This is for all of the terminals with ZONAR.
there is a new payroll system coming about this summer.Your zonar cards are now also time cards.
Focus will clock your time to the minute and also clock your idling time, speed and location of your bus. please know that "BIG BROTHER " ON THE CORPORATE LEVEL,not the terminal level, will be reviewing the reports and e-mailing all issues to the contract managers at the terminals. I'm sure start up this year will be chaos.Anyone with more information please share. Thanks
Downloadable User Video Help
Downloadable User Video Help Guides for Zonar can be found at: http://www.zonarsystems.com/support/support_vids.php
I knew they had to have more information online than the company is willing to give us. Can't play if you don't know the rules!
Hi I work in Nashua and have
Hi I work in Nashua and have had Zonar for about three years more or less I can not remember exactly when we got it.Please be aware that the clock (zonar) punches you out from the second you enter the entrance of your yard and then you add your post trip whatever you get at your location to that time.Example I enter yard at 3:30 and park my bus do post trip ect., since I get a 15 min. post trip my punch out is automatically 3:45.Even if I need to sweep or wait in line to park or I park at the other end of the lot and need to go 5 miles an hour to get there it does not matter zonar punches me out and the payroll clerk adds the 15 min. to that time.One day I had to sweep a huge mess after my last school trashed the bus and I took longer than the 15 min. it took me 20 min. just to sweep and I did not get paid for the extra time. And yes watch your speed!!!!
Thank You everyone for
Thank You everyone for your response
Yes if you are at a UNION terminal there is a minimum you must be paid for. Also know that once Zonar is installed on the busses DMV inspectors check it .Keep this in mind because the driver will get the summons if the Pre/post trip is not done. This has happened already !
At the Trenton terminal we get 5 minutes pre trip 3 minutes post trip for each shift. 16 minutes per day or 24 minutes if you have a mid day.
There are many different reports management can access on zonar.There is even capability to watch busses on video going down the highway to path reports that show every single stop,how long you were there etc.
Please,everyone keep all of this in mind and spread the word.Keep talking !
Route updates will be
Route updates will be obsolete as time goes on. Via satellite as with all the other applications Zonar will also record every route stop. Substitute drivers will really appreciate this feature. I know at our location not many drivers can compose an understandable update. Or they only make the AM and write "reverse for PM". Some never do one at all and are not forced to do it.
This may not happen for a long time because the office staff will need to be trained (in some cases to use a computer) on the software for the system.
Just imagine being lost on a strange route and dispatch pulls the bus up on a computer and tells you which way to go for the next stop. That's a real Buck Rogers moment.
At http://www.zonarsystems.com/ there used to be a video showing how the tracking worked. I can't find one on the site now. Maybe if someone finds one they can post the link.
Hi Yellowfan Actually
Hi Yellowfan
Actually office staff is training now for it and Trenton goes live with focus on august 17.
Our office has already gone on zonar and helped the drivers with thier turn for turns if they got lost or detoured.It IS pretty cool to see it in action !
This is such a great
This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing websites that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free. It is the old what goes around comes around routine.
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Diane Perl
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We are surposed to get
We are surposed to get zonar sometime this summer.
what does that mean for the guarantee amount of hours that we get for a run now, or do we only get paid for the time we are on the road
can someone let me know how this is going to work
cheryl
If you have a union contract
If you have a union contract with guaranteed hours, you honor your contract.
Cheryl, the company can do
Cheryl, the company can do what ever it wants. We have no control, nor does the union. The way things have been going, my guess is that somewhere down the road we will get only what Zonar reads unless your union contract stipulates a minimum guarantee.
If your location is going to get Zonar soon you probably have another year before you need to worry about that unless it is a very small location. The process of installing in every bus alone took over a year at our location. It depends on who they have do the work. They want to save money on that too. And going slow the drivers won't feel so anxious over so many new things at once.
When you log on with Zonar to do your pre trip the time is recorded and this is your actual start time for the run. Ten minutes is alotted for the pre trip. When you have completed the run and have completed your child check, closed windows, housekeeping, etc. you log on to Zonar for the post trip. Five minutes is alotted for this so your actual end time is five minutes after you log on. And yes, it does record the time that the unit turns off. So they will know how long you actually took to do the pre and post trips.
Then you need to do it all over again for your mid day and afternoon runs, trips or whatever you have. Every time you insert the key to drive! You may be told that it is not necessary to log on more than am and pm. Don't buy it. You will be timed by Zonar so it is in your best interset to be sure every single minute is recorded. There is no more rounding off. They will take it to the minute! As Linda said, Big Brother is here.
