Driver app

A school bus driver app that keeps working when the signal does not.

The driver is the one person on the route with the children. Trayvar's driver app gives them the day's stops in order, records each child boarding with an NFC tap and keeps working on 2G or with no signal at all. It runs on the Android phones drivers already carry.

The problem

What a driver cannot do from a printed list.

  • Know the new stop order when a child is added the night before.
  • Show that a child boarded, and when, if a parent asks later.
  • Keep a record when the network drops between stops.
  • Raise the alarm at once if something goes wrong on the road.

How Trayvar solves it

How the driver app runs the route.

  1. 01

    The route, in order

    The day's route loads on the driver's phone with every stop numbered on a street map, and shows the route's progress as children are collected.

  2. 02

    NFC boarding

    Each child taps an NFC card on the driver's phone to board, and the pickup is recorded with its time and GPS location. Drop-offs are recorded too, and drivers mark absences at the stop.

  3. 03

    Offline and on 2G

    The app holds the day's route on the phone and records every pickup without a signal. Each record keeps the time it happened, not the time it synced, and syncs when coverage returns.

  4. 04

    An SOS button

    An SOS button on the driver's screen reaches the operator's Live screen at once (school bus tracking app).

The Trayvar driver app on an Android phone: a home-pickup route in progress, eight of ten children collected, the stops numbered on a street map of Lekki and the SOS button in reach
The driver app mid-route: the stops in order, progress and the SOS button. Demonstration data.

The evidence

What the driver's records show.

  • Every pickup carries the time and place it happened, recorded on the driver's phone.
  • Children who were scheduled but not confirmed aboard are counted as unconfirmed, so the team closes the gap during the day.
  • On-time performance and load factor are reported by driver as well as by run and school.

Questions and answers

Does the school bus driver app work on 2G?

Yes. The app holds the day's route on the phone, records each pickup without a signal and syncs when coverage returns. Each record keeps the time it happened, not the time it synced.

Which phones does the driver app run on?

Android phones, the kind most drivers already carry. Children board by tapping an NFC card on the driver's phone, so the phone needs an NFC reader.

What happens if a driver needs help on the road?

The driver presses the SOS button in the app, and the alert reaches the operator's Live screen at once.

Can the driver mark a child absent?

Yes. Drivers mark absences at the stop, so a child who is not travelling that day is recorded as absent.

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