auto allocation Archives - trackschoolbus

Common Guidelines for the Location and Design of School Bus Stops

Posted on October 8, 2018 by TSB Super Admin

Millions of school children travel to and from schools on a daily basis in school buses during a school year. The safety of students is a matter of high concern for both school authorities and parents.

This post provides some information on the common guidelines related to the location and design of stops for buses run by various schools.

Guidelines for Deciding the Location of School Bus Stops

The first step is definitely deciding the routes for the school bus. Once the routes have been finalized, the next step is to decide the location of each school bus stop along these routes, taking into consideration the various aspects that have been listed below:

Special guidelines required for kindergarten children like picking them up from their door-steps
Choosing the location of school bus stops on the key arterial roads of the city or town
Transportation in danger zones marked as “no transport zone”
Locating stops in dead-end streets
Locating stops at places midway between residential blocks or at corners
Closeness to railroad crossings
Adequate visibility

There is an intimate link between school bus routes and stops. This is because the characteristics of one impact the other.

For example, a route may have a busy road segment and a stop may have to be necessarily located in this segment. Students waiting at bus stop will definitely have to deal with the heavy traffic on the segment.

Keeping in mind the street-side things like the condition of the road from where the students board and alight school bus and ensuring a safe environment for children, consider the following aspects whenever possible.

Route school buses through roads with lower traffic speeds and volumes
Avoid roads with multiple lanes where the risk of injury for pedestrians is very high
Select roads that have sidewalks/designated pedestrian walkways which are different from the roadway/traffic; if this is not possible select roads with adequate space so that children can walk along the roadway and reach the stop
Avoid/limit the stops that necessitate the school buses to make a left/right turn along the route depending on whether right hand or left-hand driving is practiced
Avoid stops that necessitate backing up; if backing up cannot be avoided, make sure that the students are picked up before backing and during the return trip the children should be dropped off only after backing up so that the bus can be driven in the forward direction
Avoid railroad crossings as much as possible; if it is not possible to do that ensure the presence of signage and crossing arm protection
Select stops that have a high level of visibility for both drivers and pedestrians; the sight distance should be sufficient for both the students waiting at the stop and bus drivers

When it comes to the sight distance, some of the factors that have an impact are:

Sunrise/sunset times – It is better to avoid locating stops in such a way that the buses are forced to face into the sun at pick-up/drop-off times
Curves
Trees and vegetation

Guidelines for Designing School Bus Stops

When designing school bus stops some of the key aspects to be kept in mind are as follows:

Opt for the safest areas where students can wait for and get into and off of the school bus
Choose “near-side” stops as much as possible
Design should minimize the need for crossing the road to board or after alighting from the bus; as much as possible the need to cross multi-lane roads must be minimized
Ensure adequate lighting is available; if children have to wait during hours when the light is low, the school bus stop must be close to a street light/ other light sources as much as possible
Ensure adequate waiting space for both students and parents; the waiting place must be at least 12 feet away from the bus but the bus class and sight distance should be kept in mind
Consider the environment around the school bus stop; parks and commercial businesses both have their own benefits and drawbacks; they may confer safety as drivers might expect the presence of pedestrians in the areas but they can distract children
Design school bus stops in such a way that the children remain protected from vagaries of nature weather

On the basis of the geographical region, some of the aspects to be kept in mind are:

Design stops in such a way that shade is available without sacrificing visibility
Avoid areas that will reduce the visibility/access because of changes in weather conditions
Avoid snow drift areas that reduce the visibility of the bus or access to the school bus
Take into consideration the number of children that have to be picked up from a school bus stop; the presence of many students might confer safety, but it can increase the chances of behavioural problems

The common guidelines outlined in this post are focused on preventing traffic-related injuries to students using the school bus to travel to and from their schools. Students, just like all other community members, face risks of assault and other crimes.

Many of the other non-traffic issues addressed by transportation policies such as proximity to bars, liquor stores, and adult entertainment, among others are not dealt with in this post.

