Do you want to start a child transportation business and need to write a plan? If YES, here is a sample child transportation business plan template & feasibility report.
If you have plans to start a business in the transportation industry, then one of your best bets is to start a child transportation service. Child transportation services involves transporting toddlers and school children from their homes to their schools and back, and for other events.
The fact that there are loads of schools in the united states means that child transportation services is a viable business. The startup capital for this type of business could be intensive or moderate depending on the number of cars or school buses you want to put out there and the number of families or schools you want to work with. But one thing is certain, child transportation business is indeed a profitable business if it is well located.
Just like most businesses out there, you cannot ascertain the profitability of a child transportation business in your city until you conduct a thorough feasibility studies and market survey; with that, you will be able to know whether to go ahead with the business or not.
Below is a sample child transportation service business plan template that can help you write your own with little or no difficulty.
A Sample Child Transportation Service Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
Child transportation services is part of the public bus services industry and this industry includes companies that primarily provide bus services to students in grades K-12 and school employees. School buses transport students to and from school, as well as between school events, field trips, camps and other educational events.
Companies also provide transportation for school employees to and from work. A close study of the Public Bus Services industry shows that the industry is projected to grow in the coming years. Economic growth has taken away some pressure on state budgets and give room for moderate revenue growth.
Encouraging factors pointing to industry growth include steadily improving state budgets and a rising number of elementary and secondary school children throughout the United States of America, both of which will increase industry demand.
A major drawback for this industry is the world price of crude oil, a key input, that owners of school bus transport services must try to fix into their contracts. Statistics has it that in the United States of America alone, there are about 11,053 licensed and registered Public Bus Services Companies responsible for employing about 269,985 employees.
The industry rakes in a whooping sum of $14 billion annually with an annual growth rate projected at 3.9 percent within 2014 and 2019. The organizations with the lion share of the available market in the industry are FirstGroup PLC, National Express Group PLC and Student Transportation Inc.
A report recently published by IBISWorld shows that, the Public – School Bus Services industry has a medium level of market share concentration.
The report also shows that in 2017, the top four companies accounted for 36.6 percent of total industry revenue. Regardless of continued pursuit of acquisitions by larger operators, market concentration has remained relatively the same over the current period, falling just three percentage points.
The report further stated that while the number of industry operators is projected to grow at a tepid annualized 0.4 percent over the five years to 2017, moderate increases in revenue have supported organic growth for large and small operators, thus maintaining a sturdy market share concentration.
Still, major industry operators, including FirstGroup PLC, National Express Group PLC and Student Transportation Inc. have vastly outperformed the industry on average. Some of the factors that encourage entrepreneurs to start their own school bus transportation services are that the business is easy to set up and it is indeed a thriving and profitable business.
Lastly, starting a school bus transportation business in the United States requires that you get the necessary permit and license to be able to operate in any city of your choice, and you are expected to have a good grasp of the routes and perhaps financing plans for buses.
2. Executive Summary
Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. is a licensed child transportation services provider that will be located in a growing community in East Rutherford – New Jersey. Our basic aim of setting up the business is to contribute our quota in ensuring that children cum families who live in East Rutherford and neighboring towns have reliable and comfortable form of transportation.
We are committed to taking absolute charge of children’s transportation. We have been able to secure a standard parking lot in a central and easy to locate area in East Rutherford – New Jersey. Our aim of starting the business is to transport students to and from school, as well as between school events, field trips, camps and other educational events.
Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. is going to become the leading child transportation services provider in the whole of East Rutherford – New Jersey and we will work hard to build our business to match the transport needs of the average child under the age of 18 in the community.
Before launching the business, we conducted a thorough market research and feasibility studies and we were able to come to the conclusion that East Rutherford – New Jersey community is the right place to open our transportation business.
Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a business, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.
We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our client’s needs precisely and completely.
Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. is owned and managed by Ben Teddy. Mr. Ben Teddy has robust experienced in the public school transportation services industry and he possess Bachelor of Science in Transportation and Logistics from the University of New Jersey.
