Inspiration
We started by talking with staff at KW AccessAbility, an organization preparing to receive an accessible bus next spring. Their trips were previously logged on paper, with kilometres, hours, fuel, pay, and repairs tracked separately from the rest of the agency.
With part time drivers who drive occasionally, the process needs to be easy to follow every time. We built Access Bus to move the trip sheet off paper while keeping the workflow familiar.
What it does
Access Bus gives office staff and drivers separate workflows.
Staff plan trips by selecting the date, driver, members, destination, and stops. They specify each member’s drop-off location, then review completed trip sheets, correct numbers, and mark them checked.
Drivers follow four steps to record the trip, including kilometre readings, member pickups, and fuel.
Members never need to use the app. They continue registering by phone, and registration stays in the organization’s existing Microsoft Access system.
How we built it
We began with plain wireframes, checking each step against the office’s process before developing the visual design. Large text, plain language, familiar checkboxes, and fewer steps guided the interface.
We built the frontend with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Our AWS infrastructure uses Cognito for authentication, API Gateway for protected requests, and Python Lambda functions for backend logic. The route planner uses Amazon Location Service to geocode stops, with searches biased toward Kitchener and Waterloo. Infrastructure is managed with Terraform.
Challenges we ran into
The biggest challenge was translating a paper process into software without adding work for staff or drivers. We needed to account for different passenger drop-off locations, occasional drivers, and costs that must be reported separately.
We also had to distinguish confirmed requirements from open questions, including when paid time starts and which totals the funder requires.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We built around conversations with the people who would use the system. Those conversations shaped concrete decisions: staff plan while drivers record, members remain outside the app, and home drop-offs require a reason.
What we learned
Digitizing a form requires understanding the decisions behind it. Who enters information, when they enter it, and who checks it matter as much as the fields themselves.
We learned to validate the workflow before polishing the design, and gained great experience with AWS infrastructure including authentication, serverless functions, geocoding, and routing.
What's next for Access Bus
The goal is a pilot next spring, when the bus program starts running again.
