December Route Report: Clearing the Path for a Strong New Year
Welcome back to School Bus Logistics’ Route Report. While December brings school holidays, it’s also a pivotal time for your transportation department: ridership is settling into predictable patterns, midyear budget reviews are around the corner, and winter weather is on the doorstep. This is the moment to tighten your data, audit route efficiency, and prepare for the operational demands of January and February.
Here is your December routing checklist — designed by the SBL team to help directors move into the new year with clarity and confidence.
Mid-Year Ridership Validation
1. Conduct a District-Wide Ridership Audit
Ridership data is the backbone of efficient route planning. This month is the ideal time to validate what’s changed since fall.
Key steps:
Compare fall ridership counts with planned capacity to identify shifts
Validate stop assignments and seating utilization across all programs:
General education
Special education
Vocational and magnet programs
McKinney-Vento and foster placements
Remove inactive riders who have moved, withdrawn, or graduated from services
2. Update Actual vs. Planned Loads
Once students are validated, you can rebuild your capacity picture for a more accurate and streamlined new year:
Generate updated capacity charts for each route and flag any that are overloaded or underutilized
Identify routes that can be combined, split, re-timed, or re-shaped for shorter travel times
Review Your Route Efficiency
1. Evaluate On-Time Performance (OTP)
Before the winter weather skews your numbers, analyze OTP trends from late fall. Review the November–December GPS reports for:
Chronic late arrivals
Early arrivals before supervision begins
Bottlenecks during winter mornings
2. Run Efficiency Metrics
Use your current data to evaluate route performance, resource allocation, and driver workload. These are the best metrics to review:
Stops per hour
Students per stop
Route overlap
Deadhead miles
Actual vs. projected run times
These insights can help you fine-tune your district’s efficiency, and build a strong case for resources during budget discussions.
Winter Weather Routing
1. Build Winter Contingency Routes
If you haven’t done so already, preparing your winter routes is the most effective tool against weather disruption. Develop contingency versions for existing routes, including:
Shortened or slowed routes during snow or ice conditions
No-stop or main-road-only versions
Alternate turnaround locations for unsafe cul-de-sacs
Road closure playbooks for known risk areas
2. Identify Known Winter Problem Areas
Document and communicate areas that consistently challenge drivers such as steep hills, dirt/gravel roads requiring sanding, narrow or unplowed roads, and high-traffic roads with no shoulder.
Communicate these to drivers, dispatch, and emergency management teams before the first major storm hits.
Communication Readiness
Clear communication is critical in winter, and December is the time to prepare templates and update district messaging.
1. Prepare Route Notifications
Draft letters, emails, and SMS templates for:
New year reminders
Updated pickup times
Winter weather procedures
Alternate pickup locations
2. Clean Up Route Naming Conventions
Before the busy season hits, standardize route IDs for clarity and quick reference. This makes it easier for dispatchers, substitute drivers, emergency response teams, and your staff while they’re communicating with families.
How SBL Can Help
School Bus Logistics partners with districts to keep transportation programs running smoothly — even when staffing is tight and budgets are under pressure. Our team helps directors and administrators strengthen routing efficiency, analyze cost drivers, and plan for long-term stability.
Whether it’s refining routes to make better use of available drivers, preparing data for midyear budget reviews, or building a case for future fleet investment, SBL helps ensure every decision is backed by accurate, actionable insight.
If your district could use an extra layer of support this winter, we’re here to help.