3. Our Products and Services
Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. is in the Public Bus Transportation industry to provide child transportation services for residents of East Rutherford – New Jersey. These are the services that will be made available to our clients;
- Providing home-to-school bus transportation for students and pre – school children
- Providing bus transportation for extracurricular activities for students.
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- Our Vision is to build a child transportation company that will be the leader in the industry in the whole of East Rutherford – New Jersey.
- Our mission for establishing Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. is to build a world – class child transportation services business and also to contribute our quota in easing the stress of parents when it comes to transporting their children and wards in East Rutherford – New Jersey.
Our Business Structure
Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. is set to become the leading child transportation service providers in the whole of East Rutherford – New Jersey. In view of that, we have made provisions for the following positions to be occupied by highly qualified and experienced staff;
- Chief Executive Officer
- Admin and HR Manager
- Marketing and Sales Executive
- Accountant
- Professional Drivers
- Customer Care Executive / Front Desk Officer
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Executive Office:
- Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results
- Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
- Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
- Responsible for providing direction for the business
- Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
- Evaluates the success of the organization
Admin and HR Manager
- Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
- Design job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for clients
- Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders to review the effectiveness of HR Policies, Procedures and Processes
- Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
- Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
- Defining job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
- Carrying out induction for new team members
- Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
- Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
- Oversee the smooth running of the daily office activities.
Marketing and Sales Executive
- Identify, prioritize, and reach out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
- Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts
- Writing winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with company policy
- Responsible for handling business research, marker surveys and feasibility studies for clients
- Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
- Document all customer contact and information
- Represent the company in strategic meetings
- Help increase sales and growth for the company
Accountant
- Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
- create reports from the information concerning the financial transactions recorded by the bookkeeper
- Prepare the income statement and balance sheet using the trial balance and ledgers prepared by the bookkeeper.
- Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports
- Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
- Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
- Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
- Responsible for administering payrolls
- Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
- Handles all financial transactions for the company
- Serves as internal auditor for the company
Professional Drivers
- Drives school buses and other form of transportation as assigned by the management
- Maintain a logbook of their driving activities to ensure compliance with federal regulations governing the rest and work periods for operators.
- Keep a record of vehicle inspections and make sure the cab is equipped with safety equipment
- Inspect vehicles for mechanical and safety issues and perform preventative maintenance
- Comply with taxi driving rules and regulations as well as with company policies and procedures
- Report defects, accidents or violations
Client Service Executive/Front Desk Officer
- Welcomes children and their parents by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
- Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
- Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
- Manages administrative duties assigned by the manager in an effective and timely manner
- Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the company’s products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients
- Receives parcels/documents for the company
- Distribute mails in the organization
6. SWOT Analysis
Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. is in business to provide child transportation services for children in East Rutherford – New Jersey. We are aware that there are competitions in the Public Bus Transportation Services industry which is why we took out time to conduct an effective SWOT Analysis before investing our hard – earned money into the business.
We know that if we get things right before starting our child transportation services business, we will not have to struggle before attract loyal clients and build our clientele base to a level where we can easily breakeven in record time.
We hired the services of Dr. Emmanuel Bright, a HR and Business consultant with bias in business structuring to help us conduct SWOT analysis for our company and he did a pretty good job for us. Here is a of the result we got from the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc.;
- Strength:
One of the strengths that will definitely stand as a plus for Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. is the fact that our parking facility is centrally located in a densely populated – residential area; our location is in fact one of our major strengths.
We equally have reliable and comfortable buses under our fleet, we have a team of highly qualified and experienced professionals who will work with children to transport them from one point to another and lastly our fees and business package is going to be one of the best that anybody living in East Rutherford – New Jersey can get; it is cheap and affordable.
- Weakness:
Before setting up this business, we looked into our Business model and we were able to identify two major weaknesses. One is the fact that we are a new business and the second is the fact that we may not have the financial resources required to match up with existing public school transportation service providers in East Rutherford – New Jersey.
- Opportunities:
As expected, when government funding for primary and secondary education decreases, school districts and parents generally outsource to school bus services. Industry operators provide cost-effective transportation programs for schools. Government funding for primary and secondary education is expected to increase in 2019, representing a potential opportunity for the industry.
