For New Transportation Directors

Feb222019 by Julius WalczynskiNo Comments

3 Free Tools (And One Low-Cost One) Small School Districts Should Consider to Manage Bus Fleets

Expert Advice Series, For New Transportation Directors, Routing, School Bus, Solution & Product Updates

We love talking with transportation staff at small school districts. Sometimes our calls with Transportation Directors get interrupted because of the many hats these Directors wear. A recent example: the Transportation Director had to end a call to start a troublesome lawnmower. At another district, we discussed routing plans that were represented on a lovely, big map on the wall with pins and strings. These interesting scenarios, however, illustrate that small school district staff have to make do with small budgets, often outdated or hand-me-down technology. At the same time, they are facing the same new fleet management pressures and expectations that bigger districts face. (more…)

Jan162019 by Steven MentzerNo Comments

How Fleets Can Reduce Their Operational Risk

Expert Advice Series, For New Transportation Directors, Risk Management, Transit

On November 30th, I wrote a blog post for Metro Magazine about “Practical Drift,” the tendency to drift away from the proper and precise way we were taught to perform a job or function. In the case of bus drivers, the drift manifests itself by the forming of bad habits and short cuts such as rolling stops, driving over the speed limit, or rushing through intersections. (more…)

Sep182018 by Lori JethaNo Comments

Beyond 1080p: What’s best for mobile surveillance?

Expert Advice Series, For New Transportation Directors, Industry Trends, Transit, Video Camera Surveillance, Video Management, Videos

A sibling wrestling match triggered a shopping trip for a new HDTV this past weekend. The biggest decision: 1080p vs 4K. The sales guy at Best Buy had some convincing arguments for 4K resolution. My vote was for 1080p, being the budget-conscious consumer. My husband was puzzled by the conflicting online advice he googled while in-store. The end result: we returned home sans TV to face the wrath of two screen-hungry kids. (more…)

Aug242018 by Yumi AngNo Comments

Back-to-School Safety Zone Checklist

Expert Advice Series, For New Transportation Directors, Industry Trends, Perimeter Safety, School Bus

360 degrees of Safety around the School Bus 64% of the school-age pedestrians fatally injured in school-transportation-related crashes in the last decade were struck by the school buses themselves. (NHTSA, Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, 2017) Two deadly contributors to these preventable accidents are: 1) Driver Distraction and 2) Vehicle Blind spots Whether we are drivers, pedestrians, or passengers, we all grow comfortable in our surroundings. Our everyday routines (driving to work, catching a school bus or walking to the bus stop) become the foundation for habits that, more often than not, are conducted in “autopilot mode.” Not being fully present while navigating traffic is commonplace. But given the number of accidents attributed to distraction, looking for ways to be more awar