Dispatcher

Mid-Columbia Bus Company, Inc.

JOB TITLE: Dispatcher

LOCATION: La Grande, OR

Mid-Columbia Bus Company is hiring a dispatcher to maintain daily communications with location managers, customers, and drivers. The dispatcher will communicate and schedule trips with drivers for dispatch, coordinate all bus movements while actively participating in the positive team environment overseen by the Location Manager.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Maintain the “People Standard” of the company. Maintain a positive attitude, great work ethic, self-motivated, team player, follow through on commitments, be respectful and reliable. Follow and maintain a safe, healthy, and secure work environment providing a high level of productivity and efficiency.
• Effectively manage incoming calls and radio transmissions, handling them with courtesy and professionalism.
• Apply commonsense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Deal with problems involving several variables in standardized situations.
• Greets incoming customers or guests to the business establishment and directs those persons to the appropriate staff member.
• Operates multi-line central answering telephone console to receive incoming messages. Make future appointments and answer inquiries. Maintain daily phone log recording time of day, caller's name and basic information related to the call.
• Type memos, correspondence, reports, and other documents. 
• Performs variety of clerical duties and other duties as assigned by management.
• Maintain communication with all drivers regarding their routes and all changes including updates on student pick-ups, new students and their address, cancellations for the day, requested transfers, school approved modifications in routes or pick-ups.
• Keep the weekly dispatch log updated with daily changes of bus routes, making notes for any routes that need substitute driver, scheduling them in a timely manner.
• Work with the Location Manager to assist in maintaining all route narratives and maps, providing accurate times and pickup and drop off locations, schedule substitute drivers in a timely manner, and updating changes for special procedures that effect a route.
• Effectively operate and maintain database in our student management software.
• Log all trips contained in the company computerized dispatching program. Prepare driver’s trip slips with all the required information.
• Disperse trip slips to designated drivers, answer driver questions about the trip, and make all driver reservations for accommodations as may be required for overnight trips. Maintain and apply accurate driver rotation order used at the location in dispatching trips.
• Dispatch maintenance and emergency personnel for needed repairs and/or emergency procedures.
• Provide drivers training on the proper use of required pre/post trip inspections forms of buses, travel forms, logbooks and expense reimbursement forms.
• Maintain a positive attitude in scheduling, implementation and modification of routes and trips. Communicate openly with management regarding discussions, information, ideas and concerns expressed by drivers or other employees pertaining to company policy, procedures, routes, direction, or other issues/topics of discussion that involves the company in anyway.
• Maintain a high degree of confidentiality relating to discussions with management. Refrain from sharing with others (excepting management), personal issues or concerns expressed by employees.
• Be knowledgeable and skilled in the operation of regular home-to-school bus routes, activity trip driving and pupil management techniques.
• Process all trip slips and correlate the trip sheets with timecard/s, verifying times.
• Assist with transportation reports or completing other duties, tasks, or assignments that may be required by the location manager.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

High school diploma or general education degree (GED); Within 6 months of being hired obtain a complete understanding of State rules and regulations governing the operation of school buses and school bus drivers. Intermediate level computer proficiency in Microsoft Software including Word, and Excel.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Regularly required to sit and stand; use hands to handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; talk clearly and hear phone and FM radio communications. You must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 lbs and have sufficient strength and agility to move in an office environment. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.