Overview

CertaBus is courtesy bus scheduling software for pubs and clubs. It replaces paper booking sheets and handwritten notes with one shared schedule: staff take bookings in the office, group them into runs, and drivers follow those runs on their phones.

This article explains the key ideas and where to find things. Use the search bar to look up a specific task.

How it works

1. Take a booking. When a guest calls or asks at the bar, staff add them to a run as a pickup or drop-off. Regular passengers can be added in a couple of clicks.
2. Organise runs. Each run has a date, a departure time and a bus. Runs group pickups and drop-offs so drivers know exactly where they’re going.
3. Drivers follow the run. The driver app shows the bus’s runs for the day, with every job in order. Drivers call guests, open directions in Google Maps and tick off jobs as they go.
4. Everyone stays in sync. Changes made in the office or by another driver appear instantly, so nobody works from an out-of-date schedule.

Key terms

Run

A scheduled trip by one bus, with a date and departure time. A run is made up of jobs.

Job

One booking on a run: a pickup or drop-off for a passenger, with their address and number of passengers.

Regular

A frequent passenger whose details are saved, so you can add them to a booking in seconds.

Timetable

A reusable set of runs, such as your usual Friday night schedule, that you can import into a day instead of creating each run by hand.

Bus

A vehicle in your fleet. Each run is assigned to a bus, and drivers choose the bus they’re driving in the app.

Zone

Your service area. Pickups can be limited to a radius around the venue, or to zones you draw on a map, and runs can be set to cover a particular zone.

The main screens

The office side of CertaBus runs in a web browser. The top menu has four sections:

• Runs: the day’s schedule. Pick a date to see its runs, add or edit runs, and add, move or remove jobs. You can also import a timetable from here.
• Regulars: your list of saved passengers, with their membership number, phone, address and any special instructions.
• Timetables: create and edit reusable sets of runs. Only owners and admins can change timetables; other users can view and import them.
• Admin: account and venue settings, organised into tabs:
  • My Account: your profile, subscription and organisation details, including the venue address and service area.
  • Buses: the vehicles in your fleet.
  • Users: the people who can log in, and their roles.
  • Zones: draw the areas you pick up from.
  • Analytics: reports on jobs, passengers, pickups and drop-offs over a date range, including a map of where trips come from.
  • Settings: venue-wide options, such as capacity checking, child seats, driver notifications and the maximum number of jobs per run.

The driver app

Drivers use the driver app on their phone. It can be added to the home screen and opened like any other app. In the app, drivers can:

• choose the bus they’re driving and see its runs for the day
• see the next run and every job in order
• call guests with one tap
• open directions in Google Maps
• mark pickups and drop-offs complete, or cancel a job with a reason
• receive messages from the office, with optional notifications on their phone
• tap Go Home to return to base

Users and roles

Everyone at your venue logs in with their own account, and each account has one of three roles:

• Owner: full access, including adding other owners.
• Admin: can add and edit users, buses, zones, timetables and venue details.
• User: can take bookings and manage runs, and can view and import timetables. Drivers are usually users.

Plans and trial

CertaBus is priced by the number of buses: $59 per month for your first bus, plus $19 per month for each additional bus, with monthly or annual billing. Every new venue starts with a free 30-day trial, with no setup fees and no credit card needed.

Next steps

Getting startedSet up CertaBus for the first time.

FAQAnswers to common questions.

Contact supportSend a request to our support team.

Still need help?

Contact our team and we’ll get back to you quickly, usually within a few hours.