From September 2026, Queen’s College, Taunton will be bringing all home to school transport operations fully in house. Every bus route will be operated using a Queen’s College minibus and driven by a professional driver employed directly by the School.
This is an exciting step forward and reflects our ongoing commitment to providing a safe, reliable and high quality experience for our pupils and their families. By managing transport directly, we will be able to strengthen day to day oversight, improve communication with parents and respond more quickly to changing needs, while maintaining the standards of care, punctuality and professionalism that families expect from Queen’s College.
Enhanced communication through new school transport technology
As part of this development, Queen’s College is partnering with Vectare, a specialist provider of school transport software solutions, to further enhance our transport offering.
Vectare introduces an intuitive, bespoke parent portal that provides real time visibility of seat availability across routes. Parents will be able to view available seats instantly and make bookings with confidence, helping families plan their child’s transport more efficiently and transparently.
Real time updates and reassurance for parents
The Vectare system also offers live journey updates. Parents will receive an alert when their child boards the vehicle, providing reassurance that they are safely on their way. Through the portal, families will be able to monitor the progress of the bus and have a clear indication of arrival times.
In addition, the system is accessible via a dedicated mobile app, allowing parents to manage bookings and stay informed while on the move. This added flexibility supports busy family life and keeps parents connected and in control.
Investing in our fleet and our people
Over the coming months, our fleet of minibuses will be upgraded, with new vehicles arriving in readiness for September 2026. Alongside this, we will be recruiting a Lead Driver and additional minibus Drivers over the next six months, ensuring consistency, accountability and a strong understanding of the Queen’s community across all routes.
Bringing transport in house will allow the School to oversee routes and drivers more closely, adapt provision as demand changes and maintain a calm, well managed start and end to the school day for pupils. It is a model designed to put pupil wellbeing, safety and reliability first.
Recruiting a Lead Driver
As part of this transition, Queen’s College is recruiting a Lead Driver for a newly created role within our transport team. This position will support the day to day leadership of drivers and help ensure our home to school transport service operates safely, smoothly and reliably.
The role is part time, term time plus four weeks, with a split shift across mornings and afternoons. A competitive salary and benefits package is offered. Full details and how to apply can be found on the College vacancies page.
Looking ahead
We are really looking forward to sharing more details with parents over the coming months. This will include clear guidance on how to book transport and when the new parent portal will be available. We will make sure families are fully supported and well informed as we prepare for this exciting new chapter in home to school transport at Queen’s College.
