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June 15, 2022
STARS: Streamlining School Bus Management and Route Tracking
Optimizing School Bus Routes and Safety with Real-Time Data.
Insight
- The US Public Education Department needed a real-time bus monitoring system to enhance student transit safety, streamline routes, and improve communication between parents, schools, and drivers.
How we Helped
- Our team developed STARS Driver, a Windows-based tablet app providing real-time navigation, inspection notifications, driver time tracking, and live updates on routes and student pickups/drop-offs.
- The second part of the project was STARS Hub, a central fleet management system providing real-time bus communication, route management, performance tracking, and dynamic route updates.
Project Overview
STARS is a mobile application for parents, school management, and fleet coordinators that features real-time tracking, advanced navigation and route planning for drivers, and a monitoring dashboard. Our team collaborated with EDULOG, Telogis, ESRI, and Loudoun County School District for development.
The Challenges
The client’s outdated, paper-based scheduling system led to inefficiencies that impacted the entire transportation process. The drivers relied on printed schedules to navigate their routes, which caused delays, incorrect pickups, and excessive fuel consumption due to inefficient routing. These inefficiencies also increased operational costs and created safety risks due to the lack of real-time visibility into bus locations or the inability to communicate quickly with drivers in emergencies.
The school district required a way to track student ridership better, streamline driver operations, and ensure accurate time and attendance reporting. Fleet management personnel couldn’t optimize routes without real-time tracking or handle unforeseen events like traffic congestion, making it more challenging to handle daily operations. The need for a robust solution became urgent to reduce costs, improve safety, and enhance operational control.
The Solution
We created the STARS system to digitize the school district’s transportation operations. STARS Driver, a Windows-based tablet application, was developed to provide real-time, turn-by-turn navigation with visual and audio prompts. It also integrated pre-trip and post-trip inspection reminders, tracked driver time and attendance, and provided real-time updates on routes, student pickups, and drop-offs.
STARS Hub was designed as a central control system for fleet management, offering real-time bus communication, route management, and performance tracking. The Hub enabled fleet managers to monitor driver performance, engine diagnostics, and bus events while allowing real-time route updates based on changing conditions.
The Impact
Implementing the STARS system considerably improved the transportation operations of the school district.
- With the STARS Driver app, bus drivers acquired access to real-time data, turn-by-turn navigation, automated pre/post-trip inspections, and live route updates, reducing the likelihood of delays and improving fuel efficiency.
- Integrating the Electronic Control Module (ECM) allowed for real-time engine diagnostics, while two-way communication enabled dynamic route adjustments and seamless software updates.
- The STARS Hub provided complete visibility and control for dispatchers, enabling live monitoring, communication, and performance tracking of all buses. This improved operational efficiency and safety by tracking key bus events and ensured accountability through precise driver time and attendance tracking.
The system helped reduce fuel consumption and emissions, alleviating the risk of environmental concerns and providing health impacts for children with asthma.
