Christopher Faust said, “Do what you can,” The words Christopher Faust lives by everyday are, “Do what you can.” He started his career in transportation through the public transit industry with the City of Sheboygan, Shoreline Metro. He explained that Sheboygan Area School District has parented with the Shoreline Metro since 2018 to provide free transportation for all students and staff, and the transit agency transports many students who are not eligible for yellow bus transportation.

Faust noted that he started as a transit coordinator with Shoreline Metro before accepting the transportation supervisor position with the Sheboygan Area School District in June of 2022. Two years later, his title was changed to coordinator of transportation.

“Chris is a highly dedicated, driven and success-oriented individual,” Derek Muench, director of transit and parking for the City of Sheboygan, wrote in his nomination. “He genuinely cares for students, families and customers. He is focused on making services more reliable, safer and easier to use. He has demonstrated this during his tenure with SASD and will continue to demonstrate and progress this mission in the years ahead. He is definitely a superstar and rising star and deserves the recognition.”

Muench added that Faust remains a part-time transit coordinator for Shoreline Metro. “He dispatches and coordinates transit services, including service for students utilizing public transit,” he continued. “Chris is an instrumental link between the Sheboygan Area School District and Shoreline Metro, which has an agreement to provide free student and staff transportation on the public transit system.”

Faust said his day-to-day goal during the school year is to be an engaged partner between their school bus contractor Prigge School Bus Service (a contract that’s been in place since 1970), the schools, administration and parents, while ensuring a seamless transportation experience. He added that his day consists of following up on student behaviors on the bus and patterning with principals when incidents arise.

Each year, School Transportation News chooses 10 Rising Stars based on nominations submitted by school districts and companies around the industry. These individuals have shown exemplary commitment and dedication in the student transportation industry and continue to demonstrate innovation in their roles. This year’s Rising Stars are featured in the November magazine issue.

One of those principals, Kathryn McKillip, nominated him for the award. “Christopher has been an invaluable member of our team over the past year at Sheboygan Area School District,” she wrote. “Christopher has played a crucial role in reshaping student transportation within our district and has significantly improved our relations with our contractor and families.”

She noted that during challenging times with the school bus driver shortage and long bus ride times, Faust’s “dedication and innovative thinking have been instrumental in enhancing the technology aspect of student transportation,” she continued.

Taking on Technology

Faust said when he first came to Sheboygan Area School District, school buses were equipped with little technology. He said cameras were installed for the time in 2017, but by 2022 it was clear that the systems were outdated.

“Technology changes were needed and that was clearly defined as a goal for transportation,” Faust said. “We felt that it was critical to take advantage of some of these technology solutions for safety, efficiency, and a better driver experience.”

The first change, he said, was to implement GPS on all buses to be able to know where buses were and when they would arrive at their destination. “Within weeks of that being implemented we realized what [a] game changer that was for us and our contractor,” he said. “To go back and confirm that the drivers were making their stops and waited for students that were not present changed the conversation when calls and emails would come in saying that the bus never came.”

He said that being able to validate those instances, that drivers were doing their job, alleviated the push back from drivers on the GPS systems. As they, too, saw the value in the technology.

After implementing GPS, Faust said the district launched parent app Stopfinder through their routing software, Transfinder. “Stopfinder has been an amazing resource for our parents and is another great product that Transfinder offers,” he said.

Zach Moren, sales engineer at Transfinder who submitted a Rising Star nomination, said Faust is always dedicated in finding ways to improve student transportation and safety.

The district’s latest tech adoption has been school bus Wi-Fi. He said Sheboygan Area School District applied for and received the first round of E-Rate funding for school bus Wi-Fi hotpots. Installation took place in August and service went live at the first day of school.

“Over the past year, Mr. Faust has positively restructured the district’s student transportation while improving the relationship with our contractor,” Clarissa Ramos, principal and mentorship coordinator at the district wrote in her nomination of Faust. “I have witnessed better communication and effective partnerships with principals and administration. Technology-wise GPS has been added on all buses, a parent app with live bus tracking. The SASD application for the FCC E-Rate Bus WI-FI was approved. … This is a huge win for our district the goal is to have reduced unwanted behaviors on the bus.”

