Every school bus company has a fleet list somewhere. Sometimes it's a neat spreadsheet; often it's three: one in the office with plates and VINs, one in the shop with odometers, and one the insurance agent sent last year. When a district asks for your fleet for a bid, or the state asks for registration dates, someone spends an afternoon putting them together.
A good school bus fleet inventory spreadsheet is one list, one row per bus, with the columns everyone needs. Here's what to put in it, and how to keep it current.
The columns
| Column | Why |
|---|---|
| Fleet number | The number on the bus, used by drivers, dispatch and the shop |
| VIN | Insurance, registration, recalls and the state inspection all use it |
| License plate | Tolls, tickets and registration |
| Type, make, model, year | Bids and contracts often ask for the fleet's age and types |
| Seating capacity | Which routes and trips each bus can take |
| Wheelchair lift and positions | Which buses can run special needs routes |
| Fuel type | Diesel, gasoline, propane or electric, for fuel budgets and grants |
| Odometer | For maintenance, replacement plans and the district's mileage questions |
| Status | On the road, in the shop, out of service or a spare |
| Registration expires | So no bus runs on an expired registration |
| Insurance expires | Districts ask for proof of insurance per bus |
| Purchase date and price | For replacement plans, depreciation and selling it later |
| Location | Which yard it's parked at, if you have more than one |
Tip: Use the same fleet number everywhere: on the bus, in the spreadsheet, on fuel receipts and work orders. It's the one thing every other list can match on.
Keeping it current
- One owner. Pick one person who updates the list, and send every change to them.
- Update on the day a bus is bought, sold, re-plated or moved to another yard.
- Update the odometer at least once a month, from fuel fills or inspections.
- Check the dates on the first of each month: any registration or insurance running out in the next 60 days.
- Count the buses against the list once a year, in the yard.
Good to know: States, insurers and districts may ask for different fields, such as the inspection sticker number or the bus's body maker. Add their columns to your list rather than keeping a second one.
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
- Dates slip, because nobody looks at the spreadsheet until something has already run out.
- The odometer is weeks old, so service is late.
- Copies drift apart as different people save their own.
- It doesn't link to the bus's inspections, repairs, fuel and documents.
Doing it in FleetCommander
From your spreadsheet. On Fleet, Manage › Import CSV brings your buses in from a spreadsheet. Download CSV template gives you the columns: Fleet Number, VIN, License Plate, EZ Pass Tag, Vehicle Type, Make, Model, Year, Status, Odometer, Fuel Type, Seating Capacity, Department, Location, Purchase Date, Purchase Price, Registration Expires and Insurance Expires. Nothing is saved until every row is valid and you confirm, and the vehicle types and locations must already exist. See the Fleet guide.
Keeping it current. On each bus's record, tick This is a school bus for the Student capacity, Wheelchair capacity, Wheelchair lift and the other safety equipment. Inspections and fuel fills move the odometer up. Export CSV downloads the list as it's filtered, and the Vehicle status report lists every bus with its Status, Driver, Odometer, Location, Registration expires and Insurance expires. See the Reports guide.
Ava (Beta), the assistant in the app, answers Any registrations expiring before the end of the year? or Any buses out of service?. More on her page.
Related reading
Questions people ask
- What should be in a school bus fleet inventory?
- One row per bus with its fleet number, VIN, plate, type, make, model, year, seats, lift, fuel type, odometer, status, registration and insurance dates, purchase date and price, and location.
- How often should a fleet inventory be updated?
- On the day anything changes, with the odometer at least monthly, the dates checked each month and a yard count once a year.
- Can I import my fleet spreadsheet into fleet software?
- Usually, yes. Most fleet software, FleetCommander included, imports vehicles from a CSV file saved from your spreadsheet.
- What's the most important column in a fleet list?
- The fleet number, used the same way everywhere, so fuel receipts, work orders and inspections all match the right bus.