Georgia District Succeeds Today, Ready for Tomorrow with In-Vehicle Telematics and Tablets

The Bibb County (GA) School District transports over 10,000 students and maintains a fleet of 200 buses.

Their fleet and passenger numbers pose unique challenges. According to Michael Cheek, transportation software and routing manager, the district operates 75 propane buses and transports “more than 600 special needs students, with nearly a third of our bus fleet dedicated to transporting these students.” . The district uses telematics solutions and in-vehicle tablets from Tyler Technologies to help them streamline their operations and meet the needs of the students they serve.

To learn more about student transportation and telematics solutions from Tyler Technologies, register for their upcoming webinar on GPS and Tyler Drive.

Simplifying transportation for people with special needs

With a large portion of their fleet and drivers serving students with special needs, a high level of communication and flexibility is essential. Varying pickup/dropoff times and locations create complexities that are simplified by the district’s use of Tyler Drive in-car tablets. “We change routes for special needs students daily, sometimes at the last minute,” Cheek said. “The bus driver might be on the ramp, the route manager will make a change, then radio in and say, ‘Hey, refresh your tablet,’ and those changes will be immediately visible on Tyler Drive. They know exactly where to go. »

Tyler Drive is connected to Tyler’s Student Transportation software, providing drivers with turn-by-turn instructions and detailed student information to help them maintain efficient routes and keep passengers safe. “Before Tyler Drive, we had to provide hard copies or talk to drivers at an address over the radio,” Cheek said. With on-screen or audio-only instructions, drivers can focus on the needs of their passengers and keep their eyes on the road.

Drive towards timely performance goals

Every bus in Bibb’s fleet is equipped with Tyler’s GPS telematics hardware that provides the district with an Automatic Vehicle Locator, or AVL, system. These devices provide tracking data that the district uses to analyze metrics that can improve driver safety, engine idle time and on-time performance. Striving to achieve a goal of 95% on-time performance, the district uses AVL to compare planned and actual travel times. Cheek said: “We use this information to see where we can be more efficient with our routes. This tells us which routes are late and we can look at them in more detail to understand why they may be a little late. » By operating three tiers of routes each school day, using this data to improve efficiency helps the district provide better and faster service to its students.

Telematics and powerful software improve operations

Using data collected by telematics devices can help identify opportunities to improve efficiency. Tyler’s Telematics GPS, combined with Tyler’s School Transportation Routing, can provide transportation departments with the information they need to optimize routes and driving habits. These tools can help districts build confidence in using alternative fuel vehicles, meet performance goals and improve student service.

Switching to a low-emission fleet

In recent years, the Bibb County School District has added 75 propane buses to its fleet, a change from an all-diesel fleet that has already significantly reduced its fuel costs. Since that investment, they have also seen lower maintenance costs and reduced emissions.

However, using these low-emission propane vehicles required additional planning. The district schedules an average of 250 activity trips per month, some requiring long-distance travel across the state. When sending their propane buses on a long field trip, Cheek said, “Any trip that’s more than a two- or three-hour drive, we have to set up a propane refueling truck to meet that bus.”

Similar infrastructure issues arise when considering using electric buses for long-distance trips: “I can imagine the challenges of electric buses on these longer trips, because most of the charging stations that are available are for full-size cars. You wouldn’t be able to charge a bus with most of these,” Cheek said. That will soon matter, as Georgia school districts have received nearly $60 million from the bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021 to support the purchase of 156 electric buses in the state — and 15 of them will be used in the Bibb County School District.

Using their Tyler software and Telematic GPS, the district can examine each diesel or propane vehicle and compare data on cost savings, fuel consumption, and more. Cheek said: “We want to use custom reporting and get more statistics on these buses, so that even with heavy use, we know we will have enough fuel to complete a trip. »

Cheek and his team, led by Executive Director Anthony Jackson, were recently recognized for their work on low-emission buses and more, winning a 2024 Tyler Technologies Excellence Award for Operational Efficiency and a Champion Award alternative fuels over 10 years at the Georgia Association for Pupil Transportation conference.

A live opportunity to learn more

When combined, Tyler GPS Telematics and Tyler Drive provide a complete view of your onboard operations by combining student numbers, turn-by-turn directions, GPS/AVL, engine diagnostics, and more . To learn more about Tyler’s software and telematics solutions, register for their upcoming webinar.