INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS


STOPPED IN THEIR TRACKS WRITTEN BY SYLVIA ARROYO


Routing Coordinator Jeannine Rogers. “We’re usually fielding issues until Oct.


T


1, and I’d say we were pretty organized and together by the middle of September,” said Rogers, who has been a router for nearly eight years. “We’re really down on the parent phone calls. We’ve transitioned well this year.” She credits this improvement to the


Trapeze VEO AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) software the district implemented a couple of years ago to track yellow buses via GPS. Te AVL is tied to the depart- ment’s routing and scheduling software, also provided by Trapeze. Transportation Director Greg Akin said


before implementing VEO AVL, idle times, actual delivery times and how stop order routes were run, were some main issues he wanted to address. “Safety is always a No. 1 concern for


parents and school and transportation staff. Implementing a system to be able to track where a bus is at any given time is very reassuring, as well as reports that would al- low transportation to reduce any inefficien- cies we may have had, such as streamlining


he start of the 2013-2014 school year at Volusia County Schools in Deland, Fla., was probably one of the best for transportation, said


routes wherever possible,” he said. Volusia County Schools’ 211 route buses (out of 300-plus yellow buses on hand) cov- er a landmass of 1,200 square miles while transporting an average of 24,582 students. Bussing so many students can result in a high number of routes. Rogers noted that the VEO AVL enabled her and the other routing coordinators to compare actual routes to how they were being run. “Being able to view the actual path of


travel has assisted us with more efficient and effective routing. We knew which buses had time to do what,” she said. “We deleted about 300 stops during our implementation of the VEO AVL.” Now, she said, the program is utilized


mainly for route maintenance, especially at the beginning of the school year. Both Rogers and Akin stressed the im-


portance of the software’s reporting feature. Routing coordinators can generate reports that pull all the points where the bus went in a day, and can let them know a driver’s speed limit. Tis Web-based program can be accessed by not only by routers but all administrative staff, which helps when it’s time to evaluate drivers’ performance. “It’s accessible to our office staff at six


28 School Transportation News November 2013


INTEGRATING AVL SOFTWARE WITH ITS ROUTING AND SCHEDULING SOFTWARE, A FLORIDA SCHOOL DISTRICT REDUCED A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF ROUTES


£ Route maintenance is now easier for Routing Coordinator Jeannine Rogers thanks to the VEO AVL.


different terminals, so they can also view it and get quick access to data. Te Web-based program allows more people assist schools and parents in a timely manner,” she said. Akin added: “Idle time reports from the


GPS system have been helpful in reducing the amount of time drivers have their buses running.” He said training to learn the program


consisted of the staff attending a couple of webinars, which totaled about three hours, to become familiar with the icons and to report features showing what the system could do. Rogers added that it’s fairly easy to use. “Its view is a bit like Outlook. You have


your tree and the map piece, and are able to watch where the vehicle has been,” she explained. “Ten you have the reports fea- ture, which allows you to go back and view all points and signals for any vehicle at any time on any day. Te ability to view speed limits has also been very useful for us.” While managers and directors are content


with VEO AVL, Akin said so are the bus drivers. “Tey like the idea that we can prove to


parents that they were at the stop using the GPS, and they like the routes design as a whole.” 


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