Next for technology, Faust said the district is installing driver tablets with Transfinder’s Wayfinder, with the first one going live in October. “I’m very excited about that! Lastly next summer we will be upgrading our camera system on all bus to enhance safety and security,” he added. “We are looking at a camera that [we] will be able to view live and has a wide angle lens that we are able to see into the seats on the bus.”

City of Sheboygan’s Muench said Faust is focused on addressing the school bus driver shortage by implementing strategies that make the job more efficient and safer for drivers. “He is hopeful these changes as well as more forthcoming will lead to reliable staffing, more accountability by students and safer operations,” he wrote. “He is also focused on the parent experience giving them the opportunity to interact with school bus service and trust transportation is safe and reliable.”

Principal McKillip added that his technology implementations have not only transformed the school bus into an extension of the classroom but hold the promise of reducing behavioral issues which will create a more conducive learning environment.

“Christoper is so dedicated to our students, he will drive routes on top of all his other job duties, just to ensure they are able to get to school and engage in learning,” she wrote.

Faust confirmed that he drives part-time for their contractor. Like most, Faust said his ongoing challenge has been navigating the school bus driver shortage. “We simply don’t have enough drivers to cover all routes and get our students to and from school within the time frames we would like,” he said, adding they have tired advertising on social media, via direct mailings, billboards, the school district newsletter and even incentivizing coaches to obtain their CDL’s.

Going Forward

Faust said his favorite part of his job is knowing that he’s contributing to student success. “Making sure by what I am doing that they are getting to and from safely, that is the most important to me,” he said.

He noted that at some point in his professional career, he would like to become a director of transportation for a district that runs their own buses. “The goals I have within my current role are to keep incorporating technology into transportation, as well as using it to improve processes and procedures,” he said. “Five years from now I want the Sheboygan Area School District to be known with[in] the state of Wisconsin as a leader with technology on our buses.”

He noted that while the profession is difficult and has many challenges, it’s rewarding. “I wish more people could experience it in one [way] or another,” he said. “When I get the opportunity to be behind the wheel of a bus, it’s like everything I do comes full circle, and I appreciate what drivers do day in and day out so much more.”

Outside of work, Faust said he spends time with his two boys, 5 and 8, both who have special needs. He also has a 10-month-old daughter.

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Related: Texas Student Transporter Utilizes Technology to Improve Operations
Related: Missouri Director of Transportation Furthers Safety and Sustainability
Related: Washington Law Provides Contracted Bus Drivers Same Benefits as District Employees

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Transit Technologies, a visionary in transforming public and private mobility, has acquired Bytecurve, a student transportation management software company known for its simple yet powerful platform for school districts and school bus operators. The acquisition adds the important student transport technology solution to the Transit Technologies comprehensive mobility platform.

Bytecurve’s founders have more than 30 years of combined experience in the Transportation industry, with expertise in the Student Transportation operations sector, understanding the challenges of transporting millions of students to and from their schools safely and on time, with little margin for error. The company’s solutions are designed to address these challenges with targeted tools to help improve operations, lower operating costs, enhance reliable communications with schools, students and guardians, and keep students safe.

“This is more than a strategic expansion; it’s a leap towards a future where transit is more efficient, reliable, and inclusive,” said Gerry Leonard, CEO of Transit Technologies. “By integrating Bytecurve’s advanced platform, we continue to set new benchmarks for what software can accomplish for student mobility, safety and efficiency. Bytecurve adds significant value to Transit Technologies’ expansive technology platforms, which serve more than 3,000 clients worldwide.”

GP Singh, CEO and Founder of Bytecurve, added, “It’s gratifying to join such an esteemed alliance of mobility solutions as Transit Technologies. This combination will allow Bytecurve to bring their innovative platform and service to the broader transportation industry.”

The synergy between Bytecurve’s innovative software solutions for the K-12 market and Transit Technologies’ market-leading platforms for fixed route, demand response, safety and compliance and non-emergency medical services will contribute significantly to Transit Technologies’ ultimate mission to revolutionize mobility and meet the evolving demands of modern transportation systems.

About Transit Technologies:
Transit Technologies is at the forefront of revolutionizing mobility, connecting communities, empowering individual journeys, and eliminating the transit equity gap. Since its inception, the company has been dedicated to blending powerful technology to optimize routes, ensure timely schedules, and empower riders, drivers, and fleet managers with safe and innovative mobility and transit operations solutions.

