Case Study: How One District Leveraged School Bus Routing Optimization to Boost Satisfaction
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chool districts across the United States face the challenge of ensuring safe and timely transportation of students on a daily basis. As a result, many districts have turned to innovative solutions that help streamline their operations. Kenneth Johnson, the Director of Transportation at Judson Independent School District (ISD), shared his experiences with their transportation management solution, EZRouting (formerly TravelTracker-Routing), and how school bus routing optimization transformed the way his district manages transportation.
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Navigating Daily Operations in a Growing School District
Kenneth oversees all transportation-related activities, including managing the fleet of vehicles and their maintenance and ensuring efficient routing. His day typically starts early, at about 5:45 or 6:00 a.m., and ends at 5:30 p.m. Kenneth’s staff consists of approximately 4 routers and 3 dispatchers. He handles calls from parents and oversees the work of the entire transportation department throughout the day.
The number of students being routed at any given time can fluctuate significantly. “We were routing around 8,200 students both in the morning and the afternoon last year, ” Kenneth stated. “We got up to almost 9,000 at one point, and then dropped back down after spring break.”
The school district is continuously growing, with new schools being built to accommodate their increasing number of students.
Adapting School Transportation Amidst Unprecedented Times
The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges for the transportation department. The district encountered new logistical challenges, such as meal pick-ups and safe havens for students without other care options. Their previous system’s lack of flexibility and user-friendliness hindered efficient route adjustments and communication with parents, leading to extensive manual work.
“It was just hours and hours and hours trying to figure out how to make it work. [The previous software system] didn’t have much flexibility and it was already not a very userfriendly program. It just worked us to death, and we knew we needed to do something different, ” said Kenneth.
Transitioning to EZRouting
The catalyst for exploring other solutions came with the need for better adaptability and effective parent communication. Kenneth discovered EZRouting and became intrigued by its features, including:
- Streamlined student bus scheduling
- Group parent notifications via email and text
- Seamless integration with the district’s GPS system
“When I saw the [EZRouting] demonstration,” Kenneth began, “I thought, oh my, this is exactly what we need.’” After a demonstration and further discussions, the district decided to switch to EZRouting.
Maximizing Efficiency: The Benefits of EZRouting
EZRouting’s focus on school bus routing optimization – scheduling capabilities, the ability to send group notifications – significantly improved communication and reduced incoming calls from concerned parents. Kenneth highlighted numerous benefits of EZRouting, including:
- Improved Parent Communication: EZRouting’s group notifications significantly reduced incoming calls from parents with concerns about late buses or general questions. Parents appreciated timely updates, improving their overall satisfaction with the district’s transportation services.
- Time Savings and Efficiency: Kenneth and his team observed a substantial reduction in manual effort and time-consuming administrative tasks since adopting EZRouting. Its optimization capabilities enabled them to trim the number of regular routes from 90 to just 60, resulting in significant time and cost savings.
- User-Friendly Interface: EZRouting’s user-friendly interface facilitated a quick, smooth transition for the district’s staff, leading to rapid adoption of the system within the department.
[Pathwise has] great customer service. Having a technician who was assigned to us that any of us could call and say, ‘I’ve got this problem in this year,’ and get it solved very quickly. Also, when we wanted to add some new things to our district, [Pathwise] jumped in and did that for us. – Kenneth Johnson, Director of Transportation at Judson Independent School District (ISD)
Rollover Process and Ease of Use
When asked about the route rollover process for the next school year, Kenneth expressed his satisfaction with EZRouting, which enabled them to begin registering students in June, well before the official district rollover. He emphasized the system’s simplicity, user-friendliness, and exceptional customer service that guided them through the transition.
The district also adopted other Pathwise products, such as EZActivityTrips and FacilityTracker. These products further enhanced efficiency and coordination of field trips and resource allocation. Kenneth appreciated how automation of their field trips approval streamlined their process and how the system helped both improve their planning and reduce their field trip coordinator ’s workload.
The EZActivityTrips and EZRouting integration provides additional functionality for customers using both products:
- The ability for drivers to run a field trip on a tablet which displays the trip number, start time, and destination (button to click to run the trip). The driver ’s email address will be assigned to the trip.
- The ability to clock into a trip number on the tablet to gather mileage and hours to send back to us for invoicing.
- A single area for common information such as drivers, vehicles, etc. which are maintained in one system and flow to both databases.
I just think it’s a great product. It seems to be getting better and better. – Kenneth Johnson, Director of Transportation at Judson Independent School District (ISD)
Revolutionizing Judson’s Transportation Management
The implementation of EZRouting has proved to be a gamechanger for Judson ISD’s transportation department. The platform’s adaptability, ease of use, and integration with other systems empowered Kenneth Johnson and his team to overcome challenges and efficiently manage the transportation needs of their rapidly growing student population.
EZRouting’s impact extended beyond route optimization, leading to improved parent satisfaction and reduced manual work, as well as overall enhanced efficiency in their transportation operations. Kenneth’s experience demonstrates how embracing innovative technology can lead to successful transportation management, enhancing the overall experience for students, parents, and school administrators.