SCHENECTADY, NY and AUSTIN, Texas — Despite a pandemic that closed schools and idled school buses for much of the year, Transfinder Corporation recorded its 23rd consecutive year of revenue growth, reporting $18.9 million in revenue, a 13 percent increase over $16.75 million in 2019.
Driving the revenue growth was the release of Transfinder’s long-awaited Routefinder PLUS browser-based solution in April. The award-winning Routefinder PLUS solution includes Artificial Intelligence Optimization that allowed districts to quickly create multiple “what if” scenarios that was a critical feature for districts dealing with constantly changing social distancing guidelines as schools planned how to reopen in the fall.
“Routefinder PLUS provided districts with the exact tool they have been wanting – fast, easy to use, an attractive user interface and intuitive,” said Transfinder President and CEO Antonio Civitella.
Transfinder continued to see an increase in clients choosing to have their data hosted on the cloud. Ninety-four percent of new clients opted to have their data hosted.
“We expect this to continue to increase as more clients grow comfortable with the security measures provided by cloud hosting as well as the easy access they have with browser-based solutions such as Routefinder PLUS,” Civitella said.
In addition, because Routefinder PLUS is browser-based, district transportation officials could work remotely. At the close of 2020, 5.3 million students traveled 2.4 million miles of routes created with the new PLUS routing software, the equivalent of 10 trips to the moon.
Transfinder added 131 new clients in 2020, with 59 percent of those were previously manually building their routes. The remaining 41 percent left existing software providers for Transfinder’s solutions as the pandemic highlighted the need for a robust solution to manage more complicated schedules such as hybrid days caused by the pandemic.
“Like everyone else, last year was the most challenging for Transfinder. But this year also marked when Transfinder partnered with schools like never before,” Civitella said. “We saw districts act heroically as they served their communities by delivering food, technology and now even vaccines. We came along these schools to assist them even as they mapped out parades for teachers to show support to their students.”
Transfinder went fully remote on Friday, March 13. The next day, Civitella decided to offer Transfinder’s Stopfinder Communication parent app free to any district in North America, whether they were Transfinder clients or not. That app allows for secure two-way communication between parents and district officials. Because of its speed and security features, many districts also used the app for internal communications.
“We knew that one of the key things districts needed more than anything else was a way to keep their communities in the loop,” Civitella said. “We also knew that parents had concerns and didn’t want to be waiting on hold. Offering Stopfinder Communication for free was a no-brainer for us as our way to give back to an industry that really stepped up during this crisis.”
Transfinder has since extended free use of Stopfinder Communication through until July 2021.
Transfinder also expanded its headcount in 2020, adding 37 new team members, up 28 percent from 2019 when 21 employees were hired. He expects hiring to continue throughout 2021.
“We need more team members in every part of our company, building and improving solutions, selling our solutions and helping new clients train on and implement our solutions,” Civitella said. “There is a sense of urgency like never before to get our solutions in the hands of the schools that need it most.”
Highlights in 2020 include:
- 23rd consecutive year of annual revenue growth;
- 131 new clients (41 percent previously using a competitor’s product);
- Routerfinder PLUS and Stopfinder named Most Innovative Software at
Bus Technology Summit - Hosted 34 “Best Practices” webinars with industry leaders focused on navigating the pandemic;
- Sponsored multiple industry virtual trade shows;
- Named a Times Union Top Workplace;
- Released upgrades to a number of products;
“We know 2020 was a difficult year for many and we are extremely grateful for the positive results we experienced,” Civitella said. “We bonded with our industry in a deeper way this year. We’ve said for years that we bleed yellow blood like our clients do. But this year, these connections went even deeper. We all are focused on making school bus routes and school bus stops the safest they can be and giving parents, drivers and transportation officials peace of mind. We anticipate our services and solutions will be needed more than ever, which is why we are projecting to close 2021 with $22 million in revenue.”
About Transfinder
Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Schenectady, New York, Transfinder is a national leader in intelligent transportation systems, providing transportation management systems and services to municipalities, school districts and adult care facilities. Transfinder, an Inc. magazine “fastest-growing company” for 11 consecutive years, has offices in Austin, Texas, and Shanghai, China. The software company, named a Best Place to Work and Top Workplace, develops and supports routing and scheduling solutions for optimal transportation logistics. For more information, visit www.transfinder.com.
