SPECIAL REPORT
“We routinely said that you cannot overcommunicate during these times. We were all trying to figure it out together,” said Rick D’Errico, director of public rela- tions at Transfinder, which serves 2,000-plus clients in the U.S. and Canada. “The goal is to always meet every client where they are.” For transportation customers
who want to learn something, there are many service chan- nels that can be easily accessed by devices. Some bus operators prefer talking on the phone, while others prefer video conferencing. Some prefer solving problems through online chats, while oth- ers prefer learning at their own pace through tutorial videos and how-to documents. Transfinder Community is a
type of self-help customer portal with how-to videos, documents, and tip sheets. The portal is continuously updated and emails remind customers to look for newly posted information. The company also turned its once in-person Transfinder Universi- ty into a Transfinder University Livestream, where clients take online training courses. The company also launched
a series of webinars for national and state transportation orga- nizations to inform participants about uncharted pandemic issues. The New York Association for Pupil Transportation recog- nized the software provider with an award for its industry webinars on requested topics, such as the driver shortage and improving staff morale. Tyler Technologies added
a COVID Toolkit to the dash- board of Student Transportation, powered by Traversa. The toolkit includes videos and information on how to navigate software fea- tures, such as planning for school
18 School Transportation News • MAY 2022
What is an acceptable response time for a customer service inquiry?
69% Within 24 hours 12% Almost instantly 10% Within 12 hours 6% Over 24 hours
3% Within 48 hours (Out of 117 responses to a recent magazine survey.)
Do you expect suppliers to get back to you almost instantly?
46% Sometimes 27% Yes
27% No (Out of 117 responses.)
75% of training departments use YouTube or other virtual programs for training purposes. (Out of 117 responses.)
78% of transportation directors/ supervisors say that supply shortages have affected vendor response time.
15% don’t know if response times were affected by supply shortages. (Out of 117 responses.)
openings or creating alternative routing scenarios. The company also provides support through a portal for documenting incidents, remote assistance via GoToAssist, a chat tool, and more traditional phone and email assistance. “There’s no expectation that our staff should close out a case and move on quickly. We want our team to spend time resolving clients’ questions when they first contact us, so that they can move on with the rest of their busy day,” said Matt Baltich, director of Software Support at Tyler Tech- nologies, which serves more than 2,300 clients using its student transportation management solutions. For customers who want to
complete a task, technology vendors customized applications to keep fleets moving during the pandemic. For example, Tyler Technologies’ Bus Attendance Mobile App helped bus operators create seating charts for social distancing on any type of bus. The company’s transportation management solution also has a contact tracing feature that builds an exhaustive list of anyone who rode on any bus on any day. If a rider encountered a COVID posi- tive-tested person, bus operators could detect if that rider came close to others on the bus and alert them.
Response-Driven Upgrades At the start of the pandem-
ic, Transfinder made its parent application, Stopfinder Communi- cation, free to any North American district that needs to improve communication with the com- munity it serves. The app allowed school administrators to provide updates and allow anyone in the community to directly contact transportation offices with any question.
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