Is Your District Route
WRITTEN BY JIM ROMEO
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hirty-seven students attending Orchard Hill Elementary in Montgomery, New Jersey, didn’t make it home in time from their first day of school. Teir school bus driver got lost. Concerned parents hopped in their cars and combed the streets. Te bus driver, who failed to make a practice run before the first day, was subsequently fired. Te embarrassed
school district instituted a new policy to ensure drivers know their routes before they ever set foot on a bus. Route optimization, in its many forms, has advanced for school buses. It is the next big thing to boost confidence in pupil transport, while improving all dimensions of a school bus’ journey. Tis includes to-and- from school and event transportation, and it ensures students are fully accounted for and make the journey safely. It is becoming popular as school districts also rely on it to not only gain efficiency in trip time and fuel consumption, but also to become more accountable in better serving families. “Routing is the complex process of balancing a wide variety of—often competing—factors, including transportation eligibility, school bell times, actual ridership, state and local policies and laws, service level expectations, etc., into comprehensive routing plans,” explains Scott Parker, senior director of routing services for First Student. “Optimization is the process of refining plans to safely meet service requirements and constraints, with the minimum number of buses.”
IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGE Implementing route optimization technology is influenced by the apparent benefit of the new and better technology, plus its suitability to a particular district’s needs. Proponents still face the challenge of budget substantiation. However, school boards and administrations increasingly see route optimization technology as a value-add not to be overlooked. Shannon Evans, the executive director of transportation for Clark County School District in Las Vegas, says technology and creative thinking are essential tools in ensuring an efficient operation. “Just because staff
24 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2018
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