Knowledge base
How SchoolBuswala works
Routes, accounts, payments, institute management, private contractors, and platform fees — explained in plain language. Search or jump to a topic below.
What is SchoolBuswala?
SchoolBuswala connects parents, van drivers/operators, and schools or coaching institutes on one platform. Parents see live GPS and pickup alerts. Drivers run digital routes with verified profiles. Institutes manage fleet, enrollments, and billing from a web console at institute.schoolbuswala.com.
For step-by-step screens, see the Help Center. This guide explains concepts — routes, accounts, money, and who manages what.
Glossary — key terms
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Route (trip template) | Your recurring van schedule: pickup corridor → school/destination, days (Mon–Fri), start time, seat capacity, monthly fare. Created once; runs every eligible day. |
| Daily trip (trip history) | One actual run on a calendar date — e.g. “Andheri – Wisdom High, 8 Jul 7:00 AM”. Generated automatically from the route template. |
| Enrollment | A parent’s request for a seat — home pin, school, one-way or round trip. Status: pending → active when a driver accepts. |
| Passenger / seat | An accepted student on a route for today’s run and future runs. |
| Parent account | Login with mobile + password. One account can have multiple children (riders). |
| Rider (child profile) | A named person under the account — a child, or You if a college student rides themselves. |
| Verified driver | Licence + vehicle documents approved before the route is visible to parents. |
| Invite | A driver or school asks a known phone onto a route. It shows on Home. Not a seat until they accept. |
| Institute corridor | A route owned or assigned by a school/fleet — fees may be collected off-app by the institution. |
| Open-market / own-van route | A route the independent operator created — parents discover, enroll, and may pay in-app. |
Accounts & roles
| Role | Where they log in | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| Parent / guardian | Mobile app | Family list, track live bus, pay invoices when billed in-app, accept next year |
| Driver / van operator | Mobile app | Create routes, invite families, accept requests, run daily trips, share live GPS |
| School admin | Institute web console | Fleet, routes, invite family, school year, enrollments — scoped to one institution |
Important: A parent account is not the same as a child on the bus. You log in as the parent, then pick which rider (child) you are enrolling or tracking.
What is a route? Route vs daily trip
In everyday language people say “route” and “trip” interchangeably. In SchoolBuswala they are different:
- Route = the plan — “Every school morning, 7:00 AM, Andheri Station → Wisdom High, Mon–Fri, ₹1500/month, 20 seats.”
- Daily trip = the execution — “Today’s 7:00 AM run is ONGOING, 3 students aboard.”
Each active route creates today’s daily trip automatically. The driver opens Upcoming Trips, taps the run, and presses Start. Parents then see live tracking for that daily trip only.
How to create a route (driver / operator)
- Register as Driver / Operator in the app and complete vehicle + document upload for verification.
- Open My Routes → tap +.
- Set pickup area (source), school or destination, morning or afternoon direction, start time, days of week, monthly fare, and seat capacity (your van size).
- Save. Parents searching that school + area can now see your route in Suggested Vans (if verified and seats available).
- When parents request a seat — or claim your invite — accept from Incoming requests. That is when they get a seat, not when the invite is created.
School-assigned routes may be created by the institute admin in the web console instead — the driver runs them but does not need to create the template.
Three ways transport runs on SchoolBuswala
| Mode | Typical user | Who collects transport fee | ₹299 platform plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent van (own-van) | Person with a car, 10–20 students | Parent pays in app (Razorpay) | Yes — after free trial, for open-market routes |
| Institute contractor | Driver assigned by school/coaching centre | School or contractor — off-app | No — for assigned institute routes |
| Mixed | Driver has school routes + own routes | In-app for own routes only | Required only to create/grow own routes |
Live GPS and safety features work in all modes when a daily trip is running. Money flow differs — see Payments below.
Payments, invoices & driver payouts
Parents
- SchoolBuswala subscription: free forever
- Monthly transport invoice only when the van bills through SchoolBuswala. School fleet vans usually collect at the school, so those families see no in-app bill.
- Pay with Razorpay in My Payments → Pay Now
Drivers — parent transport money
- Only in-app billable routes appear in the parent payouts tab
- When parents pay, your share is queued — 100% pass-through, no commission on parent fares
- Institute routes where the school collects off-app do not appear in SBW payouts
Institutes
- Platform contract — what the school pays SchoolBuswala for the console (separate from parent transport)
- Parent transport fees — configured per institution (who collects: institute vs platform)
₹299/month platform plan — when it applies
The ₹299/month platform plan is for independent van operators who create their own open-market routes and want parent discovery, enrollments, and in-app billing tools.
| Situation | Need ₹299? |
|---|---|
| Driver only on school-assigned routes | No — “School routes included” |
| Independent operator creating own van routes | Yes — after your first 6 months free |
| Mixed: school routes + own routes | Yes for own routes; school routes still included without extra fee |
| Parents | Never |
This is not the same as parent transport fees. Parents pay transport to the driver. The ₹299 is the operator’s subscription to SchoolBuswala’s growth tools.
