Technology is a helpful option for school district transportation departments looking to improve efficiency and cut costs, a transportation coordinator shared during a Thursday webinar.

Bryan Mitchell, marketing director for webinar sponsor Transit Technologies, reviewed current challenges related to on-time student transportation plagued by slashed budgets, driver shortages and increasing parent demands.

Rome City Schools in Georgia was facing a costly and inefficient payroll process, he said. With more than 100 transportation staff members relying on paper-based timesheets, including multi-colored paper for different shifts, Mitchell explained that the monthly task of preparing payroll was a logistical nightmare.

By using ByteCurve digital time clocks and payroll software, the district realized $30,000 in monthly labor cost savings totaling about $300,000 annually, even after wage increases. Jonathan Agenten, director of sales for ByteCurve, explained that the savings came from shaving a few minutes off each driver’s paid hours due to more accurate data collection. Christina Buffington, transportation coordinator for Rome City Schools, confirmed that no driver experienced a significant wage loss.

Buffington shared that the previous paper time sheet method would take up to a month to add up hours and verify before finalizing. She confirmed that the ByteCurve digital process has reduced the time it takes to complete the process and allows management to verify drivers’ route completion via GPS. Payroll errors were nearly eliminated and 10 hours were saved per week in driver communications and payroll reconciliation.

“It’s the work that drives the day – it’s the work that drives the pay,” quipped Agenten.

He reviewed the way ByteCurve streamlines and improves communication between the normally siloed transportation segments of routing, payroll and GPS tracking. The system provides a digital clock-in experience for drivers, an airport terminal-like dashboard emphasizing delayed or canceled routes that require staff attention, a real-time bus location view and the ability to automatically calculate complex pay scenarios based on district policies.

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Related: Arkansas District Uses Technology to Save Money and Time
Related: (Recorded Webinar) Arkansas Transportation Department Saves $15K per Month with Bytecurve
Related: Feeling Super About Transportation Technology?
Related: (STN Podcast E274) Can I Make a Difference? Tips From Top Transportation Team & Technology Super User

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Mitchell and Agenten reviewed the rugged and reliable Vehicle Camera Systems and Driver-Facing Cameras offered by Vestige, a sister company to ByteCurve via parent company Transit Technologies. AI-Powered Safety Solutions include a Driver Monitoring System to detect drowsiness, distraction, smoking, and phone use as well as Advanced Driver Assistance System alerts for forward collision, lane departure and pedestrian detection.

Transit Technologies also offers FASTER maintenance software which it says was “purpose built to match how fleets operate, not how companies think they do,” and can save 10-15 hours per week with automated reports and real-time dashboards.

Also recently added to the Transit Technologies family of companies was field trip management software provider busHive.

Mitchell spoke to the company’s goal of offering an integrated tech stack to meet all of a school district’s transportation needs.

These technologies are beneficial as they discover savings and efficiencies in fuel and payroll, which are the two biggest expenses in transportation, noted STN Publisher Tony Corpin.

Agenten emphasized the “white glove” treatment offered by ByteCurve in initially setting up the systems to fulfill the needs of each individual district. From Rome City Schools, both Buffington and Director of Transportation Elander Graham praised the customer service experience.

Watch the webinar on demand. 

The post Payroll Technology Saves Thousands of Dollars for Georgia School District appeared first on School Transportation News.

A webinar hosted by the Propane Education & Research Council outlined the benefits of propane-fueled school buses with transportation professionals that are currently using them in their fleets.

“Blue Bird loves to make buses, and we love to make options,” said Steve Whaley, alternative fuels manager at Blue Bird during the Wednesday webinar. He discussed a comparison with propane to other fuels in terms of cost differential, as he said perception of alternative fuels is that they tend to be more expensive.

With over 20,000 propane buses on the road, Whaley said that savings are significant with average fuel and maintenance costs of about $3,700 per year per bus. As opposed to other clean fuel options and even when compared to diesel, the infrastructure costs are the lowest of any other fuels because propane evaporates leading to fewer regulations from the EPA. Since so much propane is sourced in the U.S., Whaley said transportation departments can avoid the cost instability that comes with outsourcing fuel from outside the country.

Whaley quoted Mike Bullman, director of transportation for the South Carolina Department of Education, as saying, “We don’t need funding for propane, those things pay for themselves.”

