Next week the Belgians will go back to school and in the meantime all regions in the Netherlands are ready or have already started. An enormous job for the many hundreds of employees who have to manage student transport in all transport companies. None of the children are allowed to be late and to make matters worse, parents almost force the driver to pick up their son or daughter right on the minute so that they do not have to get up too early and of course leave on time for work. 

Perhaps, due to the corona crisis of many parents, working from home can weaken that last point somewhat. In most cases, the drivers have already met the parents of school-going children. In the week prior to the student transport, a tour is often made to get acquainted with the route, the parents, the child and any traffic problems that may arise.

automation cannot solve everything

The use of good planning systems and route generators cannot solve all problems. Algorithms determine combinations, travel times and routes. 

“Other factors are becoming more difficult to include, because they often have to be solved with 'common sense'. After all, how do you explain to software that Jantje should never sit on Kees' bus. And what about Esma who is not allowed to sit next to Fatima because they invariably get into a fight during the trip. ” 

These are just a few examples that ensure that transport companies have to puzzle. The Eindhoven pitane BV is a supplier of planning systems. It finds that more and more factors are added that determine routes. Just releasing mathematical algorithms on an Excel file no longer works. Corona has ensured that other powers play a role in the composition of the routes.

municipalities often cause problems

At the start of a school year, transporters are under great pressure to do everything as perfectly as possible. After all, they are also the first to come under fire in the local media when things go wrong. Even so, it is not necessary this year either to explain that municipalities provide the latest data to the transport companies of the students to be transported much too late. Until the last hours before the start of the school year, puzzles and routes continue to be rearranged.

This school year, too, may be food for opposition parties who then look up the media as soon as possible. The aim is then to 'schedule' the local councilor with his decision to choose a transport company that scores less with the opposition. In addition, every year we see journalists writing beautiful one-sided stories without any knowledge of the facts. Our advice is therefore always to spend a day as a journalist with a transport company and see how people often struggle to get the correct data and authorizations from local authorities.

respect for drivers

The taxi driver is often the first person parents see when something went wrong in transportation. In most cases, the driver is the person who comes to solve the problem and did not cause it. Perhaps it is nice that parents or carers of students pause for a moment. Instead of giving the driver the full brunt this time in an often 'overheated' discussion, understanding each other can work wonders.

Also read: Working from home requires smart software for taxi companies