One hundred and sixty miles east of Austin, Tom- ball ISD north of Houston transports 11,000 of its 23,000 students with a fleet of 170 general and special educa- tion buses. After success-
portation director. Then, there is Colum-
fully piloting Transfinder tablets during its summer program, its use was expanded districtwide this school year, said Sandy Dillman, Tomball ISD trans- portation director. “This allowed us to provide real-time GPS monitoring across all routes, sup- porting improved student safety, enhanced com- munication with families, and more efficient transportation operations,” she said. “The system provided everything we needed in a single package, eliminating the need for multiple platforms and making it easier to manage routes, moni- tor buses in real time, and communicate effectively with families and staff.” Transfinder provided training to transportation, cam- pus and administrative staff. Meanwhile, Buncombe County Schools in Asheville,
North Carolina incorporated the Edulog tablets and app into its operations during the 2024-2025 school year. The district transports 10,000 of its 22,000 students
with 205 buses throughout 660 square miles. During the 2022-2023 school year, the district was
awarded a grant from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction as part of the Smart School Bus Safety Pilot Program.
“The funding was specifically allocated to modernize our transportation operations by incorporating tech- nology that would make our bus services safer, more efficient, and more responsive to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” noted Jeremy Stowe, trans-
The driving force behind this decision was to leverage technology to address not just the logistical aspects of transportation but also the broader needs for
safety, communication and operational efficiency for all of our riders.”
-Anton Lotter, Poway Unified School District, Calif.
bus City Schools in Ohio, which transports 35,000 students with 700 school buses. In 2019, the de- partment adopted Tyler Drive to help reduce some driver challenges such as eliminating paper route sheets and using technol- ogy to follow the planned routes to each bus stop, said Stephen Andrews, fleet services supervisor. The tablet mounted in the bus cab provides turn-by-turn directions to each bus stop, which helps drivers as well as substitute drivers who may be driv- ing new routes and also recognize when the bus is not on the planned route, rerouting when the devia- tion is due to closed roads or a crash, said Andrews. Student ridership fea-
tures enable Columbus City to improve route efficiency
by combining and reorganizing underutilized routes, improving on-time performance, Andrews said. A planned parent notification system will offer informa-
tion on planned arrival time, alternate bus or driver, and route delays due to traffic or breakdown. Anton Lotter, director of transportation services for the
Poway Unified School District near San Diego, California oversees a fleet of 150 school buses transporting some 2,000 students across 100 square miles. The district integrated Zonar tablets many years ago
into its operations. “From pre- and post-trip auditing, real-time vehicle tracking, responding to late-bus concerns, supporting IEP compliance, integrating with dispatch dashboards and routing software, monitoring vehicle maintenance defects, and providing turn-by-turn navigation for drivers, Zonar GPS and tablet technology is essential to the efficient and safe operation of our transportation program. Lotter continued, “The driving force behind this decision was to leverage technology to address not just the logistical aspects of transportation, but also the broader needs for
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