1 Routing and Technology The how and why of school routing MTA 2015 Class 4 April 1 & 7, 2015 OSBA leads the way to educational excellence by serving Ohio s public school board members and the diverse districts they represent through superior service, unwavering advocacy and creative solutions.
Today s agenda The routing parts Legal requirements Bus stops Documents approvals Building routes Why consider tiers? Technology Costs and a case study 2
Minimum service, by law RC 3327.01 What are the minimums? Grades K-8 students that reside more than two miles from their home school of residence. Special Education students who have transportation as a related service listed on their IEP. JVS/Career Tech Students must be provided a shuttle from their home school of attendance to their vocational setting. 3
Nonpublic... Non-Public/Community/STEM Schools 30 Minute Rule Districts must transport those students whose home school of attendance is thirty minutes or less from the non-public/community school they wish to attend. Same Basis no longer in code, but a smart practice 4
Permissives Students less than eligible distance High school students Other nonpublic & charters, but... 5
Measurement of distance Measurement of distance originates at a point on the traveled portion of the roadway nearest the primary entrance to the place of residence and then along the most direct route traversable by motor vehicle to the school bus loading area nearest and opposite the entrance door used by pupils transported (OAC 3301-83-01 G1) 6
Definitions to trip over... Collection point: Public school the child would be assigned to in the public school attendance area if the child attended public school. USED ONLY FOR DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY Pickup Point: A designated bus stop within ½ mile of a child s residence. Every eligible bus rider is entitled to this stop. 7
Bus stops School Bus Stops-Ohio Administrative Code 3301-83-13 Grades K-8 may be required to walk up to ½ mile to a designated school bus stop. 8
Bus stop locations Stop locations shall provide for the maximum safety of pupils given consideration to distance from residence, traffic volume, physical characteristics, visibility and weather conditions. (note) this section does not apply to routing eligibility in RC 3327.01 9
Bus Stop safety School Bus Stops Shall be located at at a distance from the crest of a hill or curve to allow motorists traveling at the posted speed to stop within the sight distance. If less than 500 feet in either direction, a request shall be submitted to the proper authority to install a school bus stop ahead sign at least 500 feet in advance of the school bus stop. 10
Residence side Shall be established on the residence of all 4-lane highways and on the residence side of other roadways posing potential hazards to students as determined by the district. 11
Stop assignment Each pupil shall be assigned and required to use a specific school bus stop except in unusual circumstances. 12
Approval obligations OAC 3301-83-13 District responsibility to establish all school bus stops which shall be approved annually by the board of education. Bus stops and a time schedule shall be adopted and put in force by the board not earlier than thirty days prior to and not later than ten days after the start of school. 13
Route sheet evolution No route sheet driver based File cards stop lists Hand written directions Word processor directions Legal requirements added along way Computerized routing software printouts 14
Why route at all? Manage the resources Record keeping Legal route sheets Safety concerns 15
Routing styles evolution Hand-me-down driver based Supervisor s mind s-eye view Paper map / cork board / push pins Paper map / plexiglass / grease pencils Digital map / software routing GIS, GPS tracking, on-demand plotting 16
Basic elements of routing Eligibility zones Hazardous areas Boundaries Public Bell schedule Nonpublic Bell Schedule JVS Bell Schedule Fleet capacity (seats) Routing time Routing distance Vehicle sizes Ridership % By neighborhood By building Maximum workable ridership Community buy-in Building locations 17
The constraints Routing time Bell schedule Distance to cover Number of stops Capacity Available seats Size of buses Size of fleet 18
Special considerations Residence side drop-off 4 lane: required District preference Turnaround Time, risk, traffic flow, 1-way roads Intersections 19
Identify the components Streets and maps Street addresses (on the map) Students Name, grade and school addresses, phone # s, daycare needs Special education considerations Emergency medical information 20
Route timing the factors Road speeds Time at student stops Time per student Time for special needs considerations Traffic (congestion) Traffic controls Left turns Turnarounds 21
Ridership and capacity Determine available seating capacity Primary seating High school seating Determine ridership percentage of scheduled students Track historical ridership percentage Schedule expected ridership Determine bus count needed 22
Product output... Driver directions Compliant route sheets Student rosters Communication tools Bus assignment Board approval documents Parent contact information 23
Route Sheets defined Route Sheets (OAC 3301-83-13) Each bus shall have a detailed route sheet on board which shall contain the following: Direction to designated stops; Time schedule; Designated stops; Driver-designated place of safety; Number of riders at each stop and residence side; List of identifying road hazards. If practical, each route shall have a responsible student designated to assist a substitute driver with each route. 24
Routing and cost... Routine routes represent at least 80% of your transportation cost Costs are most closely related to the number of buses operated, not necessarily related to the number of students transported! Operating with fewer buses is usually more cost effective than operating with a larger fleet In most cases it is possible to reduce the number of buses used and still transport the same number of students. This requires multiple trips per day, sometimes called tiers 25
