Need vs. Want Imagine walking into a meeting knowing that what you have to offer will only be seen as an additional cost that your potential client could do with- out. Te thought doesn’t paint a pretty picture. But, it hasn’t stopped vendors from trying to show why the combination of not only their products, but other like-minded ones,
could save big bucks at the end of the day. For Renaat Ver Eecke, vice president and general
“Technology must help the district reduce costs and, by its implementation, help minimize the potential impacts to service.”
— Ted Thien, Versatrans Solutions
manager of Navman Wireless North America, explain- ing the long-term return on investment is the best way to win someone over. One client was able to save al- most $250,000 a year with only 35 buses in its fleet. “In the current era of tight budgets, that’s hard to ignore,” said Ver Eecke, adding that the first step he suggests is for the district or company to perform an analysis of its operations.
REI’s Gunnar Guenette agrees, suggesting that the right combination of technol-
ogy can best be achieved by first determining the goals the district would like to achieve. The decision makers have to ask themselves: Is it necessary for operations to know where each bus is at all times? Will we need to achieve capturing all of the security footage or just an occurrence? Is the goal to document an event or react to it live? “In these times, it seems that liability is the best justification for the expense of GPS
and security technology. One student event undocumented often costs districts much more than the equipment,” said Guenette. Cost reduction definitely topped the list of reasons for mixing the different tech-
nologies, according to a number of vendors, with manpower and transportation savings backing it up. But safety and security also came into the mix — specifically, liability. “By precisely recording incidents where risky driving habits can be corrected, trans-
portation departments will target savings in personal injury, vehicle damage, general liability and worker’s compensation,” said Stephen Connolly, director of sales for Bus- traq, a school bus GPS tracking and monitoring company. For REI, 2009 brought about an increase in security-related sales, with much of the
growth a result of grant money, insurance incentives and government funding, accord- ing to Guenette.
Understanding: The Greatest Tool Before that final signature can approve a purchase order, districts need to under-
stand why they should allocate extra funds to complete this trifecta of technologies. In some instances, companies work together or at least advertise their relationships while meeting with schools officials. “Transfinder works with GPS companies to show both the planned and actual
traveled routes and exclusively allows users to modify their planned routes while viewing GPS data,” said Joseph Rourke, vice president of technology for Transfinder Corporation. “GPS and routing software are both great tools for saving money by making routes more efficient and ensuring that they stay that way.” Industry expert Kerry Somerville cited the fact that numerous vendors give a sales
pitch instead of educating districts on their technology. “While it is getting better, I am consistently amazed at how little school districts
understand about the technologies available and the benefits they can offer,” said Somerville, stressing that if the transportation director decides to take on the charge
52 School Transportation News Magazine May 2010
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