To discuss the health benefits of propane, Bailey Arnold from the American Lung Association presented statistics on the high rates of lung cancer in the U.S. As the director of healthy air solutions, Arnold said the organization is committed to fighting the high rates of lung cancer that lead to nearly 125,000 lives lost every year.

He noted that implementing propane is one of the things society can do to combat these mortality rates and health issues as well as high CO2 emissions, explaining that while emissions are commonly measured and analyzed on a yearly basis, “they stack up and have a cumulative effect.”

He said that he would encourage school districts to consider propane now as it will only get more difficult to reduce overall emissions. Arnold referenced a recent NREL study that found that using propane would save 147 tons of carbon emissions in three years, while renewable propane would save 360 tons over the same period.

Amy Rosa, director of safety and transportation at Wa-Nee Community Schools in northern Indiana, is currently running 25 Blue Bird propane buses out of the 56 buses in her fleet that transports 3,000 students. She said losing two parents to lung disease in recent years spurred her passion for cleaner fuels. Meanwhile, the Volkswagen mitigation trust grant funding contributed a lower cost of implementation for the new propane buses. She said her district is always looking to save money to benefit the students and taxpayers, and that propane buses helped do that.

She said the transition was seamless, and that partnerships with the suppliers were supportive. Mechanics and drivers were on board. She said that the drivers appreciate the quieter engines, which “reduces tension with students and drivers” and that these quiet, clean, warm buses are improving student behavioral student issues. In a cold state, she said the quick heating ability of propane buses with no need for auxiliary heaters has been a benefit, and that her drivers have told her, “I love knowing my bus will start no matter how cold it gets.”

Whaley noted that Diane Mikelski, the recently retired director of transportation at Illinois’ Township High School District 211, will be speaking about her experience with propane buses at the upcoming Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs (TSD) Conference in November on the benefits of a quieter bus on student behavior.

Sam Corson, the bus and automotive maintenance manager at Newport News Community Schools in Virginia, said he has seen immediate positive results from using propane buses. He said with wide city borders, which requires school bus drivers to often log 100 to 200 miles a day, long-range buses are necessary. He said Newport News has had no issues with propane buses doing around 340 miles on one tank.

Corson said that about 80 percent of district routes are covered by the 180 propane buses out of 306 total in the fleet,. Cost savings are evident, with diesel buses costing 38 cents per mile to operate compared to 29 cents on propane.

“I noticed all the things [a propane bus] does not have that I was continuously fixing on a daily basis,” he shared, and continued that he has seen a reduction in bus breakdowns.

Learning maintenance was simple for his team, he said, noting that the local Blue Bird dealership led training for all the mechanics to make sure they were comfortable with the new buses. Corson said that due fewer regulations and overall positive reactions to propane buses, the district decided to not decommission and replace the fuel tank.

Both Rosa and Corson praised the ROUSH CleanTech fueling software that allows them to keep track of fuel levels and that suppliers have been consistent. They also noted that they did not have to invest in new additions for their maintenance facilities when implementing propane.

When asked what she would tell another director who is considering buying propane buses, Rosa said, “No hesitation…the choice is a no-brainer for kids and for your mechanics, for bus drivers. It’s just a really good choice all around. I couldn’t think of any reason why you wouldn’t.”

Corson said his advice is to “jump in 100 percent.”

“I couldn’t see myself buying [another] diesel unless I was forced to,” he continued, adding that maintenance is much simpler on propane buses and any issues that do come up are usually easy fixes.

Watch the webinar on demand.

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Related: Ride and Drive, Technology Product Demos Return to Texas in November
Related: Propane Best Immediate Option For Greening Fleet, Says Rural Missouri School District
Related: Students, Staff at Illinois District Approve of Propane School Buses

The post Webinar Discusses Impact of Propane School Buses on Costs, Health and Maintenance appeared first on School Transportation News.

A webinar gave advice on meeting community needs with school bus service while also making efficient operational decisions.

“We know back to school is behind us, but the heavy lifting is not over,” said Tammy Cook, senior transportation advisor and board member of webinar sponsor Pathwise, during the Thursday presentation

The other panelists were Michael Roche, VP of customer engagement and business development for EZRouting, and Carl Allen, chief executive officer of 4MATIV, both of whom served as transportation directors for school districts.

Roche noted that a big challenge for school districts is bridging the gap between planned and actual ridership. He encouraged districts to use anything from manual headcounts to RFID card tracking to determine actual ridership numbers. Allen added that teachers and school staff can help by noting which buses seem emptier.

