Ways To Make Your Transportation Dispatchers' Job Easier

In the hugely competitive marketplace we face today, it is critical for savvy Transportation Directors, Superintendents, and Business Managers to better manage every single business process from your transportation equipment to your drivers to your transportation dispatcher.  For example, in fields like bussing, there are several ways you can streamline the work of your dispatchers to ensure they are operating at optimal potential.

Improving Your Dispatchers’ Efficiency for a Better Bottom Line

Think about it, before the advancement of the Internet, a transportation dispatcher had to use pen and ink to physically keep track of school busses, special needs busses and other mass transportation vehicles. Today, with new routing software technology and systems available, a transportation dispatcher can use automated digital tools to handle routing and help with creating schedules for dispatching vehicles.  It makes the process faster, more seamless and more efficient while helping to eliminate costly human error.

When bussing students, optimizing the routing can give your dispatchers many advantages, including the ability to create a route (or routes) that is based on certain specifics, including:

• How long students are wanted on a particular bus or vehicle

• The maximum time allowed for each complete route

• Balance the passenger load on each bus

• Group particular students by either route or school or other options

• Determine which vehicles you want to use for each route and much more

Optimizing a Transportation Dispatcher using GPS Capability

Today, there is no reason not to know the whereabouts of any vehicle in your fleet. With the advancements in the GPS technology, every driver should be plugged into your system so that your transportation dispatcher has a clear view of when and where vehicles are at any given time.

The right bus routing software can work together perfectly with other technology to provide real-time information that can help enhance safety, increase monitoring capabilities, optimize routes and keep tight tabs of all busses or vehicles during times of crisis or emergency. Crisis management is critical to any bussing business—but it is particularly important when you are dealing with transportation needs of school children, the elderly, or the disabled.

The right technology helps your drivers too. Think about it—your drivers are key to your system, and your transportation dispatcher is the key to keeping them going. That means that giving your transportation dispatchers ways to help guide and direct them efficiently will greatly improve speed, safety, fuel costs, and ultimately your bottom line.

Giving Your Dispatchers the Chance to Thrive

If you have a transportation dispatcher that has additional responsibilities, like record keeping, updating logs (including error and violation logs) and other duties, most software targeted to their needs can be customized and fine-tuned to make their jobs easier than ever. As a person in control of your business, you should keep your eyes out for a variety of routing and tracking software programs that boast user-defined features that can help your dispatchers in all areas, including creating management reports. It’s the one sure way to know you are utilizing them to their full potential.

The bottom line is that there is more to optimizing your transportation dispatcher (or dispatchers) than just hiring the right person. You should always look for a dispatcher that has proven education and a willingness to learn your industry. Sometimes it might be a necessary requirement to have your dispatcher speak multiple languages like English and Spanish.

But beyond hiring smarter, you can do a great deal by implementing software to help them in routing, managing logs and reports, tracking vehicles and so much more. 

Are there any other ways you can think of to help your dispatchers do their job more effectively? Let us know in the comments below!