Springville-Griffith Institute CSD

Organization Profile

Industry: School District
Location: Springville, New York
Student Enrollment: 1,950
Number of Employees: 67
Tyler Client Since: 2018
Tyler Products: Student Transportation
Contact: Ann Rugg, Transportation Supervisor

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Challenges

When Ann Rugg, transportation supervisor for the Springville-Griffith Institute Central School District, took a close look at the district’s previous student transportation solution, she realized the district needed to make a change. “The product we were previously using had many features that we found we were not using, but we were paying for,” she said. Rugg also suspected that her routes were not as efficient as they could be, even though they were designed using the expensive tools the district had paid to license.

Outside of the transportation department, district officials were concerned their existing routing system may not be compatible with the student information solution they had selected. It became clear the Springville-Griffith transportation department needed to research better routing solutions to meet their requirements without overpaying for features and add-on modules they didn’t need.

Solution

When Rugg began researching comprehensive routing solutions that would meet their budget requirements and integrate well with the new student information system, she was “specifically looking for something that made scheduling stops and making changes easier. Our previous software used a complicated process for creating stops in the route. We were also looking for a product that produced a simple set of routing instructions for sub drivers to follow. We wanted a product that would expand to include the use of GPS turn-by-turn instructions and a parent app.” Tyler's flexible student transportation solution stood out as the district’s best option, and Rugg and the Tyler implementation and support teams quickly got to work. In addition to being a better solution for the district’s needs, “Student Transportation was much more reasonably priced than our previous routing software,” Rugg shared.

“Our technology department worked with Tyler staff to allow for an automatic update of Student Transportation software daily as new students are added to the student information management system. This allows transportation to have the most up-to-date routing information for our students and staff. Student Transportation software was also very easy for our secretarial staff and administrators to learn how to use and retrieve information about student routing. Creating routes was also very easy with Student Transportation, and we were able to easily change routes to allow for greater efficiency. Tyler support staff have been extremely helpful to us,” she noted.

Results

The district realized immediate and meaningful improvements to their transportation department operation after implementing Student Transportation. “We eliminated two full routes and reduced several others in length by using the software. Next year, we will be looking at balancing our rotation for future bus purchases, but this year we were able to purchase one fewer bus in our rotation. We were able to decrease the number of buses in our fleet and still maintain our five-year rotation,” Rugg said. Parents are excited to begin using Student Transportation’s parent app, Ride 360^®, as soon as the district is ready to roll it out.

District officials were relieved to find Student Transportation delivered on its integration promises, and student data was flowing in real time regardless of whether students were in their classrooms or aboard their buses. “We are now better able to track our students who are scheduled at more than one pickup or drop off to improve safety and security,” Rugg commented.

More than just an efficient and effective routing solution, Tyler also proved to be a vital partner to the district when the COVID-19 pandemic caused unexpected changes to the processes and functions for which the transportation department was responsible. “The software has been invaluable during this crisis,” Rugg said. “Creating food delivery routes could not have been any easier or more accurate. We are so very thankful for all the help and support we have received from Tyler.”