software to book field trips, do time attendance, manage training records and routing. “We’ve gradually expanded that,” he added, noting
Loudoun County has customized the software, neces- sary for the 750 yellow school buses and over 500 routes the district runs. “We’ve had to do a lot of partnership and work with Transfinder to customize their system to meet our needs.” Davies said the communication and back-and-forth
collaboration is “robust,” joking that the Loudoun trans- portation department could be considered a member of Transfinder’s research and development team. He recalled an instance during January’s historic
snowstorm that resulted in a two-hour bus delay. He said currently there’s no easy way to update regular-day schedules in the parent app to account for weather delays. “If we have a two-hour delay due to weather, we need the system to reflect the accurate times based on that two-hour delay. And we need to have the ability or the manpower to go in route by route, stop by stop, and adjust all those times. That’s not physically possible when you’re making the decision [in the early morning hours],” he said. “I don’t know exactly when that solu- tion will be forthcoming, but they’ve been very willing to improve their system and make adjustments so that it meets our needs. And I think that’s the important thing.” He noted the importance of transportation depart-
ments embracing technology that interfaces with students, schools, drivers and parents. “Partnering with our vendors to meet those unique
requirements and provide interface and easy to use, reliable interface for all those stakeholders is critical,” he said, adding that some systems may work great for the routing team, but schools or parents might not be able to access the information easily. “Providing those vari- ous interfaces or for the drivers using the turn-by-turn directions, partnering with the vendors to make those necessary improvements and set higher standards of expectations is important.” Technology plays a vital role in making those part-
nerships work. Transfinder COO Joseph Messia, said Loudoun County Public Schools has been a true partner. “The trust in that relationship lets us collaborate directly, move fast, and keep raising the standard,” he added. He said during a recent site visit he rode an afternoon
run with Davies, to see “Wayfinder in action and talk through what was working and what would make oper- ations even smoother. That time in the field helped drive auto-substitution, which automatically updates routing schedules with the appropriate vehicles, saving dispatch time and reducing manual steps. “That’s one of several enhancements we’ve delivered as
56 School Transportation News • MARCH 2026
a direct result of Loudoun County’s input and real-world feedback,” he continued. “And when we build features like this with Loudoun County, it doesn’t just benefit one district, it strengthens the product for every Transfinder client.” Transfinder COO Antonio Civitella said Loudoun
County is a perfect example of a relationship that makes both sides stronger. “To truly know your clients, you have to spend time with them,” he said. “It’s not just sending them an email. It’s picking up the phone or even getting on a plane and seeing them in their space. That’s what relationships are built on.” With the growing number of transportation technol- ogy platforms available, districts are not only looking to partner with companies but for systems to integrate seamlessly. That’s not always possible, especially when working with aging software, budget constraints or contracts.
The School District of Philadelphia tells a similar story to Loudon County’s. Philadelphia contracts over 2,000 routes, keeping less than 200 in-house. Thomas Marcuc- ci, executive director of transportation, said the district is currently using routing software that is 11 years old. However, a recent school board approval authorized a Transfinder roll out through the end of the calendar year. “What the new routing software will do is make us a lot
more efficient,” he said, noting the new software ingrates AI functionality to assist with mapping, planning and GPS. Alternative transportation vehicles will be updated
with GPS and tablets, the latter also to be installed in ev- ery school bus. These are expected to increase oversight into attendance logs and vehicle location, even if the contractor doesn’t have GPS. Meanwhile, Leander Independent School District
in Texas is using antiquated routing software with no current plans to update this year due to a budget deficit. Toni Tichi, routing supervisor, noted the need to man- ually transfer information between platforms, including student data and fleet systems. “We have five or six different platforms that we consis-
tently use, and none of them speak to each other, so it’s very labor-intensive when it comes to data integration,” she said. Despite the manual work, the team has become pro-
ficient. Each year’s routing process involves analyzing geographic data, student registrations, bus capacity and time constraints to determine how many buses are needed and how routes should be structured. For the occasional one-off student, Leander uses third-party vendors, providing student information and arrival requirements while vendors create their own routes. The district can monitor GPS data in real time, includ-
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