March. Based on our policies here, we had 110-percent capacities on many buses, because students were free to go bus to bus, and many only rode occasionally.” Madura took those numbers and averaged them
with the seats needed if every student rode the bus this coming fall. “We’re going with the worst-case scenario of having to get every student to school every day,” he added. “We’ve also sent out a survey. We need clear com- munication from parents on who is planning on riding the bus, but there will be parents who after a week or so of driving their child will step out from the curb and expect their child to be able to board.” He said the solution is not perfect, as COVID-19 has
introduced or highlighted many inequalities. “I feel bad for all of the kiddos. From the social and emotional side of things, they need to get back in the classroom, and most of our staff is eager to get back to work,” Madura said. “We just have to learn to work with [COVID-19.]” GP Singh, founder of the Chicago-based school bus
analytics company ByteCurve, stressed the need for still keeping accurate data. “Routes are going to change to accommodate social distancing,” he said. “That combined with the fact that many drivers might not be returning means that there will be a large learning curve, especially if half of the students attend school in the morning and half
in the afternoon. This means more fuel, more miles, more maintenance.” Singh pointed out that the transportation managers
who have already adopted technology to manage daily operations will be much better equipped to handle these changes than those who haven’t. Shields agreed. “There are things that can be done using KPIs that are very useful in moving forward. For routing, it’s always been important to track driver hours, miles traveled, bell times, and fuel used, but now districts are going to transport many fewer children per route. All of these numbers are going to change.” He suggested that student transporters start with the most simple items that they are likely already tracking. “For instance, in the shop, how many work orders are
completed or outstanding? Are the preventative main- tenance inspections completed? Try to adjust the shop’s work schedules to comply with social distancing,” he said. Shields advised industry leaders who don’t already
have routing technology to use the pandemic as an op- portunity to evaluate various systems, and to purchase a routing system that works for them. “Look at everything available, not just the ones doing all of the advertising. If you have a 12-bus operation, you may not need a com- plex system,” he advised. ●
OPTIMIZED FLEET SAFETY WITH
PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE Getting students back to school Safely!
REGULAR VIDEO SYSTEM MAINTENANCE: Ensures maximum safety protection Minimizes vehicle downtime Reduces operational costs Minimizes risk and liability
The Safe Fleet Preventative Maintenance™ program is part of Safe Fleet’s Safety-As-A-Service (SAAS) off erings. Safe Fleet’s best-of-breed smart solutions form an integrated safety platform for fl eets of every type.
LEARN MORE:
try.safefl
eet.net/preventative-maintenance-stn/ | CONTACT US:
sales@seon.com
www.stnonline.com 17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62
