The first School Transportation News webinar of 2026 started strong by sharing perspectives of two industry veterans on four hot trends in student transportation.
Unifying the Tech Ecosystem
Keba Baldwin, director of transportation and central garage for Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) in Maryland and the STN Transportation Director of the Year, said that having a unified tech stack has helped him be proactive on safety rather than reactive. Building staff capacity to accept and use the technology has been a challenge, but once team members are on board, they also see the benefits, he added.
“Having disparate platforms can cause tension,” agreed Alfred Karam, who returned as interim director of transportation for Shenendehowa Central School District (CSD) in New York after retiring in July 2024.
Baldwin and Karam shared how data results in more accurate reports and improved driver performance.
“All these tools help us be more efficient and save time,” Karam noted.
When implementing multiple technology systems, he advised doing so slowly and ensuring each aspect is accompanied by thorough training.
Meanwhile, PGCPS’s bus tech stack was recently rolled out slowly across each of the 12 bus depots, Baldwin said. He is focused on making sure everything works as it should. Importantly, each department from transportation to classrooms to administration was involved in the process, in order to support it.
Overcoming the Labor Crisis
When lacking a centralized hiring department, as is the case for Shenendehowa CSD, Karam said he actively requested district help on getting the word out through emails and hosting “test drive a bus” events, so the spotlight is constantly on recruitment.
PGCPS does have a hiring department, which Baldwin said he works closely with. He also offers both paid training and bonuses.
Onboard school bus tablets make the job easier for new drivers but are not as readily accepted by older drivers that make up most of his workforce, Baldwin noted.
The average age of drivers at PGCPS is 50, and at Shenendehowa CSD it is 56. Technology acceptance and comfort level are important considerations, commented Craig Berndt, business segment manager of people transportation for webinar sponsor Geotab.
Karam stressed the importance of framing bus technology to supporting and improving driver skills rather than simply blaming drivers.
In response to an attendee question on how many drivers quit during their probationary period, both directors said that keeping a recruit throughout the training process likely ensures they will stay with the district for some time.
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Balancing ZEV Mandates and Budget
PGCPS had 20 electric buses and several mobile propane-powered chargers when Baldwin joined the district. The district has since canceled the planned on-site infrastructure due to cost concerns. Baldwin therefore advised ensuring local utilities can handle the electricity demand as well as training all staff in case of potential emergencies. He said the World Resources Institute’s Electric Bus Initiative has helpfully provided templates and information on funding.
“We do have areas where EVs can be beneficial and other areas where they won’t be beneficial,” he noted.
The 2035 electrification mandate is still in effect in New York, which meant Karam had to quickly familiarize himself with the related jargon, organizations and procedures. He shared often-overlooked aspects of the conversation such as changing bus purchasing processes. Buying the bus is the last piece of the puzzle, after planning and infrastructure is in place.
He additionally underscored that chargers must be maintained as much as the buses themselves. Also, securing additional charging capacity requires heavy construction and miles of wires brought in – it is not as easy as calling a supplier to bring over extra gallons of diesel fuel, he quipped.
Karam shared that Shenendehowa runs only four out of six electric buses due to utility electricity caps.
Harnessing the Power of AI
AI is more than just a conversation with ChatGPT, Berndt declared. He said Geotab is focused on utilizing it to save human time by gathering data and making predictions on the likelihood of collisions or bus failures, which a human can then make decisions on.
“Everything we do has an AI component,” Baldwin declared. “What we have to do is embrace it and break it down into areas where we can apply it.”
He added that AI helps develop driver scorecards visible to him and his drivers, who then know specifically what to improve on.
“AI is in our hands already,” Karam agreed. “Safety is going to shift from being incident-driven and reactive to being pattern-driven and predictive.”
He shared that he used AI to crunch numbers rather than spending hours working manually with data from routing software. He related how AI-driven tools discovered that some drivers falling asleep at the wheel had sleep apnea.
Rather than stealing jobs and replacing humans, Karam said he sees AI “as a game changer and force multiplier as it matures and is adopted within the transportation system.”
Berndt gave listeners tips to make sure the AI model they are training is secure, so sensitive information stays safe.
Watch the webinar on demand.
The post Student Transportation Veterans Discuss 2026 Hot Industry Trends appeared first on School Transportation News.
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