Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township in Indiana turned to Transfinder to find ways to reduce costs without impacting safety. The result was almost $1 million in annual savings.

Not long ago, the school district had a $14 million to $17 million shortfall due to property tax reform. The district, which has 18 schools and approximately 16,400 students, was facing tough financial decisions concerning its debt service and transportation expenditures.

To search for efficiencies in transportation, Superintendent Jeff Butts engaged with Transfinder, specifically looking to apply its software solutions and expertise in transportation routing, scheduling and communications.

Transfinder helps school districts deploy safe, efficient and cost-effective student transportation through its knowledge of logistics and planning. This is also in addition to substantial cost savings through innovative route planning, personnel and maintenance solutions.

“Anytime you make a significant transition to a three-tier busing system, change start and finish times, and change routes for all those children who are riding, that’s a lot of moving parts,” says Butts. “While our staff is phenomenal, Transfinder had the expertise to come in and make sure that we were making as few mistakes as we possibly could.”

Wayne Township has seen an annual savings of just under $1 million by using Transfinder solutions. Buses are running routes efficiently by eliminating redundant stops. Transfinder helped the district reduce the number of drivers needed by 30, a key advantage at a time when there is a national driver shortage. The overall number of both bus drivers needed and buses in service have been reduced, creating significant ongoing personnel and maintenance savings.