Boarded, dropped and absent, with a QR card
The driver or helper marks each rider Boarded, Dropped or Absent on today's run, by a button or by scanning the rider's boarding card. When the run ends, anyone never marked is Missed, so you know for each child whether they rode.
PLANSEvery plan
Marking is done in the SmartMy Transit Crew app. It is built and tested on our test systems, but has not been run on a phone and is not in the app stores yet.
The problem it solves
- Nobody can say for certain that every child got on in the morning and got off at the right stop in the evening.
- The helper ticks names on a paper list that never reaches the office.
- A parent calls to ask whether the child is on the bus, and the office has to phone the driver.
- A child missed the bus and nobody knew until school asked.
How it works
- Each rider is on the day's run with their stop, as Expected. Riders whose parent said "not riding" are already Not Riding, with the reason.
- The driver or helper opens the run in the SmartMy Transit Crew app and presses Start run. The stops are listed in order, each with its riders.
- At the stop, the helper presses Board, or Absent for a rider who did not come. Or they press Scan card and hold the camera over the rider's card: the first scan boards, the second drops.
- At the rider's stop on the way home, Drop marks them off. Every mark keeps the time and who made it.
- End run closes the day: riders never marked become Missed and riders still on board become Dropped. With messages to parents (Growth), parents hear of boarded, dropped and missed at once.
Everything it does
Rider states on a run
- Expected: on the run's list, not marked yet
- Boarded and Dropped, each with the time and the person who marked it
- Not Riding: set before the run by the parent, the rider or the office, with the reason as a note
- Missed: the run ended and the rider was never marked
- Marks can be made only while the run is Running
Boarding card
- Boarding Card / QR on the rider: a card number, RFID tag or QR text, one rider per value in an Entity
- With SmartMy Campus, a student's card is the admission number by default. A QR or bar code of it on the school ID card already fits
- The Crew app reads QR codes and Code 128 bar codes
- First scan on a running run boards the rider, the second drops them; a card not on this run is refused
- The system does not print cards or draw the QR picture. You print the card with your own card printer, holding the exact text of the field
- Changes to the value are kept in the rider's history
Ending a run
- End run asks to confirm: "Riders not boarded become missed"
- Riders still on board are dropped at the end time
- The run form's Riders tab keeps each rider's state, time, note and Marked By
Who may mark
- The run's driver and helper, from the Crew app
- The server also accepts marks from transport office staff, but the web run form shows the riders read-only. There is no web button to mark a rider
Who uses it
Helper (attendant)Boards, drops or marks each rider absent at the stop, by button or by scanning the card.
DriverStarts and ends the run, and can mark riders when there is no helper.
Transport in-chargeSets each rider's boarding card and checks on the run who boarded, who was dropped and who missed the bus.
ParentSees the child's state for today in the Rider app or on the My transport page, and gets the boarding messages (Growth).
Where you use it
- The SmartMy Transit Crew app: Runs, the stop list with Board, Absent and Drop, and Scan card. It is built, but never run on a phone yet, and not in the app stores
- Web: Transport > Operations > Route Runs, the Riders tab of each run (read-only). The Boarding Card / QR field on Transport > Riders > Riders
- With SmartMy Campus: Transport > Riders > Transport Attendance, by class and date
- The SmartMy Transit Rider app and the My transport web page: the rider's state for today
- Not on card or RFID readers on the vehicle yet. The server side is built, but no reader model has been tested, so readers are not offered
- Not by hand in the web back office: marking needs the Crew app
What you control
Settings
- Boarding Card / QR per rider (the admission number by default for students)
- Driver and helper per route, changed per run when needed
- Plan Runs Days Ahead: 1 (runs made every hour for today and tomorrow)
Notifications
- Rider Boarded and Rider Dropped: to the people told about the rider whose Boarding topic is ticked, at once (Growth, with messages to parents)
- Rider Missed the Vehicle: to the same people when the run ends
- Sent as a phone notification plus the first of WhatsApp, SMS or email that is set up, and in the app inbox. The person cannot switch these off, only a channel
Works with
SmartMy CampusStudents are riders, the admission number is the boarding card, and Transport Attendance shows boarded, dropped, not riding and missed by class.
Questions
Do we need RFID readers on the bus?
No. The helper's phone scans the QR or bar code on the card with the Crew app, or presses Board. Card readers on the vehicle are not offered until we have tested a reader model with you.Can the office mark a child boarded from the computer?
Not today. The run form shows the riders but has no buttons to mark them. Marking is done by the driver or helper in the Crew app.Do you print the boarding cards?
No. You print them with your own ID card printer. For students the card text is the admission number by default. An existing ID card with a QR or bar code of it already works.What if the helper forgets to mark a child?
At End run the child becomes Missed, and with messages on, parents are told. Ask the helper to mark every stop; the run shows how many are on board.Does marking work without mobile signal?
Board, Drop and the card scan need signal. Boarding by face (Scale) works without signal and sends the marks later.Related features
BOARDINGBoarding by face at the vehicle doorThe helper's or driver's phone recognises the rider at the door and marks them boarded, then dropped, on today's run, also without mobile signal. Only riders with consent (a parent's for a child) who were enrolled by the transport office are recognised, and no photo is kept.PHONE APPSThe Crew app for drivers and helpersSmartMy Transit Crew puts the driver's and helper's day on their phone: today's runs, start and end. It shows each stop with its riders, boarded, dropped and absent, and the boarding card scan. With higher plans the phone also tracks the vehicle, carries an SOS button, the trip checklist, fuel, breakdowns and boarding by face.MESSAGES TO RIDERS AND PARENTSParents told when the bus starts, nears the stop and the child boardsRiders and parents hear when the run starts, when the bus is a few minutes away and when it reaches the stop. Then they hear when the rider boards, is dropped or misses the bus. Delays, a change of vehicle or driver and a cancelled run are told too, the moment they happen.DAILY RUNSDaily runs planned by themselvesEvery route gets its run for today and the coming days by itself: vehicle, crew, stops, times and that day's riders. The driver starts it, each stop records the delay, and the run ends or is cancelled."NOT RIDING""Not riding" for a day or one legA parent, the rider or the transport office says a rider will not ride on a day, for one leg or both. The run's rider list changes at once, and the office, the people you name and the driver are told.WITH SMARTMY CAMPUSStudents as riders, with transport attendanceWith SmartMy Campus, a student becomes a rider from their own record, with class and admission number. In a school the parents are told, in a college the student and the parents. Transport attendance shows each student by class, day and leg, and parents see a Transport card on each child's page.
See your own routes on the map.
Send us your stops and routes and we will show you a demo with them.