Zeelo are pleased to be operating the dedicated Zeelo to Rotherham and Dearne Valley College service for the 2020/21 term. We have some new rules to follow in order to keep safe, and we also have some new features to share with you.
Whats new?
COVID-19 cleaning and safety measures
'Follow my rides' - You can now allow friends and family to follow your account so they can be updated on the progress of rides you take with Zeelo
Easy to book App
Launch date: Monday 7th September 2020
Dedicated school transport, including statutory provision Pupils on dedicated school services do not mix with the general public on those journeys and tend to be consistent. This means that the advice for passengers on public transport to adopt a social distance of two metres from people outside their household or support bubble, or a ‘one metre plus’ approach where this is not possible, will not apply from the autumn term on dedicated transport.
⚠️ Your Zeelo account must be set up in your child's name ⚠️
There are some new rules we all need to follow to keep safe
❗❗ Parents and carers must be advised that children or young people must not board home to school transport if they, or a member of their household, has symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19).
❗❗Parents and carers must inform Zeelo immediately if they become aware that their children or young person has a confirmed case of coronavirus so Zeelo can implement their contact tracing policy
1. Social Distancing
The Government are adopting a new position in light of all children returning to education full-time and the fact that ‘1 metre plus’ social distancing measures will not uniformly apply on dedicated school or college transport.
The Government acknowledge that distancing and grouping may sometimes not be possible. Where they are not possible, other measures in the system of controls become even more important.
When waiting for your Zeelo to arrive, please stand at least 1m apart in your bubbles whenever possible - there will be signage running along the near side of the vehicle to help support this
Wait for riders in front of you to board before moving forward
Please also make sure your Zeelo ticket is clearly displayed on mobile prior to boarding to help speed things up and get everyone to school on time
2. Boarding your Zeelo
Follow the drivers instructions to fill the vehicle from the rear and alight from the front first
Wherever vehicle capacity allows, distancing between individual passengers, or groups of passengers, is helpful. It is particularly desirable where children attending different schools travel on the same vehicle.
Students should always try to travel in a bubble of two from the same school at all times whilst using the service (unless siblings)
All seating is forward facing and there will be no face to face seating onboard
3. Face Coverings 😷
Until the start of the autumn term, children and young people have not been expected to wear face coverings on dedicated transport, although they have been able to if they wish.
The latest gov.uk guidance for Home - School services stipulate that all riders over 11 years old should wear a face covering
A face covering is a covering of any type which covers your nose and mouth. Reusable or single-use face coverings are available for parents and carers to buy. A scarf, bandana, religious garment or hand-made cloth covering may also be used but these must securely fit round the side of the face.
The drivers attention should be focused on the overall safety and operation of the vehicle, drivers should not police non compliance. All non compliance will be reported back to Zeelo who will communicate with the relevant school and all parents and riders by way of email/SMS
4. Sanitiser available upon boarding your Zeelo
All riders should use hand sanitiser upon boarding and disembarking the vehicle
Drivers will not be policing hand sanitisation so we would ask that all parents encourage their children to adopt this as a standard boarding and disembarking procedure
5. Catch it, bin it, kill it!
All passengers should carry tissues whilst travelling onboard their Zeelo service
In line with government advice The ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach is very important. Schools will be reinforcing this message with children in their communication with families.
Where a closed bin is not available onboard the service, students should follow the schools policies on disposing of face coverings on arrival to school
Zeelo will ensure good ventilation of fresh air wherever possible by keeping the roof lights, on home to school transport, open
6. Behaviour
The Government do not expect drivers to police pupil behaviour. Their role is to focus on driving the vehicle safely.
The home to school travel and transport statutory guidance sets out the Governments expectation that schools should promote appropriate standards of behaviour by pupils on their journey to and from school
The guidance for schools on returning in the autumn term sets out that schools should consider updating their behaviour policies with any new rules and policies. This may include rules relating to behaviour on the way to and from school. It also includes the consequences for poor behaviour and deliberately breaking it
Zeelo will communicate any reports of non compliance to parents and schools to support the best practice and correct behaviours whilst onboard our service
📣 Some frequently asked questions
What is the new timetable?
Your Zeelo timetable is as follows
Click on the timetable images to view the route on google maps
What kind of vehicle do we look out for?
You will receive a text message 45 min prior to departure with the vehicle description, registration and tracking link
What if our plans change during the day?
You can still cancel your Zeelo ride up until 5 min before departure on via the app or website to prevent the driving from expecting you
Read more on how to cancel your booking here
You can also drop us a quick message via live chat and we can remove you from the booking
How long is my Zeelo travel pass valid for?
The Zeelo service is launching on the 7th September
All travel passes will expire at the end of the college term
Do I need to opt in to my rides?
You must book on to each journey you want to take and be able to display a ticket to the driver
Every Thursday your rides for the week ahead will be available on the app and website via 'Myrides'
Who's details should be on the Zeelo booking?
Please use your child's name to register the account so this shows on the bookings
Majority of parents sign up with their own email address which is fine
If your child has a mobile phone we suggest their number being on the profile for updates and on the day tracking links
Parents should set up 'follow my ride' to receive tracking and identical notifications including when your child has been marked as boarded the bus
How do I manage my 'follow my ride'
You can allow friends and family to follow your account so they can be updated on the progress of rides you take with Zeelo. Please check out our help article on 'follow my ride' here
How can I suggest a new stop?
Please visit the booking page and select view all pick-up's
Select request new pick-up
Enter the details required to submit your request
Zeelo will be in touch if a new stop is made live
What are Zeelo doing to keep us safe during COVID-19?
Zeelo are taking every steps to make sure operators are deep cleaning their vehicles daily, with all hard surfaces wiped down prior to and after each journey
Keeping up to date with Government advice and working very closely with our partner operators to implement any changes keeping our service operationally safe for both riders and drivers
Providing PPE for Drivers
Suppling hand sanitiser for riders to use upon boarding and disembarking the vehicle
Ability to manage contact tracing
Get in touch with us via live chat, you can find this at the bottom right hand side of the website or app.
📞 0330 808 3306