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company’s tracking system. “Fleet manag- ers can monitor idling, speed, hard stops, cornering and acceleration to improve fuel efficiency and safety,” Johnson said. “Tis can prove very useful in the event a driver takes a bus off route or a citizen complains about a speeding bus. Without telematics in place there would be no data available to measure driving habits.” John Lavazzo, vice president for op-


erations for Tyler Technologies Inc., said monitoring driver behavior might be more important to smaller districts because they have fewer people wearing more hats. “You can imagine the time a smaller district would save if they could simply pull up a GPS route path in their software to confirm whether a driver made a student stop or was speeding,” Lavazzo said, adding that technology can eliminate lengthy investiga-


tions to determine whether the driver or a complaining parent is telling the truth. “We often hear that such technology


actually causes frequent parent callers to stop calling because they realize technology is impartial and objective,” he said. Steve McKinley, operations manager for


the Trapeze Group’s school division, said small school districts should not pass on technology simply because of their small size. “When analyzing the benefits of being able to become more efficient, raising the level of safety and being able to commu- nicate better with the public, all districts should, at a minimum, explore these tech- nologies,” he said. McKinley also warned that GPS is less efficient without adequate software to handle the volume of data that is being generated. “Tat’s when you get diminishing returns on technology,” he said. While the consensus is that technology has improved transportation operations, Jetha cautioned that too much of a good thing could have unanticipated peripheral results. “With all the onboard technology available for school transportation we are almost coming to a point where learning, managing and maintaining technology is putting a strain on resources,” Jetha said. “Te more data you collect on your fleet, the more time is required to analyze that data. Te more systems you have in place the more maintenance and training is required to keep them operating efficiently.” Lavazzo cautioned that school districts should not purchase technology for technol- ogy’s sake. “Simply implementing software or hardware solutions will not result in instant results without a little forethought and effort,” Lavazzo said. “Only those organizations capable of managing themselves through change and willingness to adopt more efficient processes will rapidly realize the multitude of benefits that new technologies offer.” Johnson added that school districts should have a plan before purchasing new technology. “Installing a telematics system with no idea how value will be derived is like purchasing a school bus with no routes planned. Simply being able to track the cur- rent and historical locations of the buses can often be the first step. However, it is very important that school districts work with a provider that can grow with them as they realize greater benefits from the telematics platform.” l


22 School Transportation News June 2014


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