Summary of Presentation to the School Board
View the full presentation on transportation improvements from the School Board meeting on May 15, 2024.
Background
In September 2023, PWCS began collaborating with 4MATIV Technologies, a student transportation technology and consulting company, to optimize and modernize the division’s transportation system.
4MATIV has worked with school districts nationwide (e.g., Cincinnati, Houston, Indianapolis) and greater Washington, D.C. (e.g., D.C. Public Schools, Prince George’s County Public Schools) to help improve their student transportation.
Discovery Process
4MATIV analyzed PWCS transportation data and held stakeholder interviews and focus groups with a broad cross-section of students, families, and staff.
- IT staff
- Parents
- Parent liaisons
- Senior leadership
- Special education staff
- Students
- Transportation Department
- Bus drivers and attendants
- Customer service center team
- Dispatchers
- Schedulers
Insights into Transportation
- 72,483 students are transported to school (79.4% of all students) of what, total student population?
- 57,000 students currently walk 0.2 miles or less to their bus stop
- Non-bus options (cars or vans) could deliver large cost savings and relieve the driver shortage.
- In the morning 37% of buses are late to school.
- Tools such as SchoolStatus can be better leveraged, and staff trained and supported to improve communication.
- The current practice of manually assigning day-of coverage at each center via the “driver leave log” is not documented.
- The lack of clean sync between technology platforms produces inaccuracies and inflated vehicle needs.
4MATIV’s Recommendations for Improving Student Transportation
Consolidating Bus Stops to Reduce the Number of Routes Needed
PWCS could repurpose up to 39 buses by eliminating up to 22% of stops. Stop consolidation conserves vehicles by enabling each bus to pick up more students.
In simulations, the median student’s home-to-stop distance increases from 0.10 miles to 0.25 miles, with no changes for students with special transportation accommodations.
Allowing Families to Opt Out of Bus Transportation
Only 71% of planned riders take the bus each day. The typical bus route has 42 planned bus riders but only 30 students ride it. If 10-25% of non-riders opt out, PWCS would be able to consolidate more routes – further contributing to on-time performance.
Optimizing Vehicle Mix
PWCS currently has 1,038 trips with less than 10 riders. Stop consolidation and route optimization would eliminate 63 of these trips. Non-bus options (such as cars or vans) could deliver large cost savings, relieve the driver shortage, and improve stakeholder experience.
Enhancing the Use of Data and Technology
By expanding training and improving internal processes related to driver coverage, GPS tracking, data accuracy, customer service, and communication, PWCS will improve the accuracy of the Here Comes the Bus app, parent notifications of late buses, and customer service response times.