So also, part of the advantages we have is that, we are centrally located in one of the busiest areas and densely populated area with the right demographic composition in East Rutherford – New Jersey and we are open to all the available opportunities that the city has to offer.
- Threat:
One of the threats that we are likely going to face is the fact that when unemployment rises, parents are more likely to care of their kid’s transportation services instead of paying a child transport services company. So also, as the number of school-age children continues to expand, industry revenue will be positively affected.
With more children attending K-12 schools, there is a greater demand for additional bus routes, leading to increased revenue for school bus operators. When the number of K-12 students is not increasing, there are fewer opportunities to increase revenue. The number of K-12 students is expected to remain largely stagnant in 2019, posing a potential threat to the industry.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trends
The market for child transportation services is driven by the growth in the economy, increase in birth and the increase in consumer spending – in essence, as the general economy of a country grows, more people will have enough financial resources to patronize private child transportation services as against making use of public buses, and trains et al.
Besides, revenue generated by child transportation services company is driven by enrollment of school children in schools and creches et al. The profitability of operators in this industry depends on good marketing and networking. As a matter of fact, small companies can effectively compete with large ones because there are few economies of scale in this line of business.
Research shows that the public school bus transportation services industry in the US is fragmented: the top 50 companies account for less than 35 percent of the total revenue generated in the industry.
Technology has indeed played a major role in this industry especially in cutting cost, enforcing safety and monitoring measure. There is hardly any child transportation services company that does not have a car tracker installed on all their buses and cars. It helps them in monitoring their fleets and also in planning and budgeting et al.
8. Our Target Market
The target market for child transportation services cuts across children of school age from different backgrounds. Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. will work towards providing services, reliable and comfortable buses and cars that will help us reach out to our target market.
These are the category of people that we intend marketing our business to;
- Households and families with children under the age of 18
- Schools
- Creches
- Children Department of Churches and Religious centers
Our Competitive Advantage
The Public Bus Transportation Services industry is indeed a prolific and highly competitive industry. Clients will only patronize your services if they know that you can help them provide reliable and comfortable transportation for their children.
Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. is centrally located in a densely populated – residential area in East Rutherford – New Jersey.
We have comfortable and reliable fleet of buses and cars, we equally have a team of highly qualified professionals who will work with our clients to achieve their aims of enrolling in our child transportation service and lastly our fees and membership package is going to be one of the best that anybody living in East Rutherford – New Jersey can get; it is cheap and affordable.
Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy
Our marketing strategies will be directed towards achieving specific objectives that support the strategic goals of the organization. The truth is that all that we do will be geared towards creating new market channels, increasing sales and our market share. We will leverage on improving on our services to ensure that we win new clients and retain old ones.
Our unique selling proposition is that we are well positioned and people can easily access our facility, our prices are affordable and we have a complete package for families, schools and religious organizations. Part of the marketing and sales strategies that we will adopt are;
- Advertise Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. on national dailies, local TV and radio stations
- Promote our child transportation services online via our official website and all available social media platforms
- Introduce our child transportation services by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to religious organizations, schools, corporate organizations, households and key stake holders in East Rutherford – New Jersey
- Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in offices, libraries, public facilities and train stations et al.
- Making our first impression count positively to those making use of our child transportation services for the first time
- Make use of attractive handbills to create awareness and also to give direction to our office and parking facility
- Adopt direct mailing coupon marketing approach
- Position our signage / flexi banners at strategic places in and around East Rutherford – New Jersey
Sources of Income
Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the Public Bus Transportation Services industry and we are going to do all it takes to attract both individual clients (families) and corporate clients (schools) on a regular basis. Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. will generate income by offering the following services;
- Providing home-to-school bus transportation for students and pre – school children
- Providing bus transportation for extracurricular activities for students.
10. Sales Forecast
It is important to state that our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies and also some of the assumptions readily available on the field. It would be hard to create a sales forecast with a newly opened business because the statistics that will be provided will be on a short – term basis.
Experts said that usually a business should be in operation for at least one year before they can generate the statistics that will be needed to help in accurate forecasting. We expect to transport a minimum of 12,000 children i.e. one thousand children per month within our first year of operation and then in subsequent years we will grow by 25 percent on more.