Institute console — what schools can manage
Log in at institute.schoolbuswala.com with your school admin mobile number.
| Section | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Dashboard | Students, buses, routes, drivers, pending enrollments, today’s trips — at a glance |
| My Institution | Your school profile |
| Routes | Create and edit corridors; dedicated vs open-market; assign drivers |
| Enrollments | Approve, assign, move, or remove students from routes |
| Fleet | Vehicles registered to your institution |
| Drivers | Driver registry; document verification status |
| Trip History | Audit any completed run — pickups, drops, timestamps |
| School year | This year and next — families keep agreed dates until they accept next year |
| Invite family | Share a route invite; the parent sees it on Home, you still confirm the seat |
| Billing | Platform contract + parent transport fee settings |
School admins only see their institution. Data does not leak across schools.
Private van contractors & coaching centres
If you own a car and already run a school van — or want to start — you are an independent van operator:
- Register in the app as Driver / Operator
- Get verified (licence + vehicle)
- Create routes in My Routes with your real seat count and monthly fare
- Parents find you via school search + suggested vans, or you invite them from the route
- Run trips daily; parents track you live
- Collect fees in-app instead of chasing cash on WhatsApp
Coaching centres and schools with multiple drivers use the institute console instead — one dashboard for the whole fleet, while individual contractors can still run independently on the same platform.
Inviting a family — not a seat yet
Drivers and schools who already know a family should not make them hunt Suggested Vans. They send an invite from the route. The parent (or college student) signs in with that mobile number and sees Invite waiting on Home.
- Share from the driver's own WhatsApp. SchoolBuswala does not send the message for you.
- First name is enough — they confirm who actually rides.
- Claiming sends a ride request. The owner still accepts pickup, capacity, and who operates the van.
- The route must already have a school and a morning or afternoon timing.
- Employed drivers cannot invite onto a school or contractor van they do not own.
Family, ending transport, and next year
Account → Family is names plus You. Payments stay on the Payments tab — not on this list.
- End monthly transport (My Rides) stops this van arrangement. It does not wipe invoices or delete the account.
- Accept next year keeps the seat when the school has published the next year. It does not end this year.
- If a driver shortens a route, affected families are told their last day. That is not the same as a parent ending transport themselves.
- Delete account lives in Settings. You cannot delete while a child still has an active agreement.
Frequently asked questions
What is a route in SchoolBuswala?
A route is a recurring van schedule — pickup area, school or destination, days of the week, start time, seat capacity, and monthly fare. The app generates one daily trip from that template each morning.
Is SchoolBuswala free for parents?
Yes. Parents never pay SchoolBuswala a subscription. You only pay your van operator's monthly transport fee through the app when your route is set up for in-app billing.
What is the ₹299 per month platform fee?
Independent van operators who create their own open-market routes pay ₹299/month after the free trial. Drivers on school-assigned institute routes do not need this fee for those routes.
How do driver payouts work?
For in-app billable routes, parents pay monthly invoices via Razorpay. The driver's share is queued for payout — 100% of the parent transport fare passes through with no platform commission on parent fares.
Can a private van contractor use SchoolBuswala?
Yes. If you own a car and run 10–20 students on your own route, register as a Driver/Operator, get verified, create routes, and accept parent enrollments. You are the independent van owner persona.
How does a driver invite a parent who already rides with them?
The driver opens the route, taps Invite family, enters the parent's mobile and a first name, then shares from their own WhatsApp. If that number already has the app, the invite appears on Home. No code to type. An invite is a request — the owner still confirms there is a seat.
I got a WhatsApp link. Do I paste a long code?
No. Install SchoolBuswala, sign in with the same mobile number, and open the app. The invite is waiting on Home. The website page is only a backup if the link opens in the browser.
Can a college student ride on their own login?
Yes, if they are 18+. They sign in with their own number and can claim an invite onto themselves (shown as You in Family). School children stay on a parent's Family list.
Why don't I see an invoice in the app?
School fleet vans often collect the fare at the school. Those families have no in-app bill. Independent vans that bill through SchoolBuswala show a monthly invoice under Payments.
Need screenshots and tap-by-tap steps?
Open Help Center →