“You want to be sure your data is grounded in reality and not just assumptions from the summer,” Roche said. He and Allen advised loading accurate bell time data into routing software and coordinating with individual schools, which assists in making small adjustments in bus routing and tiered schedules.

“Buses will fill up with kids or time,” Allen quipped.

Each fall, Roche said that transportation staff, who often have spent the previous months in school startup “survival mode,” have a chance to catch their breath and look for efficiencies. He advised re-analyzing routes that have 25 to 50 percent underutilization.

Ridership data can be used to drive smarter scheduling, said Cook. While a headcount could tally the same ridership numbers across different days, Allen urged drilling into the data and counting exactly which students are riding the bus and when.

While seeking efficiencies, Allen cautioned districts to be aware of compliance issues, such as ensuring students with special needs always receive their legally mandated transportation. When routing, Roche said he adds buffers since student ridership can increase during the winter months or ones that coincide with individual sports off seasons.

“Just because they aren’t riding now doesn’t mean they won’t,” Cook agreed.

Allen noted that stop removal or consolidation boosts efficiency but requires communication and collaboration with parents, since they have already planned for their set bus stops. Parents may be more inclined to agree to bus stop changes if they know their stop can be reinstated, he said.

Roche agreed that due diligence should be performed to ensure that no one is using a particular bus stop before it is removed outright. He also noted that some districts use vans or sedans to shuttle rural students to a centralized bus stop location.

“Be thoughtful and communicative and transparent with your families,” Allen encouraged.

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Related: Ins, Outs of Routing Software Discussed at STN EXPO Reno
Related: Rethinking School Startup for Students with Special Needs
Related: Avoiding False Starts
Related: Navigating Parental Transportation Concerns Amid School Startup

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Roche advised soliciting community and district staff feedback on bus stop and routing changes. For instance, having a school receive students five minutes early could get 20 buses back on the route on time, but union requirements affect the hours school staff can work. Negotiation is necessary, Allen said.

Allen advised collecting key performance indicators – including on-time performance metrics, safety metrics, bus capacity utilization and driver performance – and then using them to effect changes, which should be slowly implemented so families and staff can effectively adjust. He also encouraged districts to route students as they enroll throughout the year, respond promptly to parent concerns, and reevaluate operations to ensure progress is being made.

Having this data helps legitimize transportation department requests and effect necessary changes at the district administration level, Roche underscored.

Roche pointed out that a route could be covered but still consistently running two hours late or repeatedly requiring substitute drivers, which signals improvement is needed. He noted that efficiency means different things to different operations. Each district has its own goals, with the ultimate goal being safe service to students.

Watch the webinar on demand.

The post From First Day to Fine-Tuning: Webinar Gives School Bus Routing Tips appeared first on School Transportation News.

Join us for an engaging discussion on how propane autogas is transforming student transportation by creating healthier, cleaner, and more affordable school bus fleets. This webinar brings together experts and on-the-ground voices to share insights into the benefits of propane-powered school buses for both students and staff.

In this information-packed session, you’ll hear from:

• American Lung Association: How propane buses reduce harmful emissions and improve respiratory health in school communities.
• Blue Bird: A leading manufacturer of propane school buses about the latest innovations driving propane autogas adoption across the country.
• School District Leadership: A school district transportation director and maintenance supervisor will share their real-world experiences with propane buses, from cost savings and reliability to driver and technician feedback.

Register today to explore practical strategies and proven results that can help your district move toward a cleaner, more cost-effective transportation future.

Brought to you by the Propane Education & Research Council

REGISTER BELOW:

The post (Free Webinar) Driving the Future of Healthy, Cost-Effective Student Transportation with Propane Autogas appeared first on School Transportation News.

A Kansas transportation director and two behavioral experts discussed how collaborative, personalized solutions help reduce behavior incidents and support students on the school bus while empowering drivers and monitors.

“My favorite part of student transportation is the students,” declared Lisa Riveros, director of transportation for Wichita Public Schools in Kansas, during the Thursday webinar sponsored by First Student. The district has over 16,000 student riders, 3,000 of whom have special needs. Riveros said partnering with First Student empowers her 600 drivers and monitors to work with students. Riveros confirmed that these techniques have reduced severe behavior incidents.

She recounted the story of a young student who racked up numerous behavior incidents within days, confounding transportation staff. Finally, they discovered that he needed attention and solved the issue by assigning him a teacher to ride with.

