Navigating the School Bus Data Maze with Real-Time Intelligence

July 23, 2024

Left to right: Greg Jackson, director of business development for School Bus Logistics; Franc Kacaj, account executive with TransAct; and Tammy Cook, senior transportation advisor for TransAct Communications.

RENO, Nev. – A Tuesday session explained the importance of real-time information in school bus operations as opposed to solely implementing technology integration.

Student transportation is a fast-moving world, noted Tammy Cook, senior transportation advisor for session sponsor TransAct Communications.

Panelist Greg Jackson, director of business development for School Bus Logistics and the former transportation director for Jefferson County Schools in Colorado (and the 2019 STN Transportation Director of the Year), spoke to the challenges all transportation staff face when multiple software systems must talk to each other.

Cook explained that integration is useful for getting different vendor products to work together but the drawback is that they only sync periodically, while real-time intelligence means information is immediately updated.

This difference matters when it comes to things like updates to student information, bus stops, or bus tracking, Jackson said. “You want to know, before you contact a parent, what exactly is happening,” he added.

“How many of you run your planned routes exactly the way you planned them every day?” Cook asked the audience, noting the lack of hands raised. Adjustments have to be made constantly due to out-of-service buses, sick drivers and more, she acknowledged. If dispatchers have access to the correct information in real time, they can flow that out to drivers, parents, schools, and all concerned parties.

Franc Kacaj, account executive with TransAct, agreed that the paramount goal is knowing the locations of all students at all times and sharing all pertinent information with parents. Jackson noted that since data doesn’t lie, facts can be quickly checked even if a parent thinks their child boarded a bus they didn’t, if a driver checks in a student rider wrong, or if a student tries to switch buses to ride with a friend.

It can even be a security issue, Jackson said, like in a case of student assault or emergency on the bus, or even a parent illegally boarding to confront or assault the driver or another student. He related one such instance where JeffCo school administration and police were notified to stand by immediately. The information doesn’t do the situation justice if it is simply recorded on a bus video camera and downloaded later to review, he explained.

Cook and Jackson agreed that modern parents are very technologically savvy and have many expectations regarding their children’s transportation, some of which can change every year. Kacaj added that it is a delicate balance, especially with parents expecting Amazon or Dominos levels of service where their delivery can be tracked every step of the way.

Driver management is also an aspect that real-time intelligence vastly improves, Cook stated. If paired with geofenced time clocks, it provides visibility on how many drivers are on site, clocked in and ready to go. Managers can also more easily track driver outages, whether planned or unplanned.

“One of the ways we can retain drivers is to make their jobs as easy as possible,” Kacaj noted, adding that student ridership tracking alleviates the stress of whether a student should or should not be on a bus.

Jackson added that real-time intelligence is important in the bus facility as well, so fleet managers are constantly apprised of drivers completing pre-trip inspections or noting bus problems. Cook and Kacaj agreed that managers need to be able to see if it is a safety issue and quickly determine their next course of action if a bus must be pulled out of service.

Cook encouraged the practice of asking vendors questions to learn the depth of the integration available and how often information is synced. “What you need to know is how it will affect your operation,” she said. Before implementing technology, she also advised ensuring the data is clean before importing it, determining what metrics need to be collected and only then adding non-core features like messaging.

Jackson also addressed the cost and time savings districts can achieve if they work with one vendor for all the technology that goes on a new bus.

He gave tips for acquiring technology on a budget, such as always becoming more efficient and finding places to save money which can then be used for tech purchases. There’s funding out there for more than just electric buses, he remarked.

Cook concluded, adding that the safety issue should be stressed as there can be found state or federal funding for that.