Build routes and stops
Set up school bus routes — draw the pickup and dropoff paths, place stops on the map with planned times, and optionally group stops into pricing zones for distance-based fees.
A route is the path a bus follows, made up of an ordered list of stops. A stop is a place where the bus picks up or drops off students. Optionally, you can group stops into pricing zones so families in the same area pay the same transport fee.
Who this is for
Administrators and transport coordinators planning bus routes.
How routes work
- A route has one direction: Pickup (home → school, in the morning) or Dropoff (school → home, at the end of the day).
- Most schools create a pickup route and a matching dropoff route for each area.
- The school is added as a stop automatically — at the end of a pickup route (the bus finishes at school) and at the start of a dropoff route (the bus starts at school).
- Stops are kept in order by their planned time, so the route always reads in sequence.
Before you start
- Your vehicles and drivers should already exist if you want to set a default crew for the route. See Manage vehicles and Manage drivers.
Step 1 — Create a route
Open Routes
Go to Transport → Routes, then click Add route.
Fill in the route details
Complete the fields below, then save.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | A clear name, e.g. North Line — Morning. |
| Direction | Yes | Pickup (home → school) or Dropoff (school → home). |
| Code | No | A short code shown on rosters, e.g. RT-A. |
| Description | No | Optional notes about the route. |
| Color | No | A colour used to show the route on the map and on badges. |
| Default vehicle | No | The bus normally used. It pre-fills every trip created for this route. |
| Default driver | No | The driver normally assigned. It pre-fills every trip. |
| Default assistant | No | The assistant normally assigned. It pre-fills every trip. |
| Active | — | Leave on for routes in service. Turn off to retire a route. |
Step 2 — Add stops
Open the route and add a stop
Open the route you just created and click Add stop.
Place the stop and fill in its details
Click the map to drop a pin at the stop's location, then complete the fields.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | The stop's name, e.g. Main Square. |
| Address | Yes | The street address of the stop. |
| Location on map | Yes | Click the map to set the pin. The location is used to show the stop and to detect its pricing zone. |
| Planned time | No | When the bus is due at this stop. It also sets the stop's order in the route. |
| Zone | No | The pricing zone this stop belongs to (see Step 3). |
Repeat for every stop
Add each stop in the order the bus visits it. The school stop is added for you automatically.
Stop order follows the planned time
You don't drag stops to reorder them. Set each stop's planned time and the route lists them in time order automatically. Stops without a planned time are placed at the end.
Step 3 (optional) — Set up pricing zones
A zone is an area with its own transport fee. Group your stops into zones so that everyone boarding in the same area is charged the same amount.
Create a zone
Go to Transport → Zones, then click Add zone and complete the fields.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | The zone's name, e.g. Inner city. |
| Code | No | A short code, unique within the year, e.g. Z1. |
| Color | No | A colour for the zone's stop markers on the map and roster badges. |
| Fee amount | Yes | The monthly transport fee charged to students whose stop is in this zone. |
Assign stops to the zone
Open a stop and choose its Zone, or use the Stops by zone view to assign several at once. When you place a pin on the map, the matching zone can also be detected automatically.
How transport pricing works
- A student whose stop is in a zone is billed that zone's fee.
- A student at a stop with no zone is billed the level's default transport fee (set up in Finance).
- A zone's fee is a single monthly amount — every student whose stop is in that zone pays it, whatever their level.
Tips and best practices
- Create a pickup and a dropoff route per area, and give the pair the same colour so they're easy to recognise.
- Fill in planned times even if they're approximate — they drive the stop order and help drivers stay on schedule.
- Set a default vehicle and crew on the route so daily trips need no extra setup.
Common use cases
- New neighbourhood served — add a route, drop its stops on the map, and assign students.
- Same-area pricing — create a zone and put the area's stops in it so families pay the same fee.
- Seasonal change — turn a route inactive instead of deleting it to keep its history.
Frequently asked questions
How do I set up a school bus route for the first time?
Create a route (Transport → Routes → Add route), choose its direction (Pickup or Dropoff), then add stops one by one by dropping a pin on the map for each location. Set a planned time for each stop — this sets the stop order and gives drivers a schedule to follow. Once stops are in place, assign students to their stops and create trips to run the route.
Do I need separate routes for morning pickup and afternoon dropoff?
Yes. A route has a single direction — Pickup (home → school) or Dropoff (school → home). Create one Pickup route and one matching Dropoff route per area. Giving them the same colour makes the pair easy to recognise on the map.
How many stops can I add to a route?
There is no fixed limit. Add as many stops as your route needs. The school stop is always added automatically — at the end of a Pickup route and at the start of a Dropoff route.
How do I reorder stops?
Set each stop's planned time. The route lists stops in time order automatically. You don't drag stops to reorder them — update the planned times instead.
What is a pricing zone and do I need one?
A pricing zone is optional. It groups stops in an area so that every student boarding at a stop in that zone is charged the same monthly transport fee. If all students pay the same fee regardless of distance, you don't need zones — use the level's default transport fee instead.
Can the same route be used across multiple academic years?
Routes are scoped to an academic year. When you set up a new year, carry over routes by duplicating or recreating them. Trip history from previous years is preserved under the old year.
How do parents know which stop to use?
When a student is assigned to a stop on a route, parents can see the stop name and location in the School Bus section of the app. The stop also appears on the live tracking view during a trip.