Quick Tips On How To Shorten Your Bus Routes

It might seem obvious, but there really is no benefit to having your buses on the road any longer than they need to be. Transportation budgets are a huge part of any business that maintains a bus fleet, and every extra minute they're on the road ultimately costs you real money.

This can especially be an issue at school districts which are still creating their maps primarily by hand.  In many cases, the bus routes aren't fundamentally changed in years, merely adapted ad-hoc as situations change.

While this works for awhile, as time goes on, it adds more and more inefficiency to the system.  Often, a district can end up running more buses than they need to, because of their unoptimized routing.

So, here are some quick tips for cleaning up your bus routing.  Whatever you can shave off will translate directly into cost savings.

Trim Your Transportation Budget With Optimized Routing

1 - Update Your Local Maps

First and foremost, ensure that you're working off of the latest maps of your area.  Check with City Hall or the local planning office, to see if there have been any changes to the street system since the last time you used a set of maps.

Often, there'll be time-saving routes right under your nose that simply hadn't made it onto the maps in your office. 

2 - Send A Rider/Observer

If you don't yet have GPS units on your buses, it's worth it to occasionally send an observer along specifically to watch the bus's route around the city.  Beyond ensuring the driver is sticking to the route, having two sets of eyes on the ground can lead to productive discussions of better routes the driver might take in the future.

For that matter, it's also worth it to occasionally ask your drivers if they're aware of any changes to the streets that would affect the bus routing.  Encourage them to let you know ASAP if there are new developments, detours, and so forth.

3 - Experiment In Google Maps

Many of the online mapping systems people use today, like Google Maps or MapQuest, make it possible to quickly build routes with multiple stops.  While not as powerful as professional bus routing software, which can handle several routes at once, this is a good way to use free resources when cleaning up your routing.

The options to use or avoid major highways can be especially useful.  Since a bus's speed is going to be less than most vehicles on the road, you may be able to pick up extra time with minor changes to which roads are used.

4 - Schedule A Full Maintenance Checkup

Don't forget about the role the buses themselves can play in unnecessarily extending your bus route times.  Even if they pass inspection, a full checkup and round of preventative maintenance will get better performance out of your fleet, and ultimately shave time off the full drive.

5 - Invest In Electronic Tracking Systems

Time spent by the driver doing paperwork as the route winds on is another major source of delays, and one that's now entirely preventable.  In-bus RFID scanners, combined with smart ID cards, means the bus can track the student's arrivals and departures for you.

If you add bus GPS tracking to the mix, the resulting system does virtually all the paperwork for you, down to calculating mileage and fuel efficiency every day.  This significantly decreases the time your driver is spending in the cab while not driving, speeding the safe arrival of your students.

6 - Optimize For Yourself With Professional Software

While bus routing software a decade ago was bloated, hard to use, and required a network tech to operate, things have changed quickly.  Today, there are dedicated bus routing software solutions that can provide optimal routing for a virtually unlimited number of buses, across any area, and all within seconds.

Easy-to-use bus routing software can allow your office to quickly take control of your transportation from the top down, creating better routes and keeping closer tabs on your buses throughout their drive.

7 - Bring In Expert Help

For large districts, or companies handling transportation in several areas at once, the job may be too large for in-house staff, especially if it's been years since you've last optimized your routes.

In this case, specialists are out there who can put together the solution that meets your needs.  Through interviews and on-site audits, they can quickly turn your situation around and squeeze every possible extra dollar out of your current investments.

Get Your Buses Home Faster

If transportation costs are weighing your operations down, drop us a line!  BusBoss is the most powerful and easiest-to-use bus routing solution on the market, and we're here to help you get the most out of your fleet.

What do you think? Are there other ways you can cut down on unnecessary time spent on your routes? Let us know in the comments below!