Guide to Managing Rollcall Bookings

Introduction

Bus Bookings in the RollCall system refers to the assignment of students to transport routes for both long-term travel and casual changes. After setting up and activating transport routes, students can be allocated either individually or in bulk. RollCall also provides functionality for parents to make long-term bookings directly to the routes where permitted. In the future the Smart Route feature will also enhance booking management.

Key Components

• Student Bookings: Allocation of students to a specific route for a longer-term period such as a term, semester, or year.

• Bus Changes: One-off or infrequent changes to a student’s transport schedule for a specific date.

• Parent Booking Access: Optional feature that allows parents to create bookings via the RollCall Parent App or Web Portal within defined booking periods.

Detailed Component Breakdown

Student Bookings

Purpose: Allocate students to specific routes and stops for longer-term travel periods.

Key Characteristics:

• Added by RollCall admin users or parents if permitted.

• Managed by RollCall admin users.

• Duplicate bookings are prevented by the system. Each new booking replaces any existing booking for the same date and route.

• Remove a pattern or period of travel by making a No Bus No Stop booking to replace an existing bus booking for a student.

• Requires details such as student name, route, stop, period, and travel pattern.

Where to Access:

• Student record; Bus Bookings tab (individual booking)

• Route Settings; Assign Students (bulk booking)

• Transport Screen (view route manifest)

• Route Settings; Transport tab (view route manifest)

• RollCall Parent App; Bookings tab (individual booking)

• RollCall Parent App; Bus Changes tab (view bus events booked)

Related Documentation:

Routes - Bulk Assign Students to a Route

Students - Individually Allocating Students to a Route

Parent App - How to create a standard booking

Parent App - How to create a bus booking for complex travel patterns

Transport Screen Overview

Parent App: Using the Bus Changes Tab

Bus Changes

Purpose: Make one-off or irregular changes to student transport schedules.

Key Characteristics:

• Managed by School Admin users and parents if permitted.

• Allows removal or addition of a single bus event for a specific route and date.

Where to Access:

• Transport screen (trash/pencil icon)

• Parent App or Web Portal; Bus Changes tab

Related Documentation:

Transport Screen Overview

Parent App: Using the Bus Changes Tab

Parent Booking Access

Purpose: Enable parents to manage transport bookings within system controls.

Key Characteristics:

• Parent App booking tab must be enabled by RollCall support

• School admin users control access by adding a booking window

Where to Access:

• RollCall Parent App

• RollCall Web Portal

Related Documentation:

Bookings - Add a Booking Window for parents

Parent App - How to create a standard booking

Parent App - How to create a bus booking for complex travel patterns

Feature Interactions

• Bookings and Bus Changes interact directly with the Transport screen, Student Record screens, and the Parent App.

• Duplicate bookings within the same Event Group are automatically replaced.

• RollCall are committed to creating further functionality in Smart Route to make it easier to create and maange bookings

User Roles and Capabilities

School Admin Users:

• Create, edit, and remove bookings.

• Perform bulk student allocations.

• Manage route settings and booking periods.

Parents:

• Make bookings when permitted.

• Make bus changes when permitted.

• View upcoming trips in the RollCall Parent App or Web Portal.

Best Practices

• Engage parents early and communicate changes to booking processes.

• Provide clear route, stop, and timetable information via the RollCall iFrame feature.

• Where feasible, enable parent bookings for long-term travel and casual changes.

• Set clear booking periods and control booking windows for capacity management.

• Use available reports to monitor bookings and bus utilisation.

Common Scenarios

Scenario: Bulk Allocate Students to a Route Steps:

1. Navigate to Routes screen.

2. Select the desired Route.

3. Use Assign Students to allocate students in bulk to their stops.

4. Enter the travel period and travel pattern for all students assigned.

Scenario: Parent Makes a Booking via App Steps:

1. Parent logs into RollCall Parent App.

2. Selects the booking period

3. Selects route and stop.

4. Choose travel pattern and save.

5. Enter multiple booking if required

6. Confirm to submit the booking request.

Scenario: Remove a Student Booking Steps:

1. Open Student Record.

2. Go to Bus Bookings Tab.

3. Select the Event Group.

4. Choose “No Bus” and “No Stop” for the required period.

5. Select the travel pattern to remove events

6. Apply changes.

Integration with Other RollCall Features

• Student Transport Report: View all bookings within a specified date range.

• Bus Utilisation Report: Analyse capacity and usage.

• Parent Portal and App: Provide visibility of upcoming bus bookings

Getting Started

1. Build your routes

2. Activate routes (add bus dates)

3. Decide booking management approach (Admin only or Parent enabled).

4. Configure booking windows and permissions.

5. Allocate students using Individual or Bulk Allocation methods.

6. Train staff and communicate booking processes to parents.

Need Help?

If you have any questions about Bus Bookings, please contact our support team at support@rollcall.com.au and quote the document title.