When Laura Neiswonger stepped into her role as transportation director at Redbank Valley School District less than a year ago, she was handed a complex system with a fast-approaching deadline.
Officially assuming the role in May 2023, just a few months before the new school began, she needed to make critical decisions fast—and she turned to Transfinder to help reinvent how transportation operates in the rural western Pennsylvania district.
“I got my access to Transfinder on Aug. 1,” Neiswonger said, “and school started Aug. 21 and we were fully implemented by that time.”
With more than 1,000 students to manage, including those in non-public schools, Neiswonger needed a tool that could give her better control over her entire transportation operation. She was not satisfied with the district’s existing transportation product – “It was pretty cumbersome” – and began asking neighboring Pennsylvania districts about the solutions they used.
At the same time, Neiswonger would speak to other vendors in the school transportation space. The one common theme was each vendor trying to tear down Transfinder. It was a turnoff.
“I said, ‘I want you to tell me why I should use you? What do you have to offer?’” Neiswonger said. Instead, other companies “kept putting down Transfinder. In my mind, that was a negative approach and I kind of stopped [one representative] in the middle of a sentence. I’m here to ask what you are and that basically ended the conversation because she had nothing else to say.”
With Transfinder it was a different story. First, after attending a Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO) conference, she kept hearing positive things about Transfinder from attendees. Transfinder kept coming up during training sessions at the PASBO conference.
On her first day back at the office she told her superintendent and business manager it would be a good idea to see a Transfinder demo. Next thing she knew, a Transfinder sales representative was calling her.
“And that’s where it all began. Transfinder did a much better job at portraying what they had to offer without putting down any other company,” she said.
Neiswonger liked what she heard and saw from Transfinder.
“It just blew my mind. It is easy and intuitive,” she said. “And the fact that I was able to implement it in just three weeks goes to show you just how amazing Transfinder is.”
She quickly moved from exploration to acting decisively.
Redbank Valley, with its 44 vehicles and 89 routes, covers a large, rural area. The routing complexities range from geocoding unmapped rural students to navigating unpredictable infrastructure delays like bridge closures.
“At the beginning of the year we had several bridge projects within the district that caused significant delays to morning and afternoon traffic,” she said. “Once these bridge projects are over, we’ll be able to shave five to 10 minutes off these routes.”
Neiswonger leans heavily on the award-winning Routefinder PLUS to overcome these hurdles.
“Everything is going great,” she said.
For example, setting up nightly and midday imports from the district’s student information system allows for near real-time updates to routing assignments. Having a scheduled midday import has been a game changer.
“It automatically pulls from my SIS into Routefinder PLUS and that allows me to make changes in the afternoon,” she said.
Routefinder PLUS also helps her address any concerns in her district. For example, one parent of a special needs student who had insisted his child’s bus ride was an hour and 20 minutes was able to see his child’s time on the bus was not that long.
One of the standout aspects of Transfinder’s suite for Neiswonger is Viewfinder, which provides visibility to administrators and secretaries across all buildings. It’s been especially helpful in those chaotic first weeks of school.
“The whole first week of school there were only two missed buses the first week. With 1,000 students transported, I call that a win.”
Viewfinder also revealed gaps in previous processes—like the case of a student who had been riding the wrong bus for two years without anyone noticing.
With Viewfinder, the secretary could see the discrepancy. It turned out the family had moved and never told the school, and the bus driver just kept doing what they’d always done,
“Drivers tend to do what they want because they’ve been doing it forever,” she said. Neiswonger explained. This tool helped everyone get back on track.
And when Neiswonger was away at a conference, she used Viewfinder to print ridership reports for the secretaries for quick reference as a backup.
Meanwhile, Stopfinder, launched mid-year as a soft rollout, is proving to be another essential resource for the community, letting parents know bus stop information as well as information on a bus run.
One day when Neiswonger was supposed to be off, she started getting calls about a road closure. From home she was above to divert buses and notify parents that their children would be arriving home late.
“It’s been really nice to have that tool,” she said. “When a bus is delayed for any reason, I can push out notifications.” Neiswonger also likes the feedback she receives with two-way communication. “I get messages from parents letting me know so-and-so is not going to ride this week, you don’t have to stop at my house.”
Stopfinder is expected to play a starring role this summer when Neiswonger sends out bus assignments. Rather than fielding hundreds of calls, she plans to direct parents to the app.
Neiswonger said she is pleased with the innovative technology Transfinder has created and happy with the support the company provides.
“Anytime I needed anything I was getting a call in minutes,” she said. “If I need something, I’ll call and someone will pick up the phone.”
It’s why she is quick to add: “I’m a big fan of Transfinder.”
To learn more about Routefinder PLUS or Transfinder’s suite of solutions, visit Transfinder.com, email getplus@transfinder.com or call 800-373-3609.
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