Warm weather schedule a challenge for taxi companies

Juli 2015: It’s hot this summer in the Netherlands, very hot. With temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius, schools and companies have every reason to implement a warm-weather schedule.

That means starting the day early and being home on time in the afternoons. It’s a logical step, one that schoolchildren generally have no problem with. However, for the taxi companies responsible for supplying student transport, this warm-weather schedule can prove to be a tremendous challenge.

Fixed routes

With most student transport assignments, we work with fixed routes and drivers. After having completed their routes, the drivers are then deployed to drive other forms of transport, such as a regional taxi or ambulatory transport, for example. If the schools close early, the students will have to be picked up earlier and all the transport plans will have to be completely revised.

Control centre

In this situation, the control centre must act quickly. In some cases, schools won’t decide to implement a summer schedule until the very last minute. Besides finding a way to make drivers and the appropriate vehicles available, it is also important to inform parents that their children will be home from school early (so that someone is there when they get home). This demands good communication between the schools, the parents and the taxi company. If no one is available at a specific location, it will be useful to know what the alternative stops are. Such information can easily be registered in the taxi companies’ planning software.

Registration is essential

Registration and communication are essential in ensuring that the implementation of a warm-weather schedule will lead to the fewest possible problems. My tip: gather and register all the relevant information in the planning software at the start of the school year in order to avoid problems when the heat literally gets turned up.