The district’s partnership with First Serves by First Student manifests itself in practical ways. School bus drivers will watch videos of their bus rides and discuss what could be improved. Sunglasses and noise-canceling headphones are provided to sensitive students. Storing and sharing notes across schools, buses and drivers reveals what works and what doesn’t. “About Me” forms are prepped with student input and tell staff what their current fixation is. Information in referral forms is available to administration and drivers.

“I feel that we can transport any student in a way that is safe and makes them ready for school,” Riveros stated.

“Positive results are driven by customized solutions.”

-Laura Greene-Halley, Senior Director of Student Services, First Student

Laura Greene-Halley, senior director of student services for transportation contractor First Student, reviewed challenges including increasing incidents of disruptive student behavior on buses, increasing frustration in drivers and monitors, one out of every six students having individual education programs calling for transportation as a related service, ineffective traditional paper referral processes, and the disproportionate educational impact on students with disabilities.

Greene-Halley stressed the importance of student support systems in bringing together educators, school bus staff and parents for the best interest of the student.

Dr. Susan King, executive director of CLP Consulting Group and a member of the FirstServes advisory board, reviewed the need for placing students in the least restrictive environment, which could mean a yellow bus, van or car with attendants available as needed.

“This is fluid – a student doesn’t have to be assigned to one vehicle forever,” King said. “When they have the right supports and the behavior gets under control, we can move them back to their same-age peer group and try to help foster their social and emotional development.”

“We’re quick to make it more restrictive as a response to behavior,” Greene-Halley agreed. “We really have a duty to these students to treat transportation the same as education, and that’s why the partnership becomes so important.”

“I feel that we can transport any student in a way that is safe and makes them ready for school.”

-Lisa Riveros, director of transportation, Wichita Public Schools (Kansas)

“Our students respond to consistency,” said King. She shared how First Student’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) uses an inverted triangle to illustrate how more restrictive supports should be used for increasingly smaller groups of students.

Tier 1, the largest, includes interventions that are successful for most students, like priority seating and positive behavior intervention support (PBIS). Medium-sized Tier 2 includes Tier 1 interventions plus mild individualized interventions, like check-in and check-outs, or an informative “About Me” form. Tier 3, the smallest, includes both Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions plus collaborative, specialized, intentional behavior intervention plans for the bus.

“They’re a gen-ed student first and then we put on supports as needed,” Riveros explained.

Training is only 15 percent effective when provided alone, Greene-Halley said. She advised additionally utilizing the First Serves offering, which creates a continuum of expectations and support so that pupil transporters and classroom educators are on the same page and can provide consistent service for students. This does not involve sharing Individualized Education Plan (IEP) information, she added, but rather notes such as a student’s preference for a favorite comforting blanket or an aversion to sitting by the stop arm. Technology speeds this whole process up and quickly gets pertinent information to necessary staff.

Consequently, she said, students arrive at school calmer and ready to learn, drivers and monitors feel empowered and supported, and leadership is better equipped to provide behavior-based support. Schools experience fewer referrals, stronger community ties and a reduced need for crisis support personnel.

“Our students respond to consistency.”

-Dr. Susan King, CLP Consulting Group

“It’s a matter of shifting the paradigm and making some changes up front so that there’s less having to react to things in the long run,” Greene-Halley stated. She shared that the First Serves system has won a T-Mobile Innovation Award and been recognized at educator conferences.

“Positive results are driven by customized solutions,” she said. “We all have the kids at the center of our heart.”

She confirmed that First Serves is available for districts that manage their own transportation in-house.

A key piece of driver coaching, Greene-Halley explained, is getting them to see that challenging student behavior is a form of their communication rather than simply something bad happening to the driver.

“Behavior is behavior is behavior,” she remarked, adding that MTSS works on general education buses as well. King noted that many gen ed students still have significant mental health issues and would benefit from support.

Watch the webinar on demand. 

Transportation professionals nationwide are invited to attend the Transporting Students with Disabilities & Special Needs Conference and Trade Show from Nov. 6—11, 2025 at the Embassy Suites Dallas-Frisco in Texas. Immerse yourself in the latest trends in special needs transportation training, products, and services. Connect with like-minded individuals, attend educational sessions and workshops, and explore product demonstrations. Learn more and register at tsdconference.com.

The post Webinar Gives Tips to Improve Student Behavior, Bus Driver Experience appeared first on School Transportation News.

