If you're looking for effective and affordable investments for your school transportation system, new tablet apps like ROUTEpatrol might be just what you need!
School bus drivers have so many things to keep track of during a route, it's easy for them to get distracted or overlook important details. A tablet app takes a lot of this burden off of them, allowing them to focus on what really matters: driving the bus. Their phone or tablet becomes a co-pilot, assisting them with other matters, without providing a distraction.
So it's no wonder that school bus drivers love tablet apps!
How Do Tablet Apps Improve Bus Drivers' Performance?
1 - Easy navigation
Even the most basic tablet apps provide excellent route navigation features, including spoken instructions, as well as a big clear map. This makes it far easier for your driver to stick to their route, without having to memorize it. Better yet, any changes to the route can be sent directly to the app. So if you need to make a sudden route adjustment, you can be sure the driver will know about it.
2 - Student ridership tracking
Assuming your bus has some method of scanning student IDs as they board and disembark, a tablet app makes it simple for drivers to keep track of their riders. The app will know which students are supposed to get off at each stop, so if there's any exception - such as a student sleeping through their stop - the driver will be aware of it before they pull away.
This prevents 'lost child' scenarios, and is another burden off drivers' shoulders.
3 - Displaying special needs
If you have any students with special needs or medical conditions, it's vitally important the driver have all the details. Their tablet app can provide this information as well, ensuring they can properly care for every student, and be prepared if a medical situation arises.
4 - Speeding up end-of-route reporting
Good tablet apps will be automatically collecting most of the data that a bus driver needs to report at the end of each run. This can significantly streamline their post-route routine and - better yet - reduces the chances of human error feeding bad data into the system.
You'll have more reliable numbers, and they'll save at least a few minutes.
Click here to download How Orbit Software Saves Your School District Time, Money, and Resources for free!
Request a free demo to be eligible for our 2025 Kickoff Promotion!
Buy One Get One – Buy BusBoss or ROUTEpatrol Tablets and receive another product for free!
PRESIDENT
Sonia has been involved with BusBoss since the late 1990’s, and has personally overseen many projects for various customers ranging from large urban and suburban districts to smaller rural school districts from all over the country.