However, following the guidelines when designing and locating school bus stops can greatly improve the safety and security of school children.

15 FAQs about School Bus Automation

Posted on September 12, 2018 by TSB Super Admin

School bus tracking takes pride in implementing the state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence powered school bus automation features to all the school districts. If you are looking to avail these technological innovations in the sphere of school bus transportation, here are 16 questions and its answers that will crop up in your mind.

Here we are showcasing AI features in school bus tracking system such as Auto Optimization, Auto Routing, and Auto Allocation.

Questions and Answers Concerning the Auto Optimization Feature

In what way does auto optimization improve the durability of your school bus fleet?

A: Auto Optimization helps you come up with optimized start points and the end points (terminus) of every school bus trip. When the school bus manager is aware of these, he/she can cut down the running time of the fleet. This will bring down the unnecessary wear and tear of vehicles, in turn improving their durability.

What are the two sub-modules that are facilitated by this feature? What are their individual characteristics?

A: Route Optimization and Pick-Up Optimization are the two sub-modules that come under the umbrella of Auto Optimization. Route Optimization, true to its name helps transport managers to come up with the shortest bus route. It also helps them optimize various pickup points that should be covered in a single route, alongside adding a pick-up point according to a changed situation.

Speaking of the Pick-up Optimization feature of TrackSchoolBus, this feature helps school bus managers to recommend an exact pick-up point for every student by referencing it with the historical data points.

How does auto optimization present the exact metrics concerning the optimum distance for a single school bus trip?

A: Given the fact that transport managers can lay hands on the exact start and drop points of students through the Auto Optimization feature. Through this feature, school bus routes and pick up points are optimized automatically and can update the pickup point in case of any relocation.

How can you adjust the route and school bus seating capacity through the auto optimization feature?

A: Every school bus has a certain capacity and certain buses ply in certain pre-allocated routes. Through the auto optimization feature, school bus managers can assign a particular bus to a route in keeping with the seating capacity of students who should be either picked up or dropped off at the end of the day. They can base their judgment purely on the data provided by this intelligent feature called Auto Optimization.

In what ways does auto optimization help you to alter the school bus route caused by a change in pickup points?

A: A sudden change in pickup point need not disrupt the earlier school bus route. Transport managers can rely on the auto optimization feature which makes use of historical data and suggest an exact pickup point for every student. This way, a changed pickup point will help managers assign students to a bus that will cater to the new requirement.

What are all the ways in which auto optimization can help schools save time and money?

A: This feature is one system intelligent feature that automatically reduces the running time of school buses. This will lead to a cutting down of fuel costs alongside improving the durability of the fleet by keeping a watchful eye on the exact distance that should be covered to complete a trip. Undoubtedly, these not only save money but also help school districts deal with happy transport managers and drivers as this feature reduces their efforts to manage a changed situation in the most efficient manner.

FAQs about Auto Allocation Software and Their Answers

What is the primary objective behind the implementation of this feature?

A: As the name suggests, this feature is concerned about optimizing the fleet to match the requirements of every school trip. It is all about running a school bus with full capacity so that every route is given its due importance.

In what ways does the ‘Smart Allocation’ algorithm address the common concerns of routing faced by school districts?

A: It is indeed a challenge for school bus transport managers to chalk out the best route for every school trip that matches the seating needs of students. This intelligent algorithm helps the school bus-in-charge to suggest the best route for every bus depending upon its seating capacity.

How is a pickup location assigned and optimized?

A: The Auto Allocation feature collates the residential addresses of students. It is through this repository of historical data that school bus transport managers can step in assign pickup points for students. Optimizing of pickup points is another positive characteristic of the auto allocation feature that deserves a special mention.

What are the automated data points that you can lay your hands on through the auto allocation feature?

A: This feature automatically suggests optimized school bus routes and pickup points. Based on historical data (the stored residential addresses of students), this feature also helps to create optimized vehicle assignments (which school bus should ply on which route).

How is the auto allocation feature a boon to transport managers?