Now that you’ve made it through the beginning of the new school year, this is the optimal time to tune your transportation operations.  Learn how to leverage your live ridership, routing, and call volume data to reduce missed stops, decrease parent inquiries, and enhance on-time performance.

Join Pathwise and School Transportation News on Thursday, October 9, at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET for a live 60-minute session to discover how to convert your early-semester data into concrete mid-year gains without replacing your current routing platform.

In this session, you’ll get practical tips on how to:

• Reassess your routes using current ridership signals (scan data, driver logs, parent app activity, no-show patterns)
• Improve routing reliability with targeted fixes for tier balancing, stop consolidation, bell-time alignment, and more, instead of major re-routes
• Track ridership more accurately using count audits, exception workflows, and reconciliations, and turn these insights into schedule improvements
• Operationalize KPIs that matter—on-time percentage, call-center volume, and parent notification latency—so you know where adjustments may need to be made.

Bottom line: This isn’t starting over; it’s making smarter use of tools, data, and processes you already have—to ensure smoother operations throughout the rest of the year.

Who should attend: Transportation directors, routing/dispatch leads, and operations managers.

Brought to you by Pathwise

REGISTER BELOW:

 

Presenters:

Michael Roche
VP of Customer Engagement and Business Development
EZRouting

With over 13 years of experience as a Director of Transportation for a school district, Roche possesses extensive expertise in overseeing logistical operations and ensuring the safety and efficiency of transportation systems. Transitioning into consulting, he has utilized his knowledge to aid school districts in optimizing transportation operations and implementing software solutions. Currently, Roche is committed to collaborating with school districts across the country, assisting them in maximizing the benefits of the software and providing comprehensive consulting services tailored to their transportation requirements.

Carl Allen
Chief Executive Officer
4MATIV

Carl Allen is an experienced leader in education, transportation, and public policy, currently serving as CEO and founder of 4MATIV Technologies, which he launched in 2018. He previously served as Director of Transportation for Boston Public Schools, Regional Vice President for Transdev in Colorado, and COO/CFO of a charter school network in Minneapolis. Drawing on his training in urban planning and public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School, and his early experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching high school math in Ghana, Allen supports school districts in tackling complex transportation challenges. He holds degrees in industrial and manufacturing design engineering from Northwestern University and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with his wife and three children.

The post (Free Webinar) From First Day to Fine-Tuning: Optimizing Your Transportation Operations Following the Return to School appeared first on School Transportation News.

Join Elander Graham and Bryan Mitchell for an exclusive webinar showcasing how Rome City Schools uncovered six-figure annual savings by transforming payroll accuracy.

Discover how Rome slashed $30,000 per month in hidden costs while reducing payroll processing from days to hours.

Learn practical strategies that student transportation professionals can apply to improve efficiency, reclaim budget, and reinvest in students – all without cutting staff or compromising service.

Key Takeaways:

1. How Rome City Schools uncovered $30,000 in monthly payroll savings.
2. How the district cut payroll processing time from a week to hours.
3. How Bytecurve identifies and eliminates payroll leakage in your district.

Bought to you by Bytecurve

REGISTER BELOW:

 

Presenters:

Elander Graham
Director Of Transportation
Rome City Schools

 

 

Bryan Mitchell
Marketing Director
Transit Technologies

The post (Free Webinar) How School Districts Save $30,000 per Month with Smarter Payroll appeared first on School Transportation News.

How can schools and transportation providers work together to create safer, more supportive rides for students with disabilities?

In this webinar, leaders from Wichita Public Schools and First Student will share how they built a strong partnership to better support student needs on the bus. Together, they implemented Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) within transportation to provide the same consistency and care on the bus as in the classroom.

The panel will highlight the innovative transportation model they developed, which combines training, coaching, communication, and commitment to improve the student experience. Participants will leave with practical strategies to strengthen collaboration in their own districts.

