SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Transfinder Corp. is pleased to announce that Pittsburgh Public Schools has selected Transfinder’s powerful Routefinder solution to create routes and improve its transportation department’s logistics.
In making the decision to go with Transfinder solutions, Pittsburgh Public Schools left a software program it had been using for two decades, said Megan Patton, the district’s director of transportation. “We determined, the Transfinder software platform best supported the complicated nature of our trips.”
Patton’s department is responsible for the transportation of nearly 30,000 students, including students attending charter and non-public schools. Within Pittsburgh Public Schools, the district provides shuttles for special education students that have programs at various locations throughout a typical school day. Kyle Kok, the department’s transportation project manager said the district was unable to assign students with multiple trips on a given day with its previous software product.
“We have trips to the Gifted Center, lots of special education students with dual enrollments, spending half a day here and half a day there,” Kok said, describing the complicated nature of the district’s transportation operation. “What stood out with Transfinder was the ability to handle the wide variety of situations we have here in the city.”
With Transfinder, the district can track students wherever they go throughout the school day. Transfinder also automates the process of adding or removing students who take public transit when a student moves within the district. In the past, changes to a student’s transportation eligibility had to be spotted by staff and manually adjusted in the records.
“This is a much better tool than the old one,” Patton said, noting that one benefit her team appreciates is the ability to plot students on bus stops at the same time a route is being built.
“We are more interactive with Transfinder technology,” Patton said. “You can see the distribution of students at the same time you’re creating the route. In the former system, we had to assign bus stops and routes in two totally separate maps and you couldn’t look at them at the same time.” Patton believes this will lead to greater efficiencies in the future.
Transfinder provides the district with a more precise mapping technology, superior maps and precision with which to locate bus stops. The software maps students in the proper location by corresponding a particular point on the map that corresponds with the data provided by Allegheny County, matching students to the right bus stop.
Transfinder President and CEO Antonio Civitella said he was honored to add Pittsburgh Public Schools to the Transfinder family.
Civitella said while every district is unique and Pittsburgh’s transportation needs may be more complicated than other districts, its solution to solve these challenges should not be complicated.
“We believe Routefinder and other solutions will ultimately help the district find efficiencies and create the safest routes and bus stops,” he said.
Pittsburgh Public Schools
At a Glance:
- 23,000 K-12 students served
- 54 schools and 3 center programs (alternative programs)
- 21,750 public school students transported
- 7,000 non-public school students transported
- 734 vehicles used (ranging from 84-person buses to Toyota Prius taxis)
- Works with 19 contractors (does not own a fleet)
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.
