SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Transfinder is releasing an updated version of its school bus routing software, Routefinder Pro.

Version 9.0 contains several new features, including analysis tools for transportation metrics and powerful mapping technology.   

Routefinder Pro 9.0 also helps pupil transportation officials realize greater efficiencies and cost savings at their operations, according to the company.

A route sequence optimization feature automatically adjusts a trip and its stops based on selected criteria, such as time or distance and geographic region. It can also automatically create a new trip in a selected geographic area and generate two alternative ways to run a specific trip — one by the fastest time and one by the shortest distance.

Users can view the quickest way or shortest distance on the routing map and then create fewer stops to optimize the path.

Routefinder Pro 9.0’s analytics/transportation metrics tool allows transportation personnel to analyze their operations, especially during the busiest hours, and better understand and demonstrate their current metrics to district officials to make recommendations to reduce costs and improve productivity. 

"The new version of our routing software also enables our clients to provide transportation information on embedded Google maps in Infofinder le," said Antonio Civitella, president and CEO of Transfinder. "This provides district personnel with a visual landscape of each student's transportation information."

The mapping technology provided through Infofinder le displays the location of a student's home relative to his or her morning and afternoon stops. Transportation personnel can then easily answer questions from parents or district administration about this information.