Route quote calculator
Kilometres, dead running, driver hours, waiting time, tolls, parking and overnights priced by vehicle in minutes.
Bus charter software: quotes, bookings & driver allocation
Bus charters: quote by route and passengers in minutes. Buses booked, drivers sorted.
Charter quotes worked out on Google Maps and a calculator, buses allocated on a whiteboard in the depot and drivers rung the night before with pickup details. We build quoting, allocation, driver and compliance systems for bus charter companies that all talk to each other. Then we host them and look after them.
Looking for bus charter software that quotes, allocates and invoices in one place?
Every charter is a little puzzle. A school excursion, a wedding shuttle, a footy club away trip and an airport transfer all need a different bus, a different driver and a different price. That price depends on kilometres, dead running from the depot, waiting time, tolls, driver hours and whether the trip needs a second driver or an overnight. Most charter operators work it out by hand, write it on a whiteboard and hope nobody rubs out the wrong line.
Wollopit builds custom bus charter software around how your depot actually runs. Quotes are worked out from the route, passenger numbers and vehicle in minutes. Customers accept and pay a deposit online. Buses and drivers go on an allocation board that knows who's available, who's cleared for school work and who's close to their hours. Drivers get the run sheet on their phone and invoices are built from the actual trip. We connect the tools you already use and host the lot on our own servers.
01The problems
What we hear from bus charter companies
Does your bus charter business have these problems? Here's how we'd fix them.
Most charter operators we talk to run a tidy fleet and a messy back office. It holds together fine until the big weekend when every bus is out.
- The problemQuotes worked out on a calculatorA school wants a price for 54 kids to the museum. Someone checks Google Maps, guesses dead running and waiting time, then types a quote in Word.How we fix itQuote by route, passengers and vehicle. Kilometres, dead running, driver hours, waiting time and tolls worked out for you in minutes.
- The problemQuotes nobody chasesQuotes go out by email and sit there. The group books with whichever operator rang back first.How we fix itQuotes sent with an accept button and a deposit link, plus automatic follow-ups before they go cold.
- The problemAllocation on a whiteboardBuses and drivers live on a whiteboard in the depot. Someone rubs out the wrong line and a 57-seater gets double booked.How we fix itA drag and drop allocation board that won't let you put a bus or a driver in two places at once.
- The problemDrivers rung the night beforeRun sheets get printed, texted or read out over the phone. A 6am pickup change never reaches the driver.How we fix itA driver app with the run sheet, pickup addresses, contacts and passenger notes. Changes land on their phone straight away.
- The problemSchool runs re-entered every termTerm runs, sports carnivals and weekly club trips keyed in again each term, dodging school holidays and public holidays by memory.How we fix itRecurring charters set up once by term, with holidays skipped and regular drivers allocated automatically.
- The problemPassenger numbers keep movingThe wedding was 40 guests, now it's 62. Nobody updated the bus size or the price.How we fix itChange the numbers and the system flags the bigger bus, revises the quote and sends it for the customer to approve.
- The problemDriver hours on paperWork and rest hours tracked in diaries and a spreadsheet. A long day trip blows someone's hours and you find out afterwards.How we fix itHours checked as you allocate, set up around the fatigue rules you run under, with warnings and second driver prompts.
- The problemVehicle checks in the gloveboxPre-trip checks on a paper sheet. Services, rego and inspection dates tracked in the fleet manager's head.How we fix itPre-trip checks on the driver app, defects reported with photos and services, rego and inspections flagged before they're due.
- The problemDriver paperwork expires quietlyLicences, medicals and Blue Cards lapse and nobody notices until a school asks for them.How we fix itDriver records with expiry alerts so only cleared drivers can be allocated to school and youth trips.
- The problemInvoices typed after the tripThe trip runs over by an hour, then someone digs through run sheets to work out extra waiting time and types an invoice into Xero.How we fix itInvoices built from the booking and the driver's actual times, sent straight to Xero or MYOB.
- The problemTimesheets scribbled on run sheetsDrivers write start and finish times on paper. The office keys them into payroll and argues about split shifts.How we fix itStart and finish times from the driver app flow into timesheets and payroll with breaks and split shifts worked out.
- The problemSubcontracting by phoneThe fleet's full on grand final weekend so you ring around other operators and lose track of who's doing what.How we fix itSubcontracted trips on the same board, run sheets sent to the other operator and their invoice matched to the job.
02What we build
Solutions
What we build for bus charter companies. Usually all talking to each other.
Pick the one that's hurting most or join the whole lot up. Everything is built around how your team works, not the other way round.
