LoginFrom Crisis to Confidence: Gloversville’s Journey to Transfinder
When the Gloversville Enlarged School District (NY) entered the 2024–25 school year, transportation was the last thing they expected to become a crisis. For years, the district had outsourced its student transportation operations, relying on a third-party provider to handle routing, driver management, and day-to-day logistics.
The district’s footprint covers 82 square miles and serves 2,800 students.
But just before the school year began, the district’s transportation provider abruptly announced it was done providing services. The district, which owned the buses, the garage, and now the responsibility to route and manage transportation.
“We were thrown into the [deep end of the] pool,” recalled Bill Cooper, Gloversville’s director of IT during a Q&A session at a New York Association for Pupil Transportation event. Fortunately, most of the drivers continued to drive for the district. The district hired a transportation director and began looking at various routing software vendors.
Initially, Gloversville chose the least expensive option—a decision driven by budget constraints rather than operational fit.
But within three weeks, the cracks began to show. Students were being dropped off at the wrong locations. Communication between drivers and schools was chaotic. Everything was managed on paper and spreadsheets, and updates rarely made it back to the right people.
Safety—the superintendent’s top priority—was at risk.
“It was a mess,” Cooper said bluntly during the Q&A session. “We had kids getting dropped off at the wrong location. We even had one kid just jump off the bus and leave. There was no accountability.”
At one point, Cooper said, “the transportation director considered quitting. We didn’t want that.”
Faced with mounting problems and growing frustration, Superintendent David Halloran made a decisive call, Cooper said: “We’re dumping this other company no matter what—even if we’re stuck paying for the year-long commitment. We’ve got to make a change.”
The Turning Point: A Call for Help
That’s when Gloversville reached out to Transfinder.
“We went back and swallowed our pride and then I called Transfinder,” Cooper said. Within 15 minutes Cooper had a response from Transfinder that help was on the way. Within three days, Transfinder was onsite, meeting with district leaders and mapping out a plan.
From the first conversation, one message stood out during calls with Transfinder’s experts: “The number one thing is children’s safety, student safety.” For Cooper, that was the moment he knew they had found the right partner.
“Right then I knew I would have the support of the superintendent to help them make the decision,” he said.
Transfinder didn’t just promise a solution—they provided true partnership and delivered with speed and expertise. The district was fast-tracked through implementation, and within two months, they were fully operational. Training was designed for every role—drivers, mechanics, administrators—and designed for staff with limited IT experience.
Cooper said Transfinder’s involvement was in marked contrast with the previous vendor. “The first company I never even heard from. I thought that was strange because I knew what they needed from our Student Information System and so forth.”
“The (Transfinder) training was unbelievable. It seems like it was tailored to each individual.” Cooper noted. “They took right to it and it was amazing that people with such limited IT skills picked it up as quickly as they did.”
Results That Matter
The impact was immediate and profound. No more missed stops. No more wrong drop-offs. Communication improved dramatically, and accountability returned to the system. For Cooper, the silence was golden: “The only time I get called now is when there’s a problem. And I don’t get called—which is good.”
Beyond solving the immediate crisis, Transfinder positioned Gloversville for long-term success. Features like student tracking and advanced analytics can be added gradually, ensuring the district scales at its own pace.
In fact, Cooper mentioned some in the district wanted to purchase additional Transfinder solution and were told: “Listen, we’ll work you into that. Right now, we’re going to concentrate on getting you guys up and getting your runs and making sure your kids are getting back and forth safely.”
From that position of strength, the district can add solutions like the award-winning parent app Stopfinder.
“This has been one of the easiest implementations of a software platform that I’ve ever been involved with,” Cooper said. “I do a bunch of them.”
Lessons Learned
Looking back, Cooper offers advice for other districts: “Follow (Transfinder’s) lead. Do your homework. Find out what your priorities are and make sure they match the company’s priorities. I knew when I heard that children are your main concern and the safety of our children, we were definitely on the right page.”
For Gloversville, the move to Transfinder wasn’t just a technology upgrade—it was a lifeline. In the face of a transportation crisis, the district found a partner that delivered speed, reliability, and peace of mind. Today, Gloversville’s transportation system is safer, smarter, and ready for the future.
“You guys really bailed us out of a pretty serious situation,” Cooper says. “So, thank you. I couldn’t be happier.”
To learn more, visit www.transfinder.com/solutions, call 800-373-3609 or email solutions@tranfinder.com.
The views expressed are those of the content sponsor and do not reflect those of School Transportation News.
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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.
