RALEIGH, N.C. — The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) launched its new website today.

The association said that the site aims to provide its members and others in the pupil transportation community an improved, subject-based source of information.

The site — still at the address www.nasdpts.org — is hosted by the Institute for Transportation Research and Education at North Carolina State University.

Derek Graham, state director for North Carolina, coordinated the project for NASDPTS.

“The longstanding NASDPTS website that many in the industry have been familiar with for so long has served us well,” Graham said. “It’s hard to believe that it was created over a dozen years ago.”

He noted that in addition to the fresh look, features of the new site include a Google-based search engine, new maps and drop-down menus.

“It gave us the chance to populate the site with new and existing content, but in a much easier-to-find format,” Graham said. NASDPTS position papers, for example, are not only linked from the home page, but referenced on the subject pages as well.

NASDPTS President Mike Simmons said that he plans to coordinate updates to several of the association’s position papers.

“As we looked at our web content, we realized that some of our older documents still serve us quite well. But the board of directors identified some of the position papers that need to be updated, and we are making those a top priority,” Simmons said. “The board will also be involved in gathering additional content for the new website.”

Mary Jo Major, who is responsible for NASDPTS member services, added that, “While our website will better serve any interested party, we think the changes will be especially valuable to our members, who serve all facets of student transportation. We welcome their review of the new site and suggestions for additional content or improvements.”

The NASDPTS website was designed by Creativisibility of Wake County, N.C.