Are You Getting the Most out of your School Bus Services?
As a school administrator, you no doubt know that money is tight these days. Funding is being cut to schools left and right, and it’s become almost a job requirement that you know how to scrape as much as you can out of your team’s limited resources. You’re driven to make the most out of what you have available. Your students’ success and your district’s continued funding for that success depends on it!
Why shouldn’t this attitude apply to your school bus contractor?
We know you have enough on your plate to worry about. As long as your student transportation services are doing their jobs, you might think that you’re better off focusing your value-seeking efforts on other parts of your students’ school experience. However, why should you shirk on your group transportation services? They bookend your students’ school days and convey to them how, as an adult and authority figure, you’d like them to feel about the education they are receiving. Investing in lackluster school bus services sends the message that you simply don’t care.
Whether or not you’re convinced about the importance of great student transportation services, we discuss below how to know if you’re getting the most out of your current contractor. Could it be time for a change?
The Only Option for Your School Bus Services is Complete Satisfaction
When you go out to eat or when you order your morning coffee, you might be okay settling for it, if it means you’ll get it at a lower price. It’s just food, after all. If the company you’re doing business with gets your order slightly incorrect, you might not feel too strongly one way or the other about returning it. It’s so inconsequential that you probably just want to get on with your day without much of a fuss.
However, when it comes to school bus services, the service you’re purchasing is anything but inconsequential. When you hire a school bus contractor, you’re investing in a partner that represents your district to all the parents and children who fall within it. Getting the most out of your school bus services is of the utmost importance, not only from an education standpoint but from a public-relations standpoint, as well.
Getting the most out of your school bus services means that you and your students, as an entire district, are completely satisfied with the type of care you are receiving. While what this looks like depends on the individual district, there remain a few uncompromising requirements for your school bus services:
Service with a smile is a necessity | Your district is not paying for a scowling driver to take your students to and from school. You should not be paying for your students to learn to hate their morning and afternoon bus rides and, by proxy, arrive at school and home in a bad mood. Your school bus services are an extension of your school days, and that extension should be a positive one, or you’re not getting your money’s worth. If your students constantly arrive at school grumpy or you hear reports of surly drivers from parents, you are actively paying to create a negative reputation for your school district. That’s certainly not getting your money’s worth!
Never compromise on safety | Your school bus services should be safe. Period. Though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that school buses are the safest vehicles on the roads today, school bus drivers still hold a massive responsibility. Ferrying countless innocent lives to their destination, rain, snow, sleet, or shine, is nothing to shake a stick at. Your drivers should take their jobs seriously and always drive safely, even if this means driving slowly. If your students complain of reckless drivers, you are actively paying to endanger the lives of your children and the reputation of your school. A consistently safe company is the only kind of company from which you’ll get your money’s worth.
Prompt service is a must | If you want your students to succeed, you owe it to them to provide them with the resources to do so. How are kids going to succeed and study if they do not get to school on time? You cannot expect your students to learn at their full capacity if they always miss out on part of the morning lesson due to late buses. Moreover, you cannot expect your students to form positive attitudes towards school if their buses never get them home in time to spend time with their families and relax. Invest in school bus services that foster positive attitudes about school, not ones of resentment.
Hire the Highest Quality in School Bus Services: Northstar Bus Lines
We’re a Maple Grove school bus contractor, and our family-owned business is proud to have been the definition of quality for many years. To see how we can help your district succeed, give us a call today at 763-425-2542.