Online quote requests
Schools, clubs and event planners request a quote on your website with pickups, stops and passenger numbers.
Quote follow-ups & deposits
Accept online, pay a deposit by card and get reminders before the quote expires.
Bookings & trip calendar
Every charter on one calendar by day, vehicle or customer, with run sheets built from the booking.
Allocation board
Drag buses and drivers onto trips, with clashes, seat counts and accessibility needs checked as you go.
Driver app
Run sheets, pickup maps, passenger contacts, live changes, pre-trip checks and start and finish times.
Recurring & school charters
Term runs, sports trips and standing club bookings set once, with school and public holidays skipped.
Customer portal
Schools and regular groups see their bookings, update passenger numbers, download invoices and rebook.
Driver hours & fatigue
Hours checked at allocation against the rules you operate under, with warnings and records kept for audits.
Vehicle checks & maintenance
Pre-trip checks, defect reports with photos, service schedules and rego and inspection reminders.
Driver compliance records
Licences, medicals, Blue Cards and inductions with expiry alerts and clearance flags for school work.
Invoicing & payments
Invoices from the actual trip, extra time added, card payments and sync to Xero or MYOB.
Timesheets & payroll
Driver times from the app into timesheets, split shifts and overtime worked out for payroll.
Subcontractor jobs
Hand trips to other operators, send them the run sheet and match their invoice to the booking.
A website that books
Hand-built, quick on mobile, with your fleet, quote requests and pages built to rank for 'bus hire' in your area.
03The systems
The big ones
Your whole depot, on one system.
These are the systems charter operators ask us about most. Each one works on its own and they get properly clever when they're joined up.
Charter quoting
Route in, passengers in, price out.
Enter the pickups, stops and passenger numbers and the quote works itself out. Kilometres, dead running from the depot, driver hours, waiting time and tolls are priced against the right vehicle using your own rates. The customer gets a tidy quote they can accept and pay a deposit on without picking up the phone.
- Routes mapped with Google Maps
- Dead running from your depot
- Driver hours and waiting time
- Tolls, parking and overnights
- Your rates by vehicle size
- Minimum hire and peak pricing
- Second driver prompts for long trips
- Online accept and deposit
- Automatic quote follow-ups
- Quote to booking in one click
Allocation board
The whiteboard, minus the whiteboard marker.
Every bus and driver on one board by day. Drag a vehicle onto a trip and it checks seats, clashes and service dates. Drag a driver on and it checks their hours, licence class and clearances before it lets you save.
- Drag and drop by day or week
- No double booked buses or drivers
- Seat counts matched to passengers
- Wheelchair accessible vehicles flagged
- Licence class checks
- Driver hours checked as you allocate
- Vehicles off road for service
- Unallocated trips highlighted
- Subcontracted trips on the same board
- Works on the depot TV or a laptop
Driver app
The run sheet lives in their pocket.
Drivers open the app and see today's trips, pickup maps, contacts and passenger notes. Pre-trip checks and defects are done on the same phone. When a pickup time changes the driver knows about it before the customer rings to ask.
- Today's trips and run sheets
- Pickup maps and directions
- Group contact on the day
- Passenger and accessibility notes
- Live changes pushed to the phone
- Pre-trip checks and defect photos
- Start, finish and break times
- Extra waiting time logged
- Incident reports
- Works without signal and syncs later
School & recurring charters
Set the term once. The runs look after themselves.
School runs, sports carnivals, swim programs and standing club trips are set up once with their pattern. Holidays are skipped, regular drivers are allocated and the school gets one tidy invoice. Schools can log in to see what's booked and update numbers themselves.
- Repeat by day, week or term
- School holidays skipped
- Public holidays handled
- Regular driver and bus per run
- Only cleared drivers on school work
- School portal for bookings
- Passenger number updates online
- One invoice per term or month
- Excursion requests from teachers
- Contract rates per school
Fleet & compliance
Every bus checked. Every driver cleared.
Vehicle services, rego and inspections sit next to defect reports from the driver app. Driver licences, medicals, Blue Cards and work hours are tracked in the same place. Records are ready when the regulator or a school asks for them.
- Service schedules by km or date
- Rego and inspection reminders
- Defects with photos and sign-off
- Vehicles locked out until fixed
- Licences and medicals with expiry alerts
- Blue Cards and inductions
- Work and rest hours records
- Audit-ready reports
- Telematics data connected
- Maintenance costs per vehicle
04How it changes
Before and after
A school excursion, wolloped.
Here's how a single school excursion could change. Every charter operator is different, so we map yours first.
