Introducing EasyTrip Request 2.1

“Another example of why EasyBus is the leader of the Field Trip Software business”

John Brookshire, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

The Birth of EasyTrip Request™ 2.0

The first version of EasyTrip Request was a great way for transportation departments to automate their trip request and approval process, but it also served as a tool that helped us really understand the needs of these organizations. The knowledge and understanding we gleamed from the people that used EasyTrip Request 1.x presented us with some very distinct challenges; both in the needs of the client, and in the limitations of our own solution.

Instead of attempting to simply make EasyTrip Request version 2 better by enhancing the functionality of version 1, we decided to rebuild the system from the ground up. Almost a year since the project’s inception, the result has been an entirely new EasyTrip Request with very foundational differences from its predecessor.

Trip Types and Approval Roles

The old EasyTrip Request relied on a ‘one approver per user’ approval chain which greatly limited its flexibility. To overcome this, requestors would create multiple user accounts for themselves. Now with version 2, a user can request many different types of trips with the same user account. The system simply asks the requestor what kind of trip they want when they click ‘New Request’.

Building an approval process using Types and Roles has other bonuses as well. When the trip is submitted, Approval Roles, not approvers, receive the trip. Now when an approver leaves employment and a new one is hired, the approval chain is completely realigned with the use of a couple of check boxes. Approval chains can be completely automatic; requestors don’t have to guess where the trip should go next. Also, an Approval Role can have more than one person assigned to it. Now the principal, vice-principal, or secretary can approve the same request that has been sent to their Approval Role.

Simplified User Interface

From the beginning, EasyTrip Request has been built such that users can create their own user account online, minimizing the work the transportation department must perform. With 2.0, the user clicks a link from the school district home page and fills in their name and email address.

Since their email address becomes their username, the system even validates the email automatically!

Once inside the Request Page, users are exposed to an online form with a layout similar to the old paper form they have been accustomed to. In version 2, questions on this form can be resized and rearranged in ways that were not available in version 1. This new level of flexibility ensures that when a user sees the request form there is as little a learning curve as possible.

Activities and Budget Codes

With 2.0, selecting activities and budget codes becomes greatly automated. Activities can now be linked directly to the Trip Type so when a user requests a ‘fine arts’ trip, for example, only ‘fine arts’ activities will be available. Once the activity is selected, the budget code for that specific activity can be made to appear automatically. There is also the option to make the budget code editable or ‘read only’ for the requestor.

Improvements in Version 2.1

With the EasyTrip Request 2.0 foundation in place, we could now begin to roll out the features and benefits that many of our clients have been asking for. Outlined here are only a few of the many new features added in 2.1.

Well thought out, feature-rich, and easier to use than ever, the EasyTrip Request™ online request solution represents the pinnacle of transportation management solutions. If you have any questions about these or any other features of EasyBus® Software, please email us here or call (888) 327-9571 ext 2.