In a perfect world, things would always go as planned when it comes to bus routing. But as a wise transportation director once told us, "A plan is great for a sunny day, but it's been raining cats and dogs on student transportation for years now."
As a transportation director, you understand the importance of ensuring efficient transport for students to and from school. You also know how important it is to your parents that they know where their child is and that they're safe and secure when being transported.
In this blog post, we'll explore the benefits of clear parent communication in student transportation and why it can be one of your best weapons against wasted time and resources.
1. Better Understanding of Transportation Policies
Some time delays can easily be dealt with through one simple tool: knowing the rules. When parents are aware of transportation policies, they can better understand the standards and regulations their students need to follow. Clearly communicating transportation policies to parents can help your department avoid confusion and ensure that parents and guardians know exactly when their students need to be at their stop, accelerating the process of loading students on and off the bus.
2. Instant Insights for Parents
Perhaps more than ever before, today’s parents expect clear, timely communication from districts regarding their children. Poor communication about a change in busing schedules can cause kids to miss their bus, and a lack of insight into where their kids are during their commute to and from school can cause undue worry and keep parents stuck at the bus stop. Both of these typically result in calls to your dispatch team from upset parents.
Software like TransACT's TravelTracker-Routing supplies built-in, real-time notification capabilities that enable transportation administrators to quickly and easily send messages and updates to parents regarding route or time changes. This helps ensure that parents, guardians, or anyone who needs to be in the loop is aware.
Plus, parents can use transportation apps like TravelTracker's Parent Portal to easily update student information, view current bus schedules, and set a geofence around their location so that they receive updates on bus location when it enters their area. This means that instead of fielding phone calls from concerned parents demanding to know where their child is, your transportation team can focus on keeping buses moving and kids safe...which brings us to our next point!
3. Smooth Transportation Experiences
With routing technology like TravelTracker-Routing, a smooth transportation experience is both achievable and a win for parents, staff, and students! TravelTracker-Routing is a cloud-based software system that can be accessed on your smartphone, tablet, desktop, or laptop, whether you're in your District office or off-site. TravelTracker is used by school districts throughout North America to quickly modify bus schedules, consolidate routes and bus stops, and seamlessly communicate with parents.
As a student transportation director, your role is critical in creating a safe and efficient transportation experience for all students. By ensuring clear communication between your district and parents, you can work together to achieve this goal and create a transportation environment that is swift and economical for your staff, positive for your parents, and safe for all students.
About TransACT
At TransACT, we believe parent communication is essential to efficient student transportation. Parents' expectations for clear, timely communication from their children's schools have never been higher than they are now. That's why we built TravelTracker-Routing software to help districts streamline parent communication, improve their efficiency, and more easily manage today's student transportation challenges. Watch the video to see how Cleveland City Schools saved their summers with the help of TravelTracker.
Is your current bus routing system making it easier for you to meet parent expectations? If you'd like to learn more about how TravelTracker can save you time, effort, and money, please schedule a quick conversation with our team below.
