HopSkipDrive has upgraded its RouteWise AI™ software, adding AI-driven transportation planning insights to help users increase efficiency and track operations.

This new offering provides visibility into unlimited scenarios and national benchmarks, with artificial intelligence analyzing thousands of possibilities, including the risk of delays at existing bus stops and the impact of changing bell times.

Launched in 2023, the company says RouteWise AI has helped dozens of school districts around the country improve on-time arrivals, reduce transportation costs by up to 20%, and address chronic labor shortages.

The new dashboard highlights metrics including student ride times, costs per rider, and bus utilization rates. Users can compare these metrics against national averages, allowing them to benchmark against peers and track improvements. 

At Denver Public Schools, the tool suggested increasing the efficiency of small vehicles, leading to savings of more than $500,000 annually. In Colorado Springs’ District 11, efficiency went up 46% when RouteWise AI increased the share of high-utilization bus routes, using the same number of drivers and addressing the district’s shortage.

"We've been working with RouteWise AI to assess our operational efficiency and support our district in sustaining operations through a driver shortage,” said Veronica Schmidt, transportation director, Snohomish School District in Snohomish, Washington. ”RouteWise AI brings together all of our data - ridership, history traffic, route policies and more - to deliver detailed optimization recommendations that aren't possible with our current tools."

In addition, RouteWise AI is collaborating with EZTransportation, which offers solutions such as daily route management, school and parent communication, driver management, fleet maintenance, and activity trip coordination. This reinforces the "Compatibility Promise” to ensure complementary efforts with, and not replacements to, districts’ existing technologies.

“School districts often lack the time or resources to quickly analyze transportation data in one place and implement meaningful changes,” explained Corey McMahon, HopSkipDrive's chief product and technology officer. “RouteWise AI bridges that gap, providing schools’ decision makers, board members, and other officials actionable insights directly from their existing routing systems to boost efficiency, reduce costs, and ultimately improve student outcomes.”