COLUMBUS, Ohio — For several years, the Columbus City Schools transportation department has been using the Zonar Electronic Vehicle Inspection Report (EVIR) for pre- and post-trip inspections to ensure compliance, and they continue to find new ways to save money with the program.

In an executive summary report provided by Zonar, it was noted that the average time for Columbus City Schools bus drivers to complete an inspection was six minutes and 58 seconds. However, the time budgeted was 15 minutes. So by decreasing the budgeted time to 10 minutes, an annual savings of $110,000 was realized.

The Columbus transportation department also implemented Zonar HD-GPS. Shortly afterward, the department ran a Zonar-produced speed report and found that many bus drivers had exceeded the 55 mph speed limit at least once a day. These data were posted anonymously, and the next day there was a 50-percent reduction in buses exceeding the speed limit.