Brought to you by First Student

REGISTER BELOW:

 

Presenters

Laura Greene-Halley
Senior Director, Student Services
First Student

Laura Greene-Halley is a critical member of First Student’s safety leadership and FirstServes teams. In her current role as Senior Director of Safety Performance and Improvement, Greene-Halley develops and implements ground-breaking innovation, safety strategies, and sustainable plans for over 440 locations across the United States and Canada. She has presented internationally to safety leadership coaches on becoming influential advocates for safety. As a 2015 National School Transportation Association Golden Merit Award winner, Greene-Halley has been an industry-recognized driving force in student transportation for over 30 years. She has served two consecutive three-year terms on the Advisory Board for School Bus Driver Instructor/Master Instructor with the New York State Education Department (NYSED). She also holds numerous professional certifications including NYSED Master Instructor and Safety Leadership Instructor and Coach certified by Aubrey Daniels International and is Certified in Special Needs Transportation by NAPT. Greene-Halley is an intentional role model, motivating others to become safety leaders and inspiring them to embrace safety as their core operating value. She is an enthusiastic professional who gains personal fulfillment from ensuring the safety of our students, employees, and the general public in our partner communities.

Dr. Susan King
Executive Director
CLP – Consulting Group

Dr. Susan King is an experienced special educator, researcher, and professor based in the Washington, D.C area. Prior to obtaining her doctoral degree, Dr. King was a special educator in one of the largest school districts in the Washington, D.C. area. She has been an assistant professor at Juniata College and faculty member at The George Washington University. Her expertise is in assessment, teacher training, behavior management and working with families of students with special needs. Recently she completed post-doctoral education at Harvard University with a focus on “Making Change.” Dr. King has consulted with public and private schools, served as an expert witness in legal cases, and conducted independent educational evaluations. She has served as the Chair of The National Advisory Committee for the HEATH Resource Center, National Clearing House on Post-Secondary Education for Individuals with Disabilities (Washington, D.C.). Currently Dr. King serves as a member of the FirstServes National Advisory Board (Cincinnati, Ohio) and the Committee of Disability Awareness (Baltimore Washington). Additionally, she is on the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council, an opt-in research community of business professionals.

Lisa Riveros
Director of Transportation
Wichita Public Schools (Wichita, Kansas)

Since 2018, Lisa Riveros has served as the Director of Transportation for Wichita Public Schools, where she has been a dedicated advocate for Special Education students. Overseeing a $30 million transportation budget and managing 16,000 daily bus riders across 2,000 routes, Riveros has worked tirelessly to ensure the safety and well-being of the district’s 3,000 special needs students who require transportation as a related service on their IEPs. Her leadership has driven the implementation of key initiatives, like restorative practices, specialized driver training, and an onboard behavior communication system to better support students. Ms. Riveros collaborates closely with IEP teams to address individual student needs and ensure transportation services align with their educational plans. Drawing from her background as a former teacher, assistant principal, and instructional coach, she equips bus drivers with strategies to provide a safe and emotionally supportive environment for students with special needs. Her commitment to training has empowered over 600 drivers and monitors to create positive experiences for students, ensuring they feel secure and cared for during their journey. Passionate about equity in education, Riveros is dedicated to ensuring students with special needs have reliable access to essential resources. Her focus on removing transportation barriers reflects her belief that every student deserves the opportunity to succeed.

The post (Free Webinar) Improve Student Experience with Student Services on the Bus appeared first on School Transportation News.

Technology experts joined a North Carolina transportation director who weathered Hurricane Helene to discuss how safety, communication and flexibility are central to serving students with special needs or who are experiencing housing insecurity.

Courtney Pallotta, chief marketing officer for alternative transportation provider and webinar sponsor EverDriven, reviewed the company’s “Future of Modern Student Transportation and Safety” study, which found that 62 percent of U.S. school districts reported increasing enrollments of students with special needs and 49 percent reported rising McKinney-Vento student counts.

She shared public information statistics indicating 7.6 million students with special needs require transportation as a related service under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as outlined on their Individualized Education Programs. The 1.22 million students experiencing homelessness under McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act protections make up more than 17.5 percent of all K–12 students in the U.S., Palotta added.

Modernizing operations could be the key to improving operations although that requires a student-centric and safety-focused approach.

“Budget oversight, accountability and safety standards have never been higher,” she said. “How do you put the student at the center of your modernizing strategy?”

Adam Warner, EverDriven’s vice president of operations and head of safety, shared that over half of the school districts surveyed said they face a school bus driver shortage or could not provide adequate transportation for these vulnerable student populations.

Jeremy Stowe, director of transportation for Buncombe County Schools in North Carolina, noted that consistency for students is important during shifting life circumstances, the most recent egregious example being last September’s Hurricane Helene. This, he said, requires transportation to be nimble while still safe and to keep transparent lines of communication open with parents.

