Dispatcher — School Bus & Paratransit

As a Dispatcher - School Bus & Paratransit, you will help control Cathay Express Transportation Inc.’s daily school bus, OPWDD, and paratransit/non-emergency medical transportation service.

This hands-on role confirms daily readiness, assigns qualified drivers and appropriate vehicles, monitors service from pullout through pull-in, responds to disruptions, communicates with customers and operating partners, and maintains accurate records. The Dispatcher must work within established authority and immediately elevate safety, qualification, handoff, and service risks.

Cathay Express Transportation, Inc. is a Queens-based transportation provider serving patients, nursing homes, clinics, private organizations, healthcare partners, public agencies, and community transportation customers throughout New York City and New York State. The company provides non-emergency medical transportation, ambulette, wheelchair, stretcher, school bus, public transit, and related mobility services with a strong focus on safe, timely, reliable, and customer-centered service.
Cathay team members are expected to perform through the Company’s Five Operating Pillars:
Safety, Service, People, Accountability, and Continuous Improvement. These principles guide daily decisions, employee conduct, customer communication, performance, and improvement across every service line.

• Safety:
  • Before dispatch, verify in the approved roster or system that the driver is cleared for the work, including required license and endorsements, Article 19-A status where applicable, medical and training status, applicable drug and alcohol status, and available duty time. Do not dispatch an expired, restricted, unclear, or unconfirmed driver or override a qualification hold.
  • Confirm that the assigned vehicle is approved for service, has no unresolved safety defect, and meets capacity, wheelchair lift and securement, child-restraint, communications, and equipment requirements. Confirm required pre-trip and DVIR completion and coordinate substitutions or road calls with Maintenance.
  • Protect every student and rider through required vehicle sweeps, post-trip child-check confirmation, individual instructions, emergency response, and authorized handoffs. Never approve an alternate or unattended release; keep the passenger safe and immediately follow the notification and escalation protocol.
• Service:
  • Control daily service from pre-pullout through final pull-in by assigning routes, trips, drivers, vehicles, and required monitors or aides; manage callouts, late reports, open work, and vehicle substitutions without compromising qualifications or safety.
  • Monitor vehicles, route progress, schedule adherence, and exceptions through GPS/telematics, routing, broker, phone, and radio systems; respond to traffic, weather, breakdowns, missed trips, late service, and deviations with timely recovery actions and verified ETAs.
  • Follow each service line requirement, including approved student routes and bell times for school bus, standing transportation and individual instructions for OPWDD, and manifests, will-calls, returns, add-ons, cancellations, and no-show procedures for paratransit/NEMT.
• People:
  • Communicate calmly and clearly with drivers, monitors, riders, students, families, schools, residences, program sites, medical facilities, brokers, agency contacts, and internal departments, especially during delays, complaints, incidents, and emergencies.
  • Give drivers and monitors current route, passenger, equipment, and service instructions; reinforce dispatch procedures and elevate attendance, conduct, training, or performance concerns to the appropriate supervisor.
  • Treat every student, rider, family member, and employee with dignity, and protect sensitive information under Company policy, contract requirements, and applicable privacy laws.
• Accountability:
  • Maintain a complete, time-stamped dispatch log of assignments, calls, exceptions, notifications, decisions, actions, and outcomes; provide a clear handoff for open work, active incidents, disabled vehicles, and pending follow-up.
  • Serve as the first operating contact for accidents, injuries, breakdowns, possible abuse or neglect, elopement, unaccounted-for passengers, and other serious events; stabilize the response, contact emergency services when required, notify management and Safety, and begin documentation without delay.
  • Reconcile trips and service records against manifests and electronic systems so…