Single vs. double routing Single routes K-12 grouping 1000 students Avg. 50 students/ bus 1 trip per bus Requires 20 buses Avg. 1 ½ hr * 2 / bus Total of 60 hrs / day Requires 20 drivers Double routes K-5, 6 12 grouping 1000 students Avg. 50 students/route 2 trips per bus Requires 10 buses Avg. 3 hr *2 / bus Total of 60 hrs / day Requires 10 drivers 26
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Technology as a tool, but... Use it to increase your work capabilities Do not let it increase your work load Be careful not to live on the Bleeding edge of technology Computers and software require constant feeding 28
Some things to Think about first. You are going to have to set aside time if you plan to set up or learn a routing program. How soon do you need the program running? What do you plan to gain? Can I do it? Is the program that I currently have too outdated? Advantages vs. Disadvantages 29
How much spare time do you have? Although these programs have come a long way in the last 10 years, this is still a BIG job. A common misconception is that you can buy a program and it will do the work. How many of your mechanics have thousands of dollars worth of tools and still have to work. Computers and software are tools that assist you in doing your work. Either you or someone will need to enter a lot of data long before you see any usable results. You may need to educate your supervisor about realistic time goals but sometimes you are going to need to shut your door and work some weekends to get it done. 30
How soon do you need the program running? What do you mean by RUNNING? Having a student database is a real asset to some departments, and to others, running means printing route sheets with place of safety and student photos. Set realistic goals. Give yourself at least a year for implementation. Don t tell anyone if you are ahead of schedule, that is when you will hit a wall. There are some things you can do ahead to speed up the process. 31
What do you plan to gain? Some very attainable goals: Accurate student data. Neatly printed route sheets. Boundary planning. Automated routing. Be sure to ask Letters or post cards to parents for stop time and bus number. Accurate reports. 32
Can I do it? Anyone who can balance the needs of parents, students, drivers and superintendents can do this. It s much more about attitude than ability. Of course it s work but so is anything worthwhile. 33
What the software will need Constant feeding Data updates Student address updates Driver route corrections Student downloads Staff time to keep it running Time to get to know it Regular use to remember how to use it 34
What the software can do Eliminate busy work Make routing easier Make routing quicker Provide effective and responsive data management Student rosters on demand, phone numbers, address locations, print duplicate route sheets 35
What the software won t do Your job Design the perfect routing package Compensate route times for driver styles Eliminate the need to make good routing decisions Save millions of dollars 36
Buying smart-ask questions Up Front Purchase price, what is included is the program complete, or sold in modules how much training is included how much will extra training cost how long will support be included 37
... and more questions... How much are annual support fees? What are the support response times? What hours are support available? Does support have email access? Are regular program updates included in the support fees? 38
... and more questions How long will it take us to have the program fully installed and useable? are there local users that you can network with? Is there a user s group? Ask for references, and call them 39
Ask another district or two Are you using the product? How long did it take to become useable? How many hours per day/week do you spend maintaining it? How responsive is the support system? Does it meet your needs? If you switched districts, would you buy it again? 40
... Equipment continued Desktop vs. Laptop vs. tablet Can you fit the database into a PDA Printer considerations Not only route sheets, but maps Monitor bigger is better for routing 41
The Bottom Line... Computers and software are powerful tools -- but be prepared to invest to get any payback from them TANSTAAFL is a fact of life 42
Routing Issues not computer controlled! The limiting factors Route time Seats on the bus Age and grade of the riders Fleet capacity Available sub buses 43
When funds get tight, expect to be asked... Can we do it more efficiently? Pin maps and cards are time consuming as is any data gathering tool. Most of us are asked to do more with less each year. Good data ready when it s needed priceless. Do you really have a tool that can tell you the savings or cost to reduce HS transportation? Many of our job descriptions require us to implement an automated routing system. 44
Determining Transportation Cost By mile (the trucking way) By student (the way it is reported) By bus 45
Per mile Many operational costs can be identified How many costs actually depend upon mileage? Fuel, Tires, Maintenance Labor, benefits, overhead, rent How much will the mileage actually change? 46
Per bus... Cost Analysis based Use district cost analysis for per bus costs Regular drivers Substitute drivers Benefits Maintenance / repair Tires / tubes Insurance Extend by the number of buses reduced Caution if buses will be kept in fleet, there will be some residual cost This method only works for actual fleet size reduction 4/29/15 47
Per student What single factor influences this the most? The number of buses used Consider the efficiency ratings... FY15 average riders per bus. 59 students Single, double, triple tiers 48
Routing study case Scenario: New campus being completed All buildings in a single site Currently all single routed Superintendent likes the single route model Both unions like the current model 49
How do we figure this out? Determine the givens Count the riders Determine routing options Model the routes they must work! Calculate unit costs Determine Net loss or gain 50
Thank you! @OHschoolboards Visit our website at: www.ohioschoolboards.org 51