District transportation director demonstrates new GPS routing layer to improve bus routes and monitoring

At the May 9 meeting, Director of Transportation Jen Malon demonstrated a new "advanced AVL" layer integrated with the district's Traversa routing software from Tyler Technologies. Malon said the add‑on brings Geotab GPS telemetry into the routing platform to provide animated route review, live vehicle location, speed and exception alerts such as harsh braking and stop‑arm events.

"This layers it on to the piece that we're already using for routing," Malon said, describing features that include a 3‑D vehicle view, second‑by‑second logs, and an exceptions feed that flashes when drivers exceed thresholds. She said the system lets staff pull driver records for coaching and gives families more precise stop and arrival time information.

Malon said training for staff is scheduled for May 30 and that the system is already in use for routing and incident reporting; she also noted the system covers buses and vans and integrates driver‑compliance data the district uses for HR and safety purposes.

Board members asked about staffing and whether the software supports reporting to police; Malon said it does and that the platform also helps with maintenance and fuel usage monitoring. There was no board action required; the demonstration concluded with the board thanking Malon for the update.