About Bytecurve:
Bytecurve is a leading provider of innovative software solutions for the school bus transportation industry. Bytecurve360 is a comprehensive dispatch and payroll platform designed to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and enhance communication for school districts.

The post Transit Technologies Enters K-12 Software Market Through Acquisition of Bytecurve appeared first on School Transportation News.

Climate and clean transportation advocates are calling into question a claim by Maine officials that a new toll road proposed outside Portland will reduce carbon emissions by alleviating gridlock. 

It’s a common argument made in favor of highway expansions nationwide, said Benito Pérez, the policy director of the nonprofit Transportation for America. But it relies on a narrow view of data that, in context, tends to show these projects are more likely to increase planet-warming emissions, he said. 

“They’re looking at it from one dimension,” said Pérez, a former transportation planner and engineer. “This is a multi-dimensional issue when it comes to emissions reduction, and it’s not going to work.”  

Maine’s proposed Gorham Connector project has met stiff public opposition in its rollout over recent months. The toll road aims to offer a more direct route from Portland’s growing suburbs into the city, bypassing local roads that officials say weren’t designed to accommodate increasing commuter traffic.

The project has been contemplated since the late 1980s. Its latest iteration builds on a 2012 study that recommended three main ways to improve connectivity between Portland and points west: new approaches to land use and development, expanded bus and passenger rail access, and various road upgrades and expansions, including the new four-lane, roughly five-mile bypass the state is now proposing.  

The Maine Turnpike Authority took more than three hours of comments at its first public input session on the project in March. On July 18, the MTA said it would delay further public meetings on the project and extend its permitting timeline due to a “high level of public interest and concern.” 

In response to questions for this story, MTA spokesperson Erin Courtney emphasized the importance of a multi-pronged approach in achieving the Gorham Connector’s projected climate benefits. 

“Coupled with targeted land use and transit initiatives, we aim to create a more efficient and sustainable transportation system that addresses both congestion and environmental impacts,” she said.

Benefits are ‘negligible at best’

The emissions impact of smoother traffic on the proposed toll road has been one of the MTA’s core arguments in favor of the project. The agency says on the the website for the Connector that it “will ease traffic flow, decreasing the number of idling vehicles, conserving fuel, and reducing exhaust pollutants in alignment with Maine’s Climate Action Plan.” 

But even in isolation, this emissions benefit is typically “negligible at best,” said Pérez. Despite ongoing improvements in vehicles’ fuel efficiencies and even electrification, he said, studies show that more use of expanded roads tends to outweigh this benefit. 

Pérez pointed to examples in the Washington, D.C. area, Salt Lake City and elsewhere where highway expansions that aimed to reduce gridlock instead led to more traffic and further need for expansions years later — a paradox known as “induced demand.” 

A 2015 paper from the University of California-Davis explains this phenomenon: “Adding capacity decreases travel time, in effect lowering the ‘price’ of driving; and when prices go down, the quantity of driving goes up,” author Susan Handy wrote. New roads, for instance, can encourage more low-density development, which in turn fills those roads with additional drivers. This counteracts the value of highway expansions in alleviating congestion, Handy said, and at least partly offsets the emissions reductions that come along with it. 

Courtney, with the MTA, said “the Gorham Connector’s design and goals suggest a different outcome,” arguing that the project is unique as a limited-access highway without many intersections or entrances. 

“By enhancing traffic efficiency and reducing congestion on local roads, it can offer a balanced approach that considers both transportation needs and environmental impacts,” she said. 

Portland resident Myles Smith, a steering committee member with Mainers for Smart Transportation, a volunteer group opposing the Gorham Connector, isn’t convinced. 

“It’s part of a pattern of showing only the rosiest possible scenarios of how, theoretically, on paper, with a lot of other assumptions going perfectly, it might reduce climate emissions,” he said. “It assumes a lot of other things that they have no control over at the Turnpike Authority, like land-use planning and public transportation.”

New measures of climate impacts 

The 2012 study backing the bypass proposal found that implementing a bevy of suggested road improvements and expansions, including the Connector, would decrease local vehicle hours traveled, or VHT — an analog for congestion, measuring how much time people spend in their cars, Pérez said — by about 10% versus 2035 projections. 

It also said the area’s vehicle miles traveled, or VMT — which measures how much people are driving overall — would increase relative to 2035 projections if the bypass was built, but would decrease in scenarios where only existing roads were improved, or where public transit was the focus. 

