T
he National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures defines a route as a “designated course regularly traveled by a school bus to pick up students and take them to school, or to deliver
students from school to their homes or designated bus stops.” Sounds straightforward. But many factors can impact routes, such as a shortage of school bus drivers, weather or traffic delays, and the time allocated between runs and bell time schedules, to name a few. Creating routes is one of the most important tasks in school transportation operations, as one late route can impact the entire educational day. Districts lean on their routing software and route supervisors to ensure profi- ciency, but that doesn’t mean snafus don’t happen. For instance, Howard County Public School System in Maryland released a 64-page report after a hectic school startup that caught the attention of the media and result- ed in delays and some drivers even getting lost on the first day of school this year. The report provides a timeline on the factors that con-
tributed to the chaos, starting with one of the district’s existing contractors terminating its relationship weeks before school start. HCPSS also started contracting 230 routes, or 45 percent of all routes, to Zum Services. Final- ized paper routes were delivered to Zum two days before school start up, and Zum drivers didn’t have time to con- duct dry runs. On the first day of school, Aug. 28, delays started in the morning as over 200 drivers attempted to log in for duty, obtain keys and tablets, and exit the Zum bus lot. Plus, 20 Zum drivers did not report for work and an additional 10 drivers hired by other local bus contrac- tors failed to report as scheduled. Bus information provided to some contractors was
inconsistent with what was provided to families and schools, and GPS delayed directions and driver unfamil- iarity with the routes resulted in drivers missing turns and getting lost. Route discrepancies were apparent, as one route scheduled for 25 minutes required 45 minutes to complete. Plus, routing was planned with minimal or no
additional time between each tier, resulting in 340 of the system’s 503 bus routes arriving late. The list of challenges goes on. And the result? HCPSS cancelled bus routes for thousands of students for at least the entire first week of school as transportation navigated the challenges. As HCPSS prepares for the 2024-2025 school year, it lists factors to be considered for an effective school start and places routing at the top of the list. “To optimize the routing process, it is necessary to assess both the capa- bilities of available technology and the proficiency of HCPSS staff in effectively utilizing it,” the report reads. The mix of technology and in-house routers is a puzzle that districts nationwide continue to navigate. For instance, Garland Independent School District in Texas implemented Transfinder’s suite of offerings this school year. Previously, Director of Transportation Annamarie Banner said the district used another routing software provider and X, formerly known as Twitter, as a parent notification tool. “Twitter was really repetitive,” said Jazmyn Ware, a
route supervisor, adding that staff had to manually post updates. Stopfinder notifications used now reduce workload.
“Work smarter, not harder,” Ware added. The district has 14 routers that are responsible for
anywhere between 40 and 48 daily routes. Another route supervisor, Camesha Young, added that it’s a lot easier to add students to stops with Transfinder technology when creating routes. She noted that when students previously requested transportation, they had to wait multiple days to get on the bus because of the time it took to reroute for the additional stops. However, now the software al- lows a stop to be added and reroutes within minutes. Garland ISD transports about 17,000 students across
282 routes, driving about 14,000 miles a day to cover 71 schools across the district’s 97-square miles. The district runs three tiers but can increase to four
depending on mid-day trips and district needs. Young noted that routing and bell times effect everyone. She
How many tiers/bell times does transportation operate under? 32%
....Two 32%
....Three 17%
.....One 9%
.......Four
3%
........Five
(Out of 108 responses to a recent STN magazine reader survey.)
38 School Transportation News • MARCH 2024
7% .......Other (Different bell times for different schools, six or more, different in morning vs. afternoon, schools set their own times, etc.)
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