Before
- School emails asking for a price
- Work out kilometres and hours on Google Maps and a calculator
- Chase the teacher by phone to confirm
- Check the whiteboard for a free bus
- Ring a driver the night before with pickup details
- Dig out the run sheet and type an invoice into Xero
After
- Teacher requests a quote on your website
- Route, bus and price worked out in minutes
- School accepts and pays the deposit online
- Bus and a cleared driver allocated on the board
- Run sheet lands on the driver's phone
- Invoice goes to Xero from the actual trip times
05Services
Everything under one roof
Software, websites and systems for bus charter companies.
Whether you're starting fresh or upgrading what you've got, it's one team from the first sketch to the support call.
Custom software for bus charter companies
Built around how your bus charter business actually runs: route quote calculator, online quote requests and the admin in between, in one system you own.
Websites for bus charter companies
Fast, hand-built websites that rank for the searches your customers make and turn visits into enquiries, bookings or orders.
Bus charter business system upgrades
Running on spreadsheets, old software or a platform you've outgrown? We move your data across and upgrade in stages so the business never stops.
Apps and portals for bus charter companies
Quote follow-ups & deposits and bookings & trip calendar: customer and staff portals that work on any phone without an app store.
Integrations and automation
We connect Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks so information moves on its own and nobody retypes it.
Hosting, support and care
Managed hosting, updates, backups and security for your bus charter business, looked after by the people who built it.
06Integrations
Connections
Plays nicely with what you already use.
We connect to the tools you rely on, work alongside telematics and payroll platforms you're happy with or replace the ones holding you back.
- Xero
- MYOB
- QuickBooks
- Stripe
- Square
- Google Maps
- Twilio SMS
- Microsoft 365
- Google Workspace
- Teletrac Navman
- Geotab
- EROAD
- MTData
- MiX Telematics
- Deputy
- Employment Hero
- Mailchimp
- HubSpot
07How we work
The process
Some people dip their toe in. We turn up in a rebreather.
We get properly below the surface of your bus charter business: the systems, the busy days and the jobs everyone hates. Then we fix the bits that matter most first.
- 01
Think
We spend time in the depot, the office and a driver's seat, then work out what's actually slowing your charters down.
- 02
Archi-tech
We plan it before writing code: your rates, routes, fleet, drivers, school contracts, compliance, hosting and cost.
- 03
Build
Real engineering, shown to you early and often. Usually quoting or allocation first, so you get a win before the next busy weekend.
- 04
Look after
We host it, maintain it and keep improving it. When something breaks you call the people who built it.
08Questions
FAQ
Things bus charter companies ask us.
Something else on your mind? Ring 0423 011 252 and ask the people who'd build it.
Can schools and groups request quotes online?
Yes. Schools, clubs and event planners can request a quote on your website with pickups, stops and passenger numbers. They can then accept it and pay a deposit online.
Will the quote include dead running and waiting time?
Yes. We set it up with your own rates so it prices kilometres from the depot, driver hours, waiting time, tolls, parking and overnights by vehicle size. You can still adjust any quote before it goes out.
Can it help with driver hours and fatigue?
Yes. We set it up around the fatigue rules you operate under so it warns you when an allocation would push a driver over their hours. It keeps records ready for an audit. If you already use an electronic work diary we can connect to it.
Can it work with our GPS and telematics?
Usually. We can connect to platforms like Teletrac Navman, Geotab, EROAD and MTData to pull in vehicle locations, kilometres and trip times.
Can it handle school contracts and term runs?
Yes. Recurring runs are set up once by term with holidays skipped. Only drivers with current clearances can be allocated and schools can log in to see their bookings.
We already use other software. Do we have to switch?
No. If your accounting, payroll or telematics are doing their job we build around them. If something's holding you back we'll show you what replacing it would involve before anything changes.
How much does a bus charter system cost?
It depends on what you need, so we quote up front once we understand it. No surprise invoices, no lock-in and you own what we build.
How long does it take?
Smaller jobs like a quote calculator or a driver app can be quick. Bigger systems are planned in stages so you get the first win early instead of waiting for everything at once.
Who looks after it once it's built?
We do. We host it on our own managed servers and keep it updated and secure. When you need something you ring the people who built it.
We already have systems. Can you upgrade them instead of starting again?
Usually, yes. Most bus charter companies we work with keep what's working and upgrade the rest in stages. We move your data across, connect the old and new while we switch and retire the old system only when the new one is proven.
Contact
Got a bus charter business problem? Consider it wolloped.
Tell us what's slow, broken, manual or missing. You don't need a spec, just describe what's going on.