“This is why we propose a ‘three-legged stool’ approach,” Courtney said — one that also emphasizes dense development and increased public transit access, so that VMT increases might be offset by other benefits. 

VMT is an increasingly common way to measure the climate benefits of transportation projects, Pérez said. Minnesota and Colorado have adopted new requirements toward goals for reducing their overall VMT, mandating that proposed road expansions either contribute to this decrease, or fund climate mitigation projects otherwise. 

But advocates said VMT and VHT alone are not enough to measure the overall climate impacts of a project like the Gorham Connector. A more comprehensive analysis, they said, would include the environmental impacts of construction and would account in more detail for the role of the non-road improvements that the MTA is also calling for. 

A need for coordinated solutions

The 2012 study, in its final recommendations, said all three strategies — changes to roads, transit and development patterns — would need to “work together to provide the desired results” for improving connectivity and reducing traffic impacts in the Portland area. For example, more dense development and less congestion will make new transit approaches more viable, Courtney said. 

The Turnpike Authority has little direct control over those kinds of reforms, but says on its website that it expects “other regional studies” in those areas to be part of the Gorham Connector planning process. 

“The Gorham Connector project, combined with additional initiatives being considered by the MTA and Maine (Department of Transportation) — such as additional park-and-ride facilities, electric vehicle charging stations, and enhanced transit opportunities — will collectively contribute to reduced greenhouse gas emissions compared to a ‘do nothing’ scenario,” Courtney said. 

Smith said these other efforts are moving more slowly and with less state support than the Connector has received, putting these parallel solutions out of step with each other. 

Maine is facing a lawsuit from youth climate activists over regulators’ decision earlier this year not to adopt California’s Advanced Clean Cars II rule, which would have ramped up requirements for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales through model year 2032. 

The state is still a long way off from the EV goals set in its 2020 climate action plan, which also aims to reduce light-duty vehicle miles traveled 10% by next year and 20% by 2030. 

Advocates applauded a new emphasis on transit, biking, walking and other alternative strategies to achieve those VMT goals in the recommendations from a state climate council working group for a forthcoming update of the climate plan, due out in December. 

It’s an example of slow progress toward more holistic approaches to transportation and climate planning, which, Pérez said, must extend to technical details like the traffic models that underlie projects like the Gorham Connector in order to succeed. 

“Those models need to think about what they’re measuring — what matters most,” he said. “The mindset is, ‘we’re designing for vehicles,’ and that’s what they’re measuring for, not measuring for the movement of people.”

Critics, studies cast doubt on Maine’s claims of climate benefits from highway expansion is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

The recent expansion of a groundbreaking transportation law in Minnesota means all major highway projects in the state will soon be scrutinized for their impact on climate emissions.

A year ago, the state legislature made headlines with a new law requiring the state transportation department and the Twin Cities’ regional planning agency to begin assessing whether highway expansion projects are consistent with state climate goals, including Minnesota’s aim for 20% reduction in driving by 2050.

A follow-up bill passed this spring expands the 2023 law to include all major highway projects statewide that exceed a $15 million budget in the Twin Cities or $5 million outside the metro, regardless of whether or not they would add new driving lanes. The updated legislation also established a technical advisory committee and a state fund to recommend and help pay for mitigation projects.

“It allows for some evolution of the law,” said Sam Rockwell, executive director of Move Minnesota, a nonprofit advocacy group that supported the legislation. “There’s more flexibility.”

The law requires transportation project planners to offset projected increases in greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled to qualify for state or federal highway dollars. Those mitigation efforts might include incorporating funding for transit, bicycle or pedestrian programs or environmental restoration projects.

‘A waterfall effect’

Altogether, the law will now cover more than 12,000 miles of state trunk highways that account for more than 60% of all miles driven in the state. One high-profile project that may not have been covered under the initial law is the upcoming reconstruction of Interstate 94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul, which will now need to account for climate impacts.

The changes come as advocates and officials seek solutions to reverse the continued growth of transportation emissions, which surpassed electricity generation almost a decade ago as the state’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and are a major reason why Minnesota is not on track to meet its climate goals. 

A disconnect has long existed between even progressive states’ climate goals and the status quo of highway construction, which has long focused on maximizing efficiency for drivers. The new Minnesota law is an attempt to integrate climate action into state and local transportation planning, and to recognize that electric vehicles alone won’t be enough to achieve climate targets. 

