Dallas Independent School District looks to take a page or two from how nearby Cypress-Fairbanks ISD conducts its school transportation operations, reports NBC-DFW.
As school bus service provider Dallas County Schools was being investigated and closed down for internal corruption last year, Dallas ISD decided to institute its own school bus operation. Officials say they plan to use the money-saving and technologically forward strategies employed by Cy-Fair ISD.
DCS provided busing for 29,000 of Dallas ISD’s 156,727 students and used to collect $1,650 per student. CFISD has 115,525 students but places no distance restrictions on who is allowed to ride the bus. It provided 80,000 students with busing and it cost the district just $459 for each one.
A three-tiered bell schedule is CFISD’s secret, with classes being timed to buses instead of the other way around. It reduces the number of buses and drivers needed, maximizes the use of each bus and driver, and even gives drivers a little break between each run.
Technology used for optimal operations at CFISD includes an online bus diagnostics and maintenance system. A Zonar ZPass+ student tracking system complete with RFID cards and tablets for driver verification of students reduces service calls to the district’s offices. Even having covered parking for buses helps because it reduces the fuel needed to cool them upon startup.
