LISD Director of Transportation Dana Chandler gave an update on the transportation system at the June 2 work session.
What you need to know
The district has a goal of hiring 220-230 drivers before the 2025-26 school year and currently has:
- 146 drivers and monitors in the pre-employment process, which includes drug and alcohol testing
- 47 drivers and monitors in the process of background checks
- 49 drivers and monitors who applied but still need to send in fully submitted applications
- Hired an administrative assistant
Zonar GPS software allows connection to the parent bus tracking app and gives telematics for the bus, Chandler said. Zonar GPS tablets have been purchased and will be installed within the next two weeks.
These will allow for the turn-by-turn directions, which will ping at a quicker rate than the old software did. Currently, the parent tracking app pings every two to three minutes, but with the new software, the route will be updated on the app every ten seconds, Chandler said. This is expected to be phased in around October.
The district will also change apps to accomadate the Zonar and Transfinder Plus but for now, they will reconfigure the Here Comes the