Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township in Indiana turned to Transfinder to find ways to reduce costs without impacting safety. The result was almost $1 million in annual savings.
Not long ago, the school district experienced a $14 million to $17 million shortfall because of property tax reform. The district, which has 18 schools and approximately 16,400 students, was facing tough financial decisions surrounding its capital projects, debt service and transportation expenditures.
To search for efficiencies in transportation, Superintendent Jeff Butts engaged with Transfinder, specifically looking to leverage its software solutions and expertise in transportation routing, scheduling and communications.
Transfinder helps school districts deploy safe, efficient and cost-effective student transportation through its comprehensive knowledge of logistics and planning. That is in addition to substantial cost savings through innovative route planning, personnel and maintenance solutions.
Training and Implementation
Most of Wayne Township’s 16,400 students travel daily on district buses. Butts says Transfinder was able to illuminate a path to switching the district’s two-routes-per-driver system to a three-tier system. That also prompted Wayne Township to reevaluate its school start and end times, eventually shifting some high school students to a later start time.
Butts says that when it came time to select a logistics software vendor to work with, Transfinder’s customer service and expert guidance set it apart from other vendors.
“We looked at several different vendors and talked to other transportation professionals in the industry,” says Butts. “When we reached out to Transfinder, they connected us with Dan Roberts, who is a former school transportation director. He is on staff with Transfinder, and has written and done research on finding efficiencies in transportation.”
Roberts worked directly with the district’s transportation team, Butts says, and Transfinder also sent others who “made sure our transition happened smoothly.”
“Anytime you make a significant transition to a three-tier busing system, change start and finish times, and change routes for all those children who are riding, that’s a lot of moving parts,” says Butts. “While our staff is phenomenal, Transfinder had the expertise to come in and make sure that we were making as few mistakes as we possibly could.”
Bottom-line Benefits
Wayne Township has seen an annual savings of just under $1 million by using Transfinder solutions. Buses are running routes efficiently by eliminating redundant stops. Transfinder helped the district reduce the number of drivers needed by 30, a key advantage at a time when there is a national driver shortage. The overall number of both bus drivers needed and buses in service have been reduced, creating significant ongoing personnel and maintenance savings.
“Transfinder helps us provide safe and efficient transportation for our community and be better fiscal stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars,” says Butts.
More information on Transfinder solutions may be found here: www.transfinder.com/solutions
Republished with permission from Professional Media Group.
