Some things never change when it comes to the school run. Managing expectations for parents and students new to the service, revised routes, road closures and roadworks and the inevitable increase in traffic and congestion always make September a difficult time for school transport.

However, post lockdown, problems operating vehicles on the school run have been made more acute this year due to the boom in demand for HGV drivers having a knock-on effect on the coach and bus industry resulting in difficulties in retaining and recruiting school transport drivers.

Kura has been agile

Kura has been at its most creative in the first few weeks of the new term, helping our schools overcome many challenges:

  • A school using Kura technology was able to identify that a coach operator had significantly deviated from the planned route, a significant safeguarding risk for students that the school’s use of Kura software was able to resolve.
  • The launch of Kura at a school this year noticeably reduced the burden on school transport management and importantly improved the new school experience for joining pupils and their parents. Parents noted that vehicle tracking in the Parent App made it easier to plan their walk to the bus stop.
  • Two days before a school in the East Midlands was due to open, its local coach operator went into administration and could not operate the routes. Kura stepped in and found a replacement operator the same day.

This has placed huge pressure on schools to find alternatives, often at the last minute and incurring significant increased and unbudgeted costs.

How Kura can help your school

Kura, the market leading in school transport software and managed services, enhances safeguarding by providing real-time oversight, greater security of service (particularly in the face of tough coach driver recruitment) and a better experience for pupils and parents so improving satisfaction and boosting reputation.

Kura solutions have been developed in partnership with schools across the country to simplify transport management for more than 11,000 students every day. Our Managed service allows schools to easily outsource part or all of their transport management from tracking routes and answering parent queries to operator and compliance management and driver training. It’s all backed up by our powerful Kura software – the Parent App, Driver App and School Portal for complete transparency.

Have an in-house team to manage your transport? Take a look at our software-only product to benefit from the same powerful tech our in-house teams use. And as we know there’s a lot to manage, and the first few weeks of school are stressful for everyone involved, Kura offers enhanced training support and assigns each school a Customer Success Manager to ensure the new year/term starts off the right way.

To learn more, watch our 2 minute video

Book an obligation-free, online demo here