A: The auto allocation feature can indeed be called the best friend of transport managers since it helps them come up with a perfectly optimized school bus route, in a jiffy. They need not get bogged down by the number of pickup points or the student density that should be facilitated. The auto allocation reduces their strain and efforts by suggesting and planning the best route in minutes.

FAQs about Auto Routing Feature with Answers

How does auto routing address the common issues of school bus managers concerned about route optimization?

A: It is indeed a tight-rope walk for school bus transport managers to periodically look out for ways and means to bring down the operational costs of the entire fleet. They are ordained to constantly keep a watchful eye on the bus routes, the seating capacity and the running time of school buses. These will be herculean tasks if they are performed manually. This is where the Smart Routing algorithm comes into play, providing automatic solutions to all the above concerns.

What are the reference points that are required to implement the auto routing feature?

A: This feature relies on data points like school bus seating capacity, the route, the number of students that are waiting to be picked-up at their designated points (the student data), the school bus details and the shift of the school bus drivers. All this information can be extracted from the current transportation repository and the registration information that is filled by the parents of all the students who have signed up for school bus travel.

How does the auto allocation feature ensure that your fleet is running efficiently at all times?

A: For a fleet to be efficient, transport managers should come up with suggestions concerning vehicle assignments which should be in line with the demands of every route and trip. The seating capacity of school buses is another significant pointer that should always be considered while planning a trip. All these reference points become valid data for transport managers to not only verify but also to approve a school bus route.

4: How does the auto routing feature enable schools to control their vehicle running costs?

A: It is only when school buses are put to their optimum use that school districts will be able to cut down the operational costs of the fleet. It is with this endeavor that the auto allocation feature helps school districts to optimize the usage of their school buses, keeping a close watch on the data points like distance of every school trip and the running time of every school bus. With the help of all these data points, transport managers will be in a strong position to improve the durability of the fleet.

Closing Thoughts

The above question bank of 15 FAQs concerning the AI features sheds light on all the numerous ways in which schools will benefit from automating school bus transportation systems.

Answers to these frequently asked questions are essentially the benefits of the auto allocation, auto optimization and auto routing applications that can save a great deal of time, effort and monies of school districts.

Additionally, these features indirectly ensure the convenience of school students through optimized school bus routes.

Artificial Intelligence in School Bus – A Comprehensive Guide

Posted on September 3, 2018 by TSB Super Admin

You will agree with the fact that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the catchphrase which is attracting the attention of people operating in different spheres. Now, AI is also making its strong presence felt in the field of school transportation.

You might be wondering the role of AI in this territory concerning the pickup and dropping of school students at their designated stops.

For every one of you to make the most of the state-of-the-art technology aptly coined with the AI title, here is an all-in-one guide. Reading this will help you understand the numerous ways in which AI can simplify the school bus fleet operations.

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence, true to its name is a technology that is meant to simplify the lives of humans in more ways than you can imagine. It is a technique by which you can allow your routine operations to be controlled by AI-supported computers.

To sum it all, AI allows machines to think and act on their own, just as human do. Human intelligence takes the form of instructions that are given to these machines. They will then be transformed into artificially intelligent systems that can act on their own.

If you are curious to know about the different ways in which AI-powered systems operate, it will take you by surprise that such machines can plan, learn, demonstrate reasoning abilities, solve problems, show up various perceptions and provide creative solutions.

Not leaving the various demands of school transportation behind, TrackSchoolBus makes the most of AI features to provide a host of benefits to the stakeholders. Let us now move on to understand the various ways in which TrackSchoolBus relies on AI in supporting the various needs of school buses.

What are its main features?

What do you expect from a school bus transportation system which is powered by Artificial Intelligence? You will expect it to seamlessly provide all the solutions to various concerns of school transportation alongside strengthening the security of school students.

And AI does exactly the same. It is through an in-built AI technology that TrackSchoolBus automates the three most important subjects concerning school transportation.

They are: Auto Allocation, Auto Optimization and Auto Routing.

