BusPlanner vs RollCall
BusPlanner
busplanner.comRollCall
rollcall.com.auSide by side
| Figure | BusPlanner | RollCall |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 3 |
| Spec score · School Bus Routing Software | 8.4 (#4) | 8.4 (#5) |
| Headquarters | Waterloo, Ontario, Canada | LinkedIn lists Melbourne as headquarters; the website gives 1/146-148 Thistlethwaite Street, South Melbourne, Victoria 3205. |
| Parent app | The Chipmunk app notifies parents about boarding, drop-off, delays, changes, and real-time bus location. | Parents can follow buses, receive boarding and alighting alerts, book or change trips, report absences and pay fares. |
| Purpose | BusPlanner is an all-in-one platform for student transportation operations across North America. | RollCall provides school bus management and duty-of-care tools for schools and bus operators. |
| Route planning | BusPlanner Pro provides route creation, editing, optimization, automated processes, multi-user access, and scalable routing. | Smart Route lets schools create verified stops and drag them into routes to plan bus networks. |
| Support | BusPlanner offers live technical support by phone and says its customer experts provide direct assistance. | RollCall provides a searchable help centre, support-ticket submission, email support and phone contact at 1300 821 116. |
| What it does | BusPlanner is an all-in-one student transportation platform for school districts, combining routing, dispatch, GPS, fleet and parent communication tools. | RollCall combines NFC student tap-on/tap-off records, GPS bus tracking, route planning, parent notifications and school administration for student transport. |
Plans
RollCall
- RollCall Parent AppFree
- RollCall for schools and bus operatorsPriced on request
- RollCall school and bus-operator platformPriced on request
In their own words
BusPlanner
BusPlanner is a student transportation operations platform for school districts and transportation teams. BusPlanner Pro supports route creation, editing, optimization, automation, multi-user access, and scalable routing. BusPlanner Info connects with student information systems through scheduled two-way API integration. GPS+ provides live bus tracking, reporting, student ridership information, and driver navigation. Parents can receive boarding, drop-off, delay, and change alerts through the Chipmunk app, which also shows real-time bus location. The Turns driver app supplies turn-by-turn directions and records student boardings and drop-offs with scan-in and scan-out. Portals provide parents, staff, drivers, dispatchers, and operators with routes, stops, schedules, manifests, ETAs, and delay information. Dispatch tools support real-time route reassignment, AI-powered route splitting, updated stop reports, and parent notifications. BusPlanner Pro is Windows-based; the wider suite supports cloud or self-hosted deployment, as well as Android, iOS, web, and API access. Pricing is available on request.
RollCall
RollCall provides school bus management and duty-of-care tools for schools and bus operators. Students tap on and off during journeys, updating parents and school staff with real-time journey information. Families can use the parent app to track buses, manage absences and bus changes, and make payments. Smart Route uses verified stops to help schools plan routes and reduce student transit times. Bus Guardian records a bus check when a driver or supervisor taps the control board at the back of the bus. Listed integrations include TASS, Sentral, Veracross, Compass, FACTS, Wonde, payment providers, and Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace sign-in. Schools connect their own payment provider, and RollCall says it takes no cut of payments. Its managed service supplies and runs devices and SIMs, and handles enrolment and support. RollCall states that its information security management system is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified, data is hosted in AWS Sydney and encrypted in transit, and security specialists conduct monthly penetration tests. The parent app is free; schools or operators subscribe at tailored pricing, with a quote or demo requested.