I forgot to add that the GPS
I forgot to add that the GPS part of the Zonar system will not only locate where the bus is at all times but will definitely record your speed. At a safety meeting early on this past year our manager was going on about how many buses were audited for speeding. So ....they will know who is driving over the limit.
Think I'll get a bug detector so I can sweep my house and car. Can't be too carefull.
The problem with Focus as a
The problem with Focus as a timeclock is twofold. First off, FS collects a fee for transposrting a student to and from school. That is how they make their money. First Student doesn't refund that fee if the child for whatever reason chooses not to ride that bus for a day, week, or even year, they still collect that fee. However if you don't have that child on the bus and do not need to make that stop any longer you are deducted the time you save skipping that stop. That was the whole idea behind standard hours, to take an average time and that would be your guaranteed run hours. Now with zonar you are punished for extra cleaning, punished for kids not riding, punished for just about everyhting. My advice, go the speed limit, make all stops even if you know no one ever rides or is dropped off and do a complete pre and post trip and if you run over file an exception report even if it is only a minute.
Technology, got to love
Technology, got to love it. No more playing around. Some people will just have to stick to the rules. Be the professionals that everyone can be. This is not necessarily bad as some people probably shouldn't be behind the wheel. The only bad part I can see is that the people who stick to the rules usually are the ones that suffer the consequences.
Being a bus driver is getting more and more intense.
Just wait, because I'm sure there is more to come. This is not the end.
See...just what I said would
See...just what I said would happen. It is only a matter of time. Not to make a pun....
See:
When?
Good Question. Why?
Therefore #3 is the main reason for Zonar. To save money on payroll!
Some of us feel that is not the end of it. We think that eventually it will be treated as a time clock. And you will only get paid for the time registered not an average.
first student just took over
first student just took over the contracts for cincinnati public schools. I am an attendant and treated like the small guy. I do not have zonar to clock me in or out. I have not had a correct paycheck since i have started because payroll does whatever they want. Im still waiting on pay from a meeting held in july. I agree that it does not matter they will do whatever they want. It is not fair. they are taking advantage of the fact that they are so big and we really dont have anywhere else to go.
Thanks for the info
Thanks for the info Linda.
We are having our start up meeting with all towns we service together. This is different from past years as we all went separate to discuss changes in the towns. This year I know we are getting our zonars with cameras installed for one of our towns per contract.
I know that these will be used as time cards. We have a guaranteed time per run in our contracts. I also know that for years if we have gone over it has not been a problem. Now though as you say big brother will be watching, I also know they will be cutting down on some peoples time.
We just had our start up
We just had our start up meeting and it was quite chaotic and entertaining at the same time; watching management squirm and try to weasel their way around answering direct questions.
They first tell us Zonar is going to be used as a time clock. At our location, we are required to physically check in at dispatch and check our mailbox before we pre trip. When I asked how they intend to address this, because there is no way we are doing it for free, they said: "well zonar is going to be used as a reference tool" (notice they could not explain HOW they intend to pay us for this time)
Another new policy from corporate, (at least our location) is mandatory spotters while backing in the yard. Before it was only backing out of the garage (we have about 25 buses parked indoors but most, 100 or so in an outdoor lot) now they require it for everyone backing up. When I asked who was going to be these spotters their answer was "either office staff (ya right) or fellow drivers. I asked again, how were they going to address pay for these spotters if they had already post tripped and thus "punched out"? Their reply.....we will look into this.
Finally on the topic of backing up with spotters, be very careful here. This company that loves to preach safety did not think this snafu through at all. My first concern was while spotting the driver into his parking space he is supposed to position himsef in the view of the drivers mirror and stay on the drivers side of the bus. If you are backing into a spot that has busses on either side of you and a fence to the rear this is IMPOSSIBLE to do safely. Secondly, Pennsylvania inacted a diesel idling law of no more than 5 minutes at idle for all diesel vehicles. The reason for this is harmful emissions. What is the logic of having a spotter surrounded on 3 sides by buses and a fence to the rear while sucking in diesel fumes? OSHA is going to love that policy.
Sorry if I was a tad long winded but I feel the information is important. By the way, it says I can't create a thread on here, does anyone know why or how I can start one?
FS is getting more and more
FS is getting more and more crazy, but as their motto is "if you can't do it safely, don't do it!" I would say don't do it and see what they say. Write it up in your book as not being safe.
Question: Does the
Question:
Does the spotter have to sign a paper that says they are liable for all accidents while they are performing this task?
Not that I have seen as of
Not that I have seen as of yet, quite the opposite according to safety director. According to our safety department the final responsibility lies solely upon the driver for any accidents, even if the spotter backs him into the hazard.