In suburban-rural Albemarle County (Virginia), computer assistance in evaluating manually-designed school bus routes helped increase efficiency in pupil transportation and reduce the number of routes, buses, and vacant seats. (RW)

The computerization of school bus maintenance records by the Niskayuna (New York) Central School District enabled the district's transportation department to engage in management practices resulting in significant savings. The district obtains computer analyses of the work performed on all vehicles, including time spent, parts, labor, costs,…

A review of significant activities in the area of computerized school bus routing is conducted. The various factors which contribute to the complexity of transporting students to and from school are first surveyed and, following this, the overall problem is formalized in terms of a system of nodes and links. An analysis of several routing systems…

The San Diego Unified School District (California) began operating a computerized routing and scheduling system for its pupil transportation services at the beginning of the 1985-86 academic school year. The computerized system, provided by Ecotran Systems, Inc. (ECO) of Cleveland, Ohio experienced an inordinate number of difficulties. A…

The school bus alert monitor is a computerized school bus alert and warning sytem that notifies parents of school bus arrival via radio frequency technology. The system also has been shown to enhance the self esteem of disabled transportation users. (CL)

Less than five percent of the pupils in northeastern Rhode Island Region I are transported to schools or educational centers outside of their districts. However, about 20 percent of the total transportation costs are expended for out-of-district transportation of nonpublic school, vocational, and special education students. The purpose of the…

School systems will soon be using microcomputers to design their school bus routes and aid in the management of transportation programs. Offers guidelines to bring microcomputer bus management to school systems. (MLF)

There are two basic approaches offered in current computerized transportation routing and scheduling programs: the mathematical programming approach and the intuitive optimization approach. Lists questions that an informed buyer should ask of the routing and scheduling company. (MLF)

The Computerized Fleet Maintenance (CFM) program of a New York school district has major component areas of garage operation, vehicle replacement, and fuel consumption. CFM detects high expenditures and provides the rationale for bus replacement. (MLF)

Beginning on the front cover, this article tells how school districts are reducing their transportation costs. Particularly effective measures include the use of computers for bus maintenance and scheduling, school board ownership of buses, and the conversion of gasoline-powered buses to alternative fuels. (Author/MLF)

Computerized pupil transportation systems offer promising benefits to school districts. Outlines ways school administrators can select the right product by following some traditional business approaches. (MLF)

The computer-based system for routing school buses in rural areas which is discussed minimizes both transportation costs and the average student ride time. Route generation methodology is described and a flowchart of the algorithm is included. (Author/JJD)

Discusses issues concerning the use of computers in school bus scheduling and routing. Examines the advantages, technical considerations, and costs of changing to a computerized system. Offers a five-point approach toward implementation and includes a table of comparative data for routing and scheduling models for a typical school bus fleet. (IW)

This publication contains an encapsulated report on a 1973 pilot project on computer aided bus routing and scheduling involving 22 diversified school districts of New Jersey. Called Transportation Information Planning Service (TRIPS), the project sought to develop and subject to initial test a man-machine system that would offer optimum latitude…