A Georgia transportation director streamlined operations at her new school district by introducing a field trip solution that she knew has proven successful.
We Can Do Better
Carisa Jones-Mayweather has been director of transportation for Gainesville City School System in northern Georgia since May of 2019. When she first arrived, the district was using a manual paper-and-pen method to manage their field trips. Jones-Mayweather knew there was a better option out there.
She previously served as a routing specialist at Clarke County Schools in Athens, Georgia, where busHive was in use.
“That wasn’t my department there, but I would work with Clarke County Field Trip Specialists enough to learn that busHive was an awesome field trip software. When I came here to Gainesville, they didn’t have a field trip software,” she explained. “They just had an Excel file that they were using.”
So she reached out to busHive to receive information and get some quotes. She then passed that information on to Gainesville City Schools administration, along with the recommendation that it would be a great opportunity and the ideal solution for the district’s field trips.
As soon as the district began using busHive in February of this year, it immediately started streamlining operations. No longer did Jones-Mayweather and her team have to remember if they’d assigned a bus to a trip or turn cells on an Excel spreadsheet red to track field trips.
“With busHive, it’s much easier and it’s not puzzling your brain,” she said.
Customer service at busHive is also great, Jones-Mayweather related. Initial setup went smoothly thanks to busHive representatives and any emails requesting support are answered promptly.
Operations Today
Jones-Mayweather termed the switch to busHive “the best thing” the district could have ever done. It helps her field trip coordinators and her entire team stay more efficient.
Teachers, coaches and athletic directors all have access to request a trip through busHive’s portal. There is a seven-day advance notice rule in place to avoid last-minute requests.
Drivers are kept on a rotating schedule based on seniority level. Jones-Mayweather maintains the schedule by going down the list and giving the next drivers in line the option to claim field trips as they are requested. She then inputs their name and bus number on the assignment printout.
She runs 50 buses, currently transporting 6,500 students daily. Gainesville City Schools does offer an online learning option, but Jones-Mayweather said that only about 1,200 students are utilizing that option.
Currently, the district is running field trips for band and football team field trips. Coaches use seating charts and only seat 20 students on a bus.
The transportation department has implemented necessary COVID-19 health precautions such as required masks and hand sanitizing for drivers and students. Staff use electrostatic foggers to clean the buses twice a day.
The cloud-based version of busHive, which was implemented in August, comes in handy since it allows Jones-Mayweather to check on things or pull information while not at the district.
The district is also working on getting online invoicing set up through the system, to improve operations even further.
“Overall, busHive has made my workday much easier,” Jones-Mayweather stated.
Contact busHive for a demo and start implementing our field trip software into your business today.
