Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for school bus operators.
A checklist built from how school bus operators work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Route and stop planning
- Student roster by stop
- Boarding and drop confirmation
- Driver and attendant duty
- Fitness, permits and insurance
- Fuel and maintenance by bus
- Fees and bus passes
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For the transport manager
- For the office
- For drivers
- For attendants
- For school coordinators
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Riders against seats, by bus and stop
- Boarding log by route and attendant
- Guardian absence calls by week
- Licence and medical expiry roster
- Fitness and permit dates due
- Diesel and tyre cost per route
- Term fees outstanding by school
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- SMS
- Card and payment gateway
- Accounting export
- Spreadsheet import
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does it track the bus live on a map?
- Can an attendant work with a poor signal?
- How are sibling and distance-slab fees handled?
- Do morning and afternoon routes differ?
- Can guardians see their child’s status?
- What about children with medical or allergy notes?
- How do vehicle paper reminders work?
- Is a demo available before we decide?
- What leaves the system if we change provider?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Rosters live on printed route sheets
- Boarding is not confirmed
- Spare drivers are chosen over the phone
- Fitness and permit dates sit in a drawer
- Term fees and bus passes drift apart
Prefer to talk it through? See the school bus operators page.