Safety and Innovation

Alan Fliegelman, EverDriven’s vice president of product management, and Warner noted that everything from student ridership to driver behavior to vehicle inspections can be effectively tracked and managed through telematics and technology.

“How do we use technology to create a safer, smarter, more adaptable ride?” Warner questioned. “I want to get to a place where these tools ensure that compliance is not assumed but is actively verified.”

“Safety is the only acceptable standard,” Pallotta agreed.

Stowe confirmed as a director of transportation that he expects nothing less than the best for the companies he partners with to serve his school district’s students. As Sears and Roebuck was overshadowed by Amazon, he cautioned pupil transporters to not just lean on the ubiquitous yellow school bus without evolving as needed.

Communication and Transparency

“I have to run at the speed of trust,” declared Stowe, adding he works hard to provide a positive impression of the easily identifiable yellow school bus so parents trust that it is safe and reliable for their children.

“The best thing we can do is meet expectations and earn trust,” Pallotta concurred.

Proactive and real-time communication reduces parent anxiety and unnecessary calls, Warner noted. This is especially important to set up before starting a new school year or gearing up for winter operations, he said.

Technology that incorporates routing software and communication apps helps parents, drivers and district leadership stay on the same page, Fliegelman stated.

Flexibility and Adaptability

The trifecta of safety, transparency and flexibility was crucial when servicing families affected by Hurricane Helene, Stowe relayed. So many families were temporarily displaced that the district saw its McKinney-Vento student ridership triple.

He recalled encountering EverDriven at industry conferences, including STN EXPO East, and the help in removing a barrier so these students could receive education, be fed and return to normalcy at school.

Stowe said that while he may be able to transport 99 percent of his students on yellow school buses, he sought out the right partner with the right tools for the job of transporting the remaining one percent.

“The only way to handle these [instances] without disruption is to build an operation with a contingency plan at its core,” Warner said. “There’s a lot of things that can change in the course of a day. You have to build all these operational practices up front.”

Partnership and Implementation

Technology automation can greatly assist in cases where changes to one bus or driver could cascade into affecting other buses and drivers, Fliegelman noted.

in an age where parents have live location apps on their children’s phones and screaming school bus drivers go viral on social media, technology effectively used by transportation departments helps get ahead of incidents.

“If you’re not talking to parents, they’re talking about you,” Stowe said. “Pump that information out and control the narrative.”

A personal touch is crucial for not just students but parents too. To assist with technology implementation, Stowe said he leveraged personal connections by involving social workers to help parents download the communication app. “That paid huge dividends,” he added.

“Students may forget everything we taught them, but they’ll remember how we treated them,” Stowe summed up.

Watch the webinar on demand.

Transportation professionals nationwide are invited to attend the Transporting Students with Disabilities & Special Needs Conference and Trade Show from Nov. 6—11, 2025 at the Embassy Suites in Frisco (Dallas), Texas. Immerse yourself in the latest trends in special needs transportation training, products, and services. Connect with like-minded individuals, attend educational sessions and workshops, and explore product demonstrations. Learn more and register at tsdconference.com.

The post Webinar Promotes Student-centric, Tech-forward Transportation Operation appeared first on School Transportation News.

As the 2025–26 school year kicks off, school districts face increasing pressure to modernize their student transportation systems — both to meet rising demand and to ensure every student has safe, equitable access to learning. In this webinar, we’ll explore how forward-thinking district leaders are reimagining transportation through technology, flexible solutions, and a student-first mindset.

District leaders will walk away with actionable strategies to future-proof their transportation systems and support vulnerable students — including those with disabilities, experiencing homelessness, or facing complex medical needs.

What you’ll learn:

• The top transportation challenges facing districts this year—and how leaders are responding
• How modern technology (like AI-assisted routing and real-time GPS tracking) is transforming school transportation
• Why Alternative Student Transportation is now a core part of district strategy—not a backup plan
• How to improve student safety, reduce absenteeism, and meet funding goals through personalized transportation

 

Brought to you by EverDriven

 

REGISTER BELOW:

 

Presenters:

Courtney Pallotta
Chief Marketing Officer
EverDriven

 

Adam Warner
VP of Operations & Head of Safety
EverDriven

 

Alan Fliegelman
VP of Product Management
EverDriven

The post (Free Webinar) Modernizing Student Transportation: Meeting Every Student’s Need This School Year appeared first on School Transportation News.