Under the law, the Twin Cities’ regional planning agency, the Metropolitan Council, must include strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles driven in its next 25-year regional plan in 2026. All metro area communities will then use that plan as the basis for their local comprehensive plans, which are due to the regional council in 2028. 

“It’s a waterfall effect here,” Rockwell said.

The Met Council’s last planning document, Thrive 2040, already outlined a focus on multimodal travel options, encouraging walking and biking options while setting a goal of decreasing vehicle miles traveled per capita by 20% by 2050, in line with the state’s official goal.

Conversations already underway

Many metro area communities are already having conversations about how to reduce dependency on driving. Abby Finis, a consultant who has helped several communities draft climate action plans, said reducing driving can bring broader benefits than simply focusing on electric vehicles.

“It offers more active lifestyles, more opportunities to incorporate nature, and has less impact on natural resources needed for electric vehicles,” she said.

Most communities focus on increasing the ability of residents to walk and bicycle for short trips by adding bike lanes, pedestrian islands and safer crosswalks, she said. Some cities see telecommuting and co-working spaces as options for reducing commutes.

But transforming the suburbs will be challenging, Finis said. Sustaining transit service often requires denser development, which continues to be politically controversial in many communities. 

“I have yet to see any community push hard on those strategies in a way that meets what is necessary to reduce [vehicle miles traveled] and adapt to climate change,” Finis said.

For example, Minnetonka, a western suburb of Minneapolis with more than 52,000 residents, boasts a considerable bicycling community. But transit ridership is low except for a modest ridership at the regional mall, one commercial development area, and park-and-ride lots, said Minnetonka’s Community Development Director Julie Wischnack.

Developed in the 1950s and 1960s, Minnetonka’s current land use is a barrier to fixed route transit. But the city is among a collection of suburbs along Interstate 494 that has been pushing for transit and other commuting options, including telework.

Another member of that commission, Bloomington, faces many of the same challenges. The city has a few dense neighborhoods near transit stops and the Mall of America, but much of the community remains single-family homes and small apartments. A recent report Bloomington commissioned on transportation found that 75% of trips by residents were more than 10 miles. 

Transit, biking, and other modes could replace trips that are less than 10 miles, said Bloomington Sustainability Coordinator Emma Struss. A recent city transportation study suggested several strategies to decrease driving, including transit-oriented development, free bus and rail passes, bike parking, subsidized e-bikes and more transit. Removing barriers to walking and biking were highlighted.

“We’re hearing more and more from residents that they want safe ways to get around the community without needing to take a car,” Struss said.

Similar challenges in larger cities

St. Paul has made changes to create denser neighborhoods, including removing parking minimums for new development and letting up-to-four-unit complexes be built in single-family neighborhoods. The biggest challenge continues to be the spread-out nature of the region, which forces people to drive to suburban jobs and big-box merchants. 

“The fundamental nature of those trips is hard to serve with anything but driving in the car,” said Russ Stark, St. Paul’s chief resilience officer.

Minneapolis has focused less on vehicle miles and more on “mode shift,” or decreasing trips, said the city’s Public Works Director Tim Sexton. The goal is to replace three of five trips by car with walking, biking, or other modes. A city transportation action plan features more than 100 strategies, including creating around 60 mobility hubs where residents can rent e-bikes, scooters or electric vehicles, or take transit.

Patrick Hanlon, the city’s deputy commissioner of sustainability, healthy homes and the environment, pointed out that Minneapolis has one of the country’s best-developed bike networks, which continues to grow. The city’s comprehensive plan drew national attention for removing barriers preventing denser development, which typically leads to fewer transportation emissions. Several transportation corridors now feature bus rapid transit lines.

What Finis described as a “patchwork” of conversations around developments like these are expected to become more comprehensive as the state law’s planning requirements take effect in the coming years.

The legislation has also made Minnesota a national inspiration for other states looking to make progressive changes to highway planning, Rockwell said.

“We know of a number of other states that are looking at trying to replicate parts of this (law), which is great,” he said. “We’ve been on the phone with folks from New York, Michigan, Illinois and Maryland who are trying to bring some pieces of this into their legislative sessions and their legal framework. That’s exciting.”

Minnesota highway projects will need to consider climate impacts in planning is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.