Below are the sales projection for Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc., it is based on the location of our child transportation services business and the services and products that we will be offering to our clients (members);
- First Fiscal Year (FY1): $200,000
- Second Fiscal Year (FY2): $450,000
- Third Fiscal Year (FY3): $750,000
N.B: This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major competitor offering same additional services as we do within 4.5 miles radius from our facility.
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
We have been able to work with our branding and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market. We are set to become the number one choice for both families and schools in the whole of East Rutherford – New Jersey which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity of our child transportation services business.
Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc.;
- Place adverts on both print (community – based newspapers and school / educational related magazines) and electronic media platforms
- Sponsor relevant community – based school events and academic competitions
- Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
- Install our BillBoards on strategic locations all around East Rutherford – New Jersey
- Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
- List Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. on local directories / yellow pages
- Advertise our child transportation services business in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site.
- Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirts and all our official vehicles are well branded with our corporate logo.
12. Our Pricing Strategy
Our pricing system is going to be based on what is obtainable in the industry, we don’t intend to charge more (except for premium and customized services) and we don’t intend to charge less than what our competitors are charging as fees in East Rutherford – New Jersey.
Be that as it may, we have put plans in place to offer discount services once in a while and also to reward our loyal customers especially when they refer clients to us or when they register as a family or schools.
- Payment Options
The payment policy adopted by Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.
Here are the payment options that Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. will make available to her clients;
- Payment by via bank transfer
- Payment via online bank transfer
- Payment via check
- Payment via mobile money
- Payment with cash
In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our clients pay us without any difficulty.
13. Our Startup Expenditure (Budget)
From our market research and feasibility studies, we were able to come up with the following financial projections as it relates to establishing our own standard child transportation services business in the United States of America;
- The total fee for registering the business in the United States of America – $750.
- Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $3,300.
- Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
- The cost for hiring business consultant – $2,500.
- The cost for insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400.
- The cost for payment of rent for 12 months at $1.76 per square feet parking lot facility in the total amount of $115,300.
- The total cost for facility remodeling – $20,000.
- Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,500).
- Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $60,000
- The total cost for financing the acquisition of the first set of cars and school buses – $100,000
- The cost of purchase and installation of GPS car trackers and CCTVs – $5,000
- The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound System, tables and chairs et al) – $4,000.
- The cost of launching a website – $600
- Miscellaneous – $10,000
We would need an estimate of four hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($450,000) to successfully set up our child transportation services business in East Rutherford – New Jersey.
Generating Funds/Startup Capital for Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc.
Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. is a business that will be owned and managed by Mr. Ben Teddy. He decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital for the business to just three major sources.
- Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
- Generate part of the startup capital from friends and other extended family members
- Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).
N.B: We have been able to generate about $150,000 (Personal savings $100,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $300,000 from our bank. All the papers and documents have been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.
14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
Part of the plans we have in place to sustain Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. is to ensure that we continue to make available a wide range of reliable and comfortable school buses and cars, deliver quality services, improvise on how to do things faster and cheaper.
We are not going to relent in providing conducive environment for our workers and also the required trainings that will help them deliver excellent services at all times. We are quite aware that our customers are key components to the growth and survival of our business hence we are going to continuously engage them to give us ideas on how to serve them better.
Ben Teddy® Child Transportation Services Company, Inc. will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner.
As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.
Check List/Milestone
- Business Name Availability Check: Completed
- Business Registration: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
- Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
- Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
- Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
- Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
- Application for business license and permit: Completed
- Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
- Acquiring office and parking lot facility and remodeling the facility: In Progress
- Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
- Generating capital from family members: Completed
- Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
- Writing of Business Plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Printing of Promotional Materials: In Progress
- Recruitment of employees: In Progress
- Creating Official Website for the Company: Completed
- Creating Awareness for the business both online and in the neighborhood: In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
- Financing the acquisition of the first set of cars and school buses: In Progress
- Networking with schools, churches and other religious centers and other key stakeholders in and around East Rutherford – New Jersey: In Progress