Everything You Need To Know About A School Bus Tracking System

The penetration of technology has taken over every aspect of school operations, including the school bus tracking operation. Making use of the technological advancements, the efficiency of the School Bus Tracking System is also enhanced. The real challenge lies in selecting the best system.

That is why you’ve got to read this blog to know the details of the tracking software, its workflow, features required to carry out the operations, and tips to choose the best solution.

So, What Is A School Bus Tracking Software?

It works through coordination between GPS software, GPS hardware, School ERP, and mobile application. Initially, the GPS system is installed in the bus, which sends information like the live update of the location and other information to the School ERP. The ERP then sends the information to the mobile users. Using the mobile app, parents and school administration receive notifications on the bus movements, route details, etc.

Implementing the School Bus GPS Tracking system helps school administration to automate and control the entire school bus operations, serving as a bird eye view of the entire system. On the other hand, parents can be assured of the safety of their children through the live updates they receive through the app.

How Do You Set Up A School Bus Tracking System?

• It involves various steps to bring the tracking system into effect. The compilation of them is given below.
• The first and foremost step is setting up an account. The school can accept the terms and register themselves by giving details like school name, address, etc. After verification of the details, the software becomes functional for usage.
• Secondly, to install the necessary hardware. It requires different hardware like GPS tracking devices, RFID cards, RFID scanners, NFC smartphones to carry out its operations. You can seek professional help to have all this hardware integrated into school buses.
• The next step is to feed in data such as vehicle details, driver name, routing details, etc., in the software. The school management has the control to edit the details as and when needed to facilitate smooth operations.
• Once the details are all given, based on the pickup and drop locations inputs given to the software, it does the route planning. Using AI, it gathers details, and the software provides suggestions of the most optimal routes.
• Having all things fixed, RFID cards are issued to students to mark their attendance while boarding the bus. It sends information to parents whether the students have taken the bus or not.  
• Finally, the parents and school admin can create profiles for themselves and view the information anytime they want through the mobile app.

What Are The Essential Features To Have In A School Bus Tracking System?

Ensure you have all this feature-set in your software to manage the operations effectively.

• Manage entire operations of the vehicle with custom fields

This feature enables you to keep track of complete vehicle details such as routes, stops, seat allotments for students, fuel cost, bus repair details, license/insurance renewal, etc. All the details can be readily accessed, which helps in timely reference and management.

In addition to this, you can even add more fields that can give you any necessary information to carry the operations effectively.

• Route management

Route optimization is one of the most crucial features of the School Bus GPS Tracking System. With this option, you can create new routes or add stops into the existing routes or make any modifications as per your wish.

Entire operations of the routes and stops can be controlled or altered academic year-wise through this.

• Transportation Fees management

All the transport-related payments and receipts can be organized using this option. It enables school authorities to keep check of the fees received or pending fees and take action accordingly.

• Allocation of seats

Since all the details, including the number of seats and details of students, are already given to the software, it allocates seats based on availability. It thereby eliminates the chances of errors in allocating seats.

• Student vehicle route management

It sends alerts to parents on the details of the route taken by their child’s school bus. It provides pickup/ drop location details, the arrival time of the bus at the destination, etc., thereby ensuring the child’s safety.

• Mobile app integration

All this information can be collectively viewed and monitored through the mobile app integration. Furthermore, the GPS tracking feature in the app also enables parents to track the location of the vehicle apart from the notification updates.

Tips For Choosing The Best Bus Tracking Software

• Ensure the software has the ability and flexibility to be integrated with other solutions like CRM or financial software
• It should be able to predict the most cost-effective routes that can save a good amount on fuel expenses and improve drivers’ performance.
• Has to give instant updates if there are any errors or defects in the machinery; thus, the problem can be sorted out at the initial stage. It greatly reduces the maintenance cost.

Concluding Note

With various government regulations in place to safeguard the children, it has almost become a must for schools to have the School Bus Tracking Software. But, make sure you buy the solution from a well-acknowledged development company. In that way, Turnkey Town can be the trustworthy place you can head to. For further information, check out our website.