A bus count-off is the fastest way to be sure everyone is on board before the bus pulls away. You step through the riders one at a time, each with their photo, and the app keeps score.
Before the trip: buses and numbers
- Create buses on the Buses page (website or app) and put travelers on them. Staff can ride a bus too.
- Give riders count-off numbers. On a bus, choose the Number 1–… button (for example "Number 1–12") and confirm with Number them to number the whole bus at once, or type a number for one person. Numbering a bus again replaces the numbers it had.
- Organizers can set the Numbering order on the Buses page: which kind of rider comes first (students, adults, staff), then last name, first name or group within each.
Many groups have travelers say their number out loud as they board. The count-off then shows names in that order.
Run a count-off (app)
- Open Bus count-off from Trip tools.
- Pick a bus, or Everyone to count the whole trip.
- For each person, swipe right or tap Present. Swipe left if they did not answer: the button says Not here on Present-only trips, or Absent on Present / Tardy / Absent trips.
- When the deck is empty, choose Save & notify staff, Save pass or Start over.
The app times every pass and shows each bus's best time. When everyone is accounted for, there is a small celebration; organizers can pick its emojis under Celebration.
If the app is closed mid-count, the pass picks up where you left off. With no signal, the pass is saved on the phone and attendance updates once you are back online.
It marks attendance too
A count-off marks the same list the whole trip is using, normally General attendance. The screen tells you which one before you start. So once a bus is counted, every chaperone's attendance screen already shows those travelers as present. See Take attendance.
On the website, a checkpoint page has Start bus count, which steps through the list the same way.
Notify staff
Save & notify staff (or Notify staff afterwards) sends every other staff member one message, such as "All 41 here · Bus 1 count-off" or "2 missing" with their names. Nothing is sent unless you choose to.
If the organizer limited a chaperone to their own group, that chaperone counts only their group. See Chaperone groups.