Let us now examine all these 3 features in detail.

Auto Allocation:

True to its name, auto allocation is an AI-powered feature that helps fleet managers allocate vehicles on different school routes. AI steps in by providing the much-needed data point which is the optimum capacity of every school bus route. There may be some routes which demand a couple of trips and there may be others which are less populated. In such cases, an auto allocation enables transport managers to optimally allocate a particular bus to a particular school bus route.

Auto Optimization:

Moving on to the next AI feature that helps school districts is about the preparedness to initiate a sudden change in route. This feature serves two basic necessities. One being the route optimization and the other is the pickup optimization.

Speaking of route optimization, it is through this feature that fleet managers can effortlessly manage and juggle with multiple pickup points that should be covered in a single bus route. In the event a student needs to be picked up somewhere between two pickup points, a provision can be made. Route optimization also helps the school bus to take the shortest route to a destination.

Moving on to pick up optimization, you will be in a comfortable position to come up with an exact pickup point for a student that is in line with the historical data and the assigned points.

AI helps fleet managers rise to the occasion of a change in the pickup point so that they can make timely changes to the school bus route. That means, it is through AI that school bus managers can optimize their routes taking into account a sudden change in the pickup point while the bus is in motion.

Auto Routing:

TrackSchoolBus relies on a smart Auto Routing algorithm that enables fleet managers to come up with the most cost and time-effective route. Here, the existing data points consisting of drop and pickup points that are generated by AI serve as pointers to alter a particular school bus route.

What are its advantages?

For you to understand the benefits of AI to the field of school transportation, you need to give a closer look at the three automated features, individually.

Advantages of Auto Allocation Feature

AI will help fleet managers to assign the correct pickup point which is established on the basis of the current residential address of students.
If any change in the route, auto allocation helps transport managers to redo the auto routing plan while effectively performing all the activities of auto routing.
All thanks to Artificial Intelligence, you now have a system that takes care of all the school bus routes, pickup points and vehicle assignments. You need to simply provide pertinent details concerning the trip and residential address and AI does its job, automatically performing all the above activities.
Both parents and school bus drivers will be informed about the pickup point of students as location indicates on Google Maps.
AI simplifies the job of a transport manager allowing him to chalk out a route in a jiffy. He does not have to worry about the number of pickup points or the strength of students. AI does all the spade work necessary and suggests an optimal route which saves a lot of time and cost.
As an attractive incentive to prospective schools, TrackSchoolBus offers free auto allocation trials. Depending on their satisfaction levels, schools can opt for this time-saving and efficient AI-powered auto allocation feature.

Advantages of Auto Optimization Feature:

You just need two data points to implement the auto optimization feature and they are the starting point and the ending point. Due to this feature, school bus routes are optimized automatically and are AI-inbuilt.
It is through this AI-powered feature that fleet managers can continuously and diligently monitor any change in pickup points. They will get all the help needed to assign pickup points by relying on the actual location of the student.
You can also immediately get information about the best possible road that is free from traffic jams. Through this auto optimization feature, transport managers can not only reduce the travel time but also bring down fuel bills to a considerable extent.
If any relocation, you can effortlessly update the pickup point that will be intimated to everyone concerned.
With this, fuel and fleet maintenance bills can be reduced. In turn, you can also reduce the wear and tear of your fleet when you avoid the instances of unnecessary travel, covering long distances.

Advantages of Auto Routing Feature

This help transport managers to decide which route to take, which trip to start and which vehicle will meet the capacity requirements of a particular route.
Fleet managers can perform regular checks to assess the efficiency of their current school bus routes.
It is through this AI-powered feature that you can optimize many elements of school transportation including durability of the vehicle, usage of vehicle on a daily basis along with running time and the total distance covered per day.
Since this feature takes the vehicle details as an important data point, you can match your requirements based on the number of students at a particular pickup point, the total seating capacity of a school bus and the shift that a particular driver is filling in for.
In addition to cut down the costs to run the school bus fleet, AI helps to save the vehicle running hours through optimized vehicle assignments.

How will AI change the management of school buses?

It is indeed a very difficult task for transport managers to come up with the most befitting route for a school bus trip. However, they need not fret as they can now make the most of modern technological advancements coming in the form of Artificial Intelligence. Modern technology now steps in to provide the much-needed support to transport managers to effectively manage the school bus fleets.

Let us now check out the various ways in which AI helps transport managers to deliver their responsibilities in the most efficient manner.

AI Solves School Bus Routing Issues

AI is now being considered the most viable option to address many concerns revolving around school bus routing. When AI comes into the picture, a host of user-friendly and affordable apps are available to all the stakeholders concerned about the safety and convenience of students. With AI by your side, school bus tracking apps loaded with modern features including auto routing, auto optimization and auto allocation can be put to use.

Let us look at these 3 features which have a major role in the effective management of school buses.

Auto Routing Helps to Operate an Optimized School Bus Route at All Times

By now you have understood the advantages you can derive out of TrackSchoolBus’ auto routing feature. This feature collates pertinent information concerning school bus routes, pickup and drop points, student profiles from historical transportation records, vehicle assignments and seating capacities of school buses. Taking all these important data points into consideration, the auto routing feature automatically suggests an optimized route supported by other details linked to vehicle assignments and trips.

Having an eye fixed on these parameters will automatically put you in complete control over the running hours of every school bus and the fuel and vehicle maintenance cost that is incurred on every vehicle.

To sum it all, below is the rundown of the various ways in which auto routing helps in the management of school bus fleets.

Come up with the most appropriate school bus route for every trip
Cut down the vehicle running time, in turn leading to the fall in operating costs of school buses
Regular checks on the effectiveness of every school bus route can be performed
School bus operators can effortlessly chalk out optimized routes and school bus trips considering data points like pickup point density, the bus seating capacity and the school timings

Auto Allocation – Another AI-Powered Offering of TrackSchoolBus

To activate the AI-powered auto allocation feature, you need to collate student information which comes in the form of vehicle information and their designated pickup and drop point details. Here are the evident ways in which auto allocation helps transport managers perform their duties in the most efficient manner.

Transport managers can effectively complete all the techniques concerning auto routing
They can select the pickup point by considering the residential addresses of students
AI steps in to display the pickup point of every student as a location on the Google Maps
School bus operators can optimize the pickup point by referencing it with the historical data that is stored on the system

Auto Optimization Enables the Optimum Utilization of School Buses

Meant to address two important sub-processes, auto optimization helps transport managers come up with: a) an optimized route b) an optimized pickup point. Collectively, this feature enables school bus operators to optimize the utilization of school bus in the following ways:

Suggests the most befitting and efficient route, thereby saving the drivers’ time and efforts
By plying on an effective route, you will be in a strong position to cut down vehicle maintenance costs and the running time of school buses
It help to reduce fuel consumption
Apart from preventing the haphazard movement of school buses, the auto optimization feature improves the durability of your fleet
While AI suggests a road with less traffic, it will also come up with the shortest route which cuts down the vehicle running time
The efficiency of pickup points can be improved by coordinating the efforts of school bus operators and transportation authorities
Along with a facility to update and alter pickup points, AI helps in the modification of school bus routes matching the seating capacity of school buses
A relocation can be addressed by the re-center facility, a feature that allows you to immediately alter and update the pickup point
School bus operators can effortlessly change the pickup point by taking the reference of the actual location
They can also make the necessary changes to the school bus route depending on how much students can be accommodated.

Conclusion

As a takeaway thought, AI through its effective features paves the way for an effective management of school bus fleet. Not only it helps school bus operators to come up with cost-effective and shorter bus routes, it will also improve the goodwill of every school.

Hence signing up for the AI-powered school bus transportation services of TrackSchoolBus will be an as an intelligent move for every school.

Schools which subscribe to these automated school bus management and tracking services are bound to take pride in their efforts to employ advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence.