SPECIAL REPORT
Panelists discuss the use of AI in school transportation during STN EXPO West in Reno, Nevada in July. From left: GP Singh, founder of Bytecurve and strategic advisor to Transit Technologies; Timothy Purvis, principal of Pupil Transportation Information; Richard Jimenez, director of transportation for Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District in California; and Rosalyn Vann-Jackson, Ph.D., executive director of enrollment and student services for Oklahomas’ Broken Arrow Public Schools.
AI Takes a Larger Role in School
Transportation Management But the technology should be viewed as nothing more than a tool, and one needing a policy to use effectively and safely
Written by Taylor Ekbatani |
taylor@stnonline.com I
n a first of its kind, STN EXPO West introduced a new session series focused on the use of artificial intelligence in school transportation. Held July 14, the track focused on AI in dispatch, personnel pro-
ductivity, budgeting, fleet management, risk mitigation and bell schedules. Prior to the six breakout sessions, a general session “Beyond ChatGPT: The AI Revolution in Student Transportation,” consisted of all AI session speakers and served as an opening panel, helping trans- portation leaders cut through the hype to define what AI actually is—and isn’t—today. Moderated by STN Editor-in-Chief Ryan Gray, the panel consisted of Richard Jimenez, director of trans- portation for Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District; Timothy Purvis of Pupil Transportation In- formation; GP Singh, the founder of Bytecurve and a strategic advisor to Transit Technologies after selling his
22 School Transportation News • SEPTEMBER 2026
company last year; and Rosalyn Vann-Jackson, Ph.D., the executive director of enrollment and student ser- vices for Broken Arrow Public Schools in Oklahoma and founder/CEO of Bloom Bigger Coaching. The panel dissected AI’s transformative impact, refer- encing tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Claude. It spotlighted Broken Arrow’s integration of AI for daily operations, policy analysis, comparative studies on sick leave and overtime (notably for special education aides), and public records requests. Jimenez shared how AI use at Placentia-Yorba Linda
streamlines compliance, special education (IEP/IDEA) processes, legal messaging to parents, and multi-ser- vices bid response summarization, reducing manual workloads and enhancing communication. Tim Purvis, however warned of data exposure risks in field trip and alternative transportation bids, public re-
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