is a valuable tool for school transport managers. They can track the school bus location and receive instant alerts whenever there is an emergency.

Strengths and weaknesses of school bus routing software

By recognizing the strengths and weaknesses, you will be able to enhance student safety, school bus route optimization, and budget of the school. Here are certain benefits or strengths of a school bus routing software:

Effective management of drivers

Providing satisfactory working condition is an excellent solution to reduce the employee loss. And a school bus routing software can aid you with that. Here follows certain procedures by which the schools should follow, especially when working with drivers are:

Attribute adequate training regarding the usage of routing software
Render up-to-date routing details
Save money

Of course, fuel costs should be actively considered by the school transportation authorities, especially when you aim for a profitable business. There are two ways to save money on fuel costs:

Negotiating prices with the usual fuel dealer to provide some discount
Install a school routing software and a GPS school bus tracking system to identify the optimized route for your trip that saves time and money

Out of the two above mentioned methods, the second one is practical. This is because modern trackers will be able to realize if there is a diversion from the assigned routes and thereby, evade unnecessary wastage of fuel. Route optimization feature can also be handy in saving money on fuel costs.

Provide reliable school transportation services

School management can enhance its transportation budget by saving on fuel costs and driver costs via a tracking system. For benchmarking the success of the school transportation, you can consider the following data for comparing with others:

You can identify the weakness of school bus routing by answering the following queries:

Average age of school buses
Period of usage
Average riding time of student on each day

When all the above details are carefully analyzed, you will be able to identify the strengths as well as weakness of school bus routing. Based on the strengths and weaknesses, you can identify the areas where you can augment the school transportation. Hence, school bus routing software is indeed a boon to school bus fleet management.