At 6:15 on a Monday, the dispatcher's most important document is a simple one: which driver takes which bus on which route today. It's usually a whiteboard, a printed sheet on the drivers' room wall, or a spreadsheet that's right until the first call-out. When it's wrong, a driver takes a bus that's in the shop, two drivers grab the same spare, or a route goes out late.
Here's what a good school bus driver bus assignment list holds, how to handle subs and spares, and how to keep it right.
What goes on it
| Column | Why |
|---|---|
| Driver | Who is driving |
| Bus | The fleet number, so the driver goes to the right bus |
| Route (and run) | Morning, midday or afternoon; one bus can do several |
| School | Where the run ends, for the driver and for questions from parents |
| Aide | On special needs routes |
| From / until | For a sub or a spare that's on a route only for some days |
| Notes | "Spare: Bus 112 in the shop", "Lift bus" |
Subs and spares
- Write the sub in, don't cross out the regular: show who normally drives and who is covering, and until when.
- Name the spare bus a route is using while its own is in the shop, and change it back when it's fixed.
- Keep a spares line at the bottom: which spare buses are free and where they're parked.
- Match the bus to the route: a lift bus for a wheelchair student, the right size for the load.
Tip: Set the next day's list before you go home, with what you already know: time off, buses in the shop, field trips. The morning then only has the surprise call-outs.
A daily routine
- Start from the regular assignments, which change only a few times a year.
- Take out the drivers who are off and put in subs.
- Swap out buses that are down for spares.
- Post it where drivers check in, and send it to their phones.
- Tell each driver whose bus or route changed, before they arrive.
Good to know: Some contracts require you to tell the district when a regular driver or bus changes on a route. Check yours.
Doing it in FleetCommander
The regular list. Each bus has an Assigned driver on its record, and each route has its driver and vehicle. A change on the vehicle, the driver or the route shows on the other two. Under Reports, Driver assignments lists each driver's Vehicle, Route, School, From and Until, ready to print or export as CSV, Excel or PDF. The Drivers timeline shows every driver's routes across the day. See the Routes guide.
Subs and changes. When a driver with a route is off, the route shows Needs a substitute, on its page and in Routes needing a substitute on the Dashboard, with the best free drivers to cover it. Press a name and they're put on that run for just those days. Drivers are told straight away whenever a route is given to them, changed or taken away, and they see their routes and bus on My Day. See our substitute coverage post.
Ava (Beta), the assistant in the app, answers Who's driving Bus 104? or Which routes need a substitute this week?. More on her page.
Related reading
Questions people ask
- What is a bus assignment list?
- The daily list of which driver takes which bus on which route, with any substitutes and spare buses for that day.
- How do you handle substitute drivers on the list?
- Keep the regular driver's name, write the substitute beside it with the days they cover, and tell the substitute before the morning.
- How often does the bus assignment list change?
- The regular assignments change a few times a year, but the daily list changes with every call-out, bus in the shop and field trip.
- Should drivers get the assignment list on their phones?
- Yes. Posting it in the drivers' room is fine, but a driver whose bus or route changed should be told before they arrive.