Pittsburgh (Pa.) Public Schools has selected Transfinder’s Routefinder solution to create routes and improve its transportation department’s logistics.  

With Routefinder, the district can track students wherever they go throughout the school day, according to a news release from Transfinder. Routefinder also automates the process of adding or removing students who take public transit when a student moves within the district. The district’s transportation department transports nearly 30,000 students, including those who attend charter and private schools, and uses 734 vehicles and works with 19 contractors to transport them.

The district provides shuttles for special education students who attend programs at various locations throughout a typical school day. Kyle Kok, the department’s transportation project manager, said that Routefinder offers the ability to handle the wide range of routing situations that the district typically encounters.

“We have trips to the Gifted Center, lots of special education students with dual enrollments, spending half a day here and half a day there,” Kok said. 

Megan Patton, the district’s director of transportation, said that one benefit of Routefinder that her team appreciates is the ability to plot students on bus stops at the same time a route is being built. 

“We are more interactive with Transfinder technology,” Patton said. “You can see the distribution of students at the same time you’re creating the route.”

Patton also told Transfinder that she believes this will lead to greater efficiencies in the future.   

Additionally, the district can use Routefinder’s mapping technology and stop location capabilities in conjunction with data provided by Allegheny County, to match students to the appropriate bus stop.    

Antonio Civitella, Transfinder’s president and CEO, said that while every district is unique and Pittsburgh Public Schools’ transportation needs may be more complicated than other districts, its solution to solve these challenges should not be complicated. 

“We believe Routefinder and other solutions will ultimately help the district find efficiencies and create the safest routes and bus stops,” he added.