Douglas County Executive Director of Transportation E.W. Tolbert. Transportation staff marched in the
Fourth of July parade and handed out a thousand flyers, encouraging parents to sign up for the app. By the end of last school year, about 21,000 out of 26,000 families had registered, and 6,500 were actively using the app. Tolbert encour- ages other districts to adopt Here Comes the Bus or similar technology. “Your dispatch will enjoy it, the schools
and front offices will enjoy it,” he said. And parents and students will know, “‘Hey I can see when my bus is enroute now, so I don’t have to stand out at the stop for long periods of time.’” The app is an especially welcome change on inclement days.
Alternative Transportation Innovations Technology can be especially helpful and stakeholder engagement especially crucial for alternative transportation pro- viders that districts contract with to drive students with special needs and students experiencing housing instability, as well as trips for special events. Alternative transportation provider
EverDriven relied heavily on stakeholder feedback to develop their hub TripCen- tral, which includes real-time tracking, scheduling and student profiles includ- ing their needs and considerations. “The platform solves real operational
challenges instead of asking users to change how they work,” said EverDriven CEO Mitch Bowling. He noted that familiarity is key to tech-
nology adoption, so TripCentral coexists with the company’s previous portal, letting users “build on existing workflows instead of starting from scratch.” Their routing technology similarly does not require new software but works inside a district’s existing routing system. “As student transportation becomes
increasingly complex, we believe tech- nology should simplify that complexity rather than add to it,” Bowling said. The alternative transportation provider
HopSkipDrive likewise works directly with each district to design products that fit their needs.
58 School Transportation News • SEPTEMBER 2026
2026 STN EXPO West Innovation Choice
Awards Winners at a Glance School transportation professionals cast 295 votes across four categories
at the 2026 STN EXPO West trade show in July. Transfinder captured the top spot in every category, while a range of manufacturers and technology providers rounded out the finalists.
BEST GREEN TECHNOLOGY 1. Transfinder — Ride Impact Metrics (RIM) The tool estimates the environmental and household impact of school bus
transportation, including averted carbon emissions, and savings in driving time related transportation costs. 2. RIDE — Blade Battery RIDE’s lithium-iron phosphate battery, designed for electric vehicles with an emphasis on safety, energy density and cycle life. 3. Thomas Built Buses — Saf-T-Liner eHDX2 Wattson The Type D electric school bus features an 800-volt powertrain, integrated eAxle, flexible charging and vehicle-to-grid capability.
BEST HARDWARE 1. Transfinder — Wayfinder Hardware Suite Wayfinder combines RFID, barcode and QR scanning, push-to-talk commu-
nications and PIN-based student identification. 2. Zum — Connected Mobility Experience (CMX) CMX integrates routing, dispatch, workforce management, safety, communi-
cations and operational dashboards. 3. Stone Mountain Ltd. — UVox USB-C Push-to-Talk Speaker Mic The device connects with Android, iOS and Windows devices and includes a dedicated emergency button.
BEST SAFETY TECHNOLOGY 1. Transfinder — Live Share Live Share lallows transportation teams to securely share real-time maps,
drawings and operational information during emergencies, events and daily operations. 2. Zonar — Bus Suite Zonar combines routing, GPS, ridership verification, inspections, dispatch
and parent communications in one platform. 3. Q’Straint, IC Bus & Geotab — (Tie) Q’Straint ONE simplifies wheelchair securement; IC Bus Fusion 3.0 combines
radar, cameras, alerts and braking assistance; Geotab Vitality uses telematics, positive reinforcement and rewards to promote safer driving.
BEST SOFTWARE/AI SOLUTIONS 1. Transfinder — Atlas & Intelligent Tools The category winner uses AI-assisted search and automation to improve
routing, planning, maps and schedules. 2. Tyler Technologies — Rider AI Assistant The conversational AI tool answers transportation questions and generates
reports from plain-language prompts. 3. IC Bus — My International The connected platform provides mixed-fleet monitoring, maintenance alerts, service management and dealer communications from one dashboard.
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