in its buses in 2014. A year later, the district began test- ing the student tracking feature, eventually rolling out CalAmp’s Here Comes the Bus. “We began with students scanning with only our school district monitoring and using the information,” said Crosby. “This was helpful to see actual ride counts and trend daily data.” A few months later, the district piloted Here Comes the
Bus with an elementary school. The pilot test went well, parental feedback was positive and the school’s incom- ing call volume decreased. Others within the school district inquired when their school would get the technology, so it was fast-tracked to all of the campuses and parents. Crosby said those in the district continue to be pleased
Tuscaloosa County Schools in Alabama is working with Transfinder to install new tablets that work with an upgrade to Routefinder PLUS routing software.
communicating bus assignment and stop location infor- mation with parents or needing a roster for students on the bus,” he added. “Samsara tiles have allowed our bus drivers and mechanical staff to automate pre/post trip inspections and the reporting of repair items. Bus drivers use Samsara for reporting discipline issues as well. Both strategies eliminate paper forms and improve our work- flow. Overall, our operation is vastly improved.” Higley Unified School District in Arizona has 16 schools serving about 14,000 students within a 26-square mile boundary with 5,348 eligible bus riders. “As a rapidly growing district, we were constantly faced with route changes with new neighborhoods popping up,” said Josh Crosby, director of transportation. “Technology has been crucial in getting this information out. It has helped us ensure efficiency while provid- ing an extra level of information to parents about their child’s bus ride.” The district chose CalAmp from among the many
options for its all-inclusive monthly cost per bus which simplified budgeting, Crosby said. “We did not have costly up-front equipment costs, additional fees for equipment that fails, and we are provided the newest equipment up- grades through the monthly per bus lease,” he noted. He also favors how CalAmp sought end user input on
features and product development. The district installed CalAmp GPS tracking with tablets
62 School Transportation News • SEPTEMBER 2023
with the product and the benefits it brings to the commu- nity. Phone calls to the transportation office and schools regarding busing questions have dropped significantly. “Students who try to board the wrong bus or use a bus stop other than their own are quickly identified,” he added. “Our routing department can use real-time data when ensuring efficient routes and loads. If an accident occurs, we are easily able to see exactly what students are on board the bus from the transportation office and tablet inside the bus.” Meanwhile, the Tuscaloosa County School System
in Tuscaloosa, Alabama transports between 12,000 and 13,000 students out of a student population of 19,000 on 215 buses throughout 1,250 square miles. The system chose Transfinder technology for its user-friendliness and has transitioned from accessing mobile route information through Routefinder GO to leverage more features through Routefinder PLUS and Wayfinder with tablets, bringing increased efficiency and safety value, said transportation coordinator Craig Henson. There are plans for continued technological expansion
through Transfinder based on cost factors, user-friendli- ness, and product support, he added. Henson said upgrading existing Transfinder technol- ogy to incorporate Routefinder PLUS was based on its ability to offer more route optimization and absorb routes. “You can tell it to define which corner of an intersec-
tion you want it to pick up,” he said. “For safety, there are roads you don’t want the buses to travel on.” Henson shared a primary challenge of adopting any new technology especially routing is the learning curve and the intensive time required to front load all the material. To mitigate that, he and another supervisor “went into
it knowing the change is going to be tough at first, but we were going to commit the time to do it and get the front loading done,” said Henson. “Once we got it done, we were going to make it a priority to keep it up to date and keep the data fresh.” ●
Ryan Gray contributed to this report.
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