Summer Best Practices

Back to School Guide

🚌 Back to School with Transportant

Best Practices for Starting the School Year
πŸŽ₯ Prefer a guided walkthrough? View the Back to School e-Learning Module

Welcome to a new school year! This guide walks you through Transportant’s recommended steps to prepare your system, buses, and student data for a smooth start.


βœ… Bring All Buses Online and Verify System Health

Before the first day of school, ensure each bus is powered on and reporting correctly in your Transportant dashboard.

πŸ“‹ System Health Checklist
Use our detailed guide to walk through everything you need to check:
πŸ”—
System Health Checklist – View Now​

🚨 If any bus fails the checklist, please reach out to us by emailing support@transportant.com or by submitting a ticket through the β€œ+” button on the Transportant Knowledge Base homepage.


πŸ”„ Update Student Rosters and Upload Student Photos

Keeping your student roster up to date is essential for accurate ridership tracking, bus pass assignment, and ensuring the right data flows into Transportant. Most Transportant customers use automated data integrations to manage thisβ€”make sure your data source is current before school begins.

🧠 Know Where Your Student Data Comes From

1. SIS-to-Transportant (Most Common):
If your school uses an automatic SFTP export from your SIS (e.g., PowerSchool, Infinite Campus), ensure that:

  1. The SIS is updated with the new school year’s student data
  2. Your SFTP export job is active and pointing to the correct term/session

2. SIS β†’ Routing System β†’ Transportant:
If your student data flows from your SIS into a routing system (like Transfinder or Transact) and then into Transportant:

  1. Verify that your SIS is exporting the most current student data to your routing system
  2. Ensure your routing platform is aligned with the new term and ready to export updated student information

3. Manual Upload:
If you’re uploading student data manually, refer to the following resources for guidance:


πŸ–ΌοΈ Upload Student Photos (pictures.zip)

Student photos help drivers recognize students at a glance, assist dispatchers in resolving ridership questions quickly, and create a smoother check-in experience for students. Each file should be named to match the corresponding student ID in your roster.

πŸ”— How to Upload Student Photos (pictures.zip)


🎫 Reset and Reassign Bus Passes

Bus Pass Numbers (FOBs/RFID Cards/RFID Stickers/Barcodes/QR Codes) are used to track ridership accurately and must be updated at the start of each school year. How you update this information depends on how your data flows into Transportant.

πŸ” If You Import Bus Pass Numbers from Your SIS or Routing System

If your Bus Passes are managed in a student information system (SIS) or routing platform and imported automatically into Transportant:

  1. Ensure Bus Pass Numbers are current and accurate in your source system
  2. Confirm the export to Transportant is pulling data for the correct school year

πŸ–οΈ If You Manage Bus Passes Manually

You can update bus pass assignments in Transportant using either manual file uploads or the dashboard.

Option 1: Manual File Upload
Start by clearing out last year’s assignments, then upload a fresh set of bus pass assignments.

Option 2: Assign Bus Passes in the Dashboard
You can assign a bus pass to a student using an RFID reader:

  1. Go to the Students tile
  2. Select the student β†’ Info β†’ Edit
  3. Click the Bus Pass field and scan the bus pass

This is helpful for quick edits or issuing new passes in person.

If you have questions or need assistance updating bus pass data, contact support@transportant.com or submit a ticket from the Knowledge Base homepage using the β€œ+” button.


πŸ“… Switch to the New School Year in Your Routing Software

If you use a routing platform to manage route data, make sure it’s configured for the upcoming school year before syncing with Transportant. Each platform handles school years, terms, and sessions differently, so it’s important that your system is set to export data from the correct year.

Transportant integrates with Transfinder Pro, Transfinder Plus, Transact, Traversa, and other routing platforms. If you're using a system not listed here, please contact support@transportant.com or submit a support ticket through the Knowledge Base homepage.

Transfinder Plus

Data is sent to Transportant via SFTP export.

To update:

  1. Go to Automation β†’ Exports
  2. Select the export for Transportant
  3. Update the Data Source to the 2025–2026 school year

Transfinder Pro

Data is synced with Transportant via API.

To update:

  1. Log in to Transportant β†’ Data Import
  2. Click Import Actions β†’ Data Import Settings
  3. Update the Database ID to match your 2025–2026 school year
    1. If you’re unsure of your Database ID, contact Transfinder support

Transact

Transact sends data via API, based on the Session Start Date configured in Transact.

  1. Transportant automatically imports routes for the full week prior to the session start date
  2. Verify that the session start date is set correctly in Transact for the new school year

Traversa

Transportant now partners with Traversa via API integration.
  1. To get started, email support@transportant.com or submit a ticket through the Knowledge Base
  2. A Transportant Customer Success representative will walk you through the setup and ensure your new term is connected correctly


❓ Need Help?

If you have any questions or need assistance at any point, you can:

  1. Email us at support@transportant.com, or
  2. Submit a support ticket by clicking the β€œ+” button on the Knowledge Base homepage


Thanks for choosing Transportant. Wishing you a safe and smooth start to the school year!

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