Online procedure for application-based transportation of school children
The innovative ABO-B online subscription procedure is the digital turnkey solution for application-based school transportation with complete imaging of all processes from application submission to communication of decisions. The flexible procedure can be used for public transport, for exempted school transportation and for reimbursement and also for a combination of all application procedures. By Kerstin Furchner-Kaltofen.
There is now no need to go to schools, government offices or to transport authorities. Pupils and applicants can apply online or view communication 24/7. The multi-level procedure can vary in extent from a purely digital application to a pupils’ portal, depending on users’ needs.
The core ABO-B system is not necessarily a prerequisite, but, if available, it forms the perfect basis for master data which is required in the online procedure. Data on schools, grades, addresses, stop stations and other basic information can then be made available directly from ABO-B for the online procedure. Applicants can generate perfect applications with just a few clicks. ABO-B and the online procedure work together in real time. That means, as soon as a new application is generated and stored in the background system via a standard email verification process, it is immediately visible for the school and the district concerned. Normally the school confirms attendance as indicated in the online procedure and enables further processing in the core ABO-B system. Processors of school transportation can then import the application into their background system and process as far as decision communication. Processing would also be possible without school confirmation so as not to permanently block the procedure should problems arise. Queries concerning the application can be clarified with the applicants/pupils simply and quickly out of the system per email.
The schools which participate in the online procedure have their own access to a school portal. The number of pupils requiring a school stamp and signature for applications in the breaks or after school is foreseeably reduced. Schools can thus provide clustered online information on the pupils who state attendance. They can decide when and how often to do so. As a result, processes are clustered, and resources are saved in the long term.
Via the pupils' portal, processes for all participants go hand in hand through a user-specific log-in, clear user management and extensive filter and sorting functions. This optional portal rounds off the new ABO-B online subscription procedure. Pupils, applicants and transportation processors no longer have to wait on feedback or make phone-calls: they can simply retrieve their application status online. In this portal it is also possible to view current applications, communicate decisions, change master data or make-follow-up applications. When changing application data, a difference is made between data which is of no relevance for transportation and data change which could impact active transportation. Each request for change is transmitted to the background system on demand where it has to be acce
by a member of staff in the ABO-B system. Data retrieval in the portal also takes place in real time, so that changes become visible in the online portal as soon as they are accepted.
In standard version, the online procedure and also the pupils’ portal are prepared for a variety of application cases and can be adapted and extended within the scope of project implementation or subsequently in line with requirements, and should changes become necessary due to amendments in the articles of association governing the transportation of school children.
Looking Ahead
Some ABO-B users have already added the online procedure to their integrated solutions and others are currently doing so. The districts of Potsdam-Mittelmark, Dahme-Spreewald and Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen plan to productively introduce the system extension this spring.