The Human Element: How School Bus Management Software Supports Drivers and Staff

These are hard times for school bus transportation directors. Costs are rising, while bus drivers are becoming increasingly difficult to find and retain. You need to keep up with modern best practices without costing too much, and ideally reducing costs when possible. That's a tall order, but software solutions exist that make it much easier to achieve. School bus management software can significantly streamline and optimize nearly every aspect of your school transportation systems, bringing real cost savings and high returns from a relatively small investment.

Must-Have Software Solutions for School Transportation Administrators

1. Bus routing software

Bus routing software systems continue to become more robust, going far beyond consumer-grade mapping apps. Current software can handle routes involving any number of students and buses, crunching through millions of possible routes to find optimized solutions. This is highly customizable as well. Are there roads you want to avoid because they tend to be congested, or sketchy parts of town the bus shouldn’t travel? These sorts of restrictions can all become part of the route calculations.

In best-case scenarios, a good bus routing software package can potentially reduce the number of routes, lessening your need for more drivers.

2. Student tracking systems

Cheap RFID chips embedded or barcodes printed on students’ ID tags make it easy to track your riders, no matter where they are. Sensors on the bus record whenever a child gets on or off and can send alerts to the office or the driver if a child gets off the bus at the wrong stop. This allows you to quickly verify bus ridership and significantly reduce the chances of children getting lost along the way.

3. Linked SIS databases

Student Information Systems are a core part of any school’s database, holding all of the important information about all of your students. However, can this data be transferred easily across all systems and schools in your district? Solutions such as PowerSchool ensure this data transfer. This is particularly important for special needs students, whose individual requirements must transfer with the student if they move or change schools.

4. Parental monitoring apps

GPS systems tracking your buses and students can also provide parents with information via mobile apps. The benefits of parental monitoring apps are numerous. Parents can check the location of their children/buses with a few taps on their smartphones, easing any worries they might have.

This can improve parent relationships and significantly reduce the amount of time your office spends answering questions about buses’ locations and ETAs. Your workers are free to focus on getting their jobs done.

BusBoss Boosts Your Transportation System

We have years of experience working with school districts of all sizes to improve, optimize, and streamline their transportation processes. From basic routing software to fully personalized consulting services, we’re here to make your bus routing better. 

Has your district implemented new transportation software? Please share your experiences in the comments!