How To Become A Route Supervisor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a route supervisor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A route supervisor works for companies providing passenger transportation services. They supervise staff and make sure vehicles are well maintained and functional. They manage timetables, resolve customer complaints, handle delays, and deal with accidents and other emergencies.

Working as a route manager, you will plan routes and timetables and coordinate the drivers' schedules. You will arrange substitutes for missing workers, survey itineraries, monitor the team's performance, and handle paperwork related to the services.

You will also have to take care of training staff, guaranteeing they have the necessary knowledge and practice to operate vehicles safely and in a timely manner. You might be expected to patrol vehicles, check passengers' tickets and passes, issue penalties, and make announcements in case of any problem.

ScoreRoute SupervisorUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $46,770

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.90%

Asian 6.76%

Black or African American 12.09%

Hispanic or Latino 18.01%

Unknown 4.64%

White 57.61%

Gender

female 11.75%

male 88.25%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.9

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.7

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a route supervisor

Explore route supervisor education requirements

Most common route supervisor degrees

Bachelor's

36.9 %

High School Diploma

30.4 %

Associate

20.6 %

Start to develop specific route supervisor skills

Skills	Percentages
DOT	31.46%
CDL	10.65%
OSHA	9.53%
Route Delivery	9.36%
Customer Service	8.34%

Complete relevant route supervisor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New route supervisors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a route supervisor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real route supervisor resumes.

Research route supervisor duties and responsibilities

Manage and audit team member's timekeeping.
Provide proper training to delivery driver to obtain CDL license when need.
Direct a team of 3 people and drive a truck with CDL permit.
Translate business needs and priorities into actionable logistics strategies.

Prepare your route supervisor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your route supervisor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a route supervisor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable route supervisor resume templates

Build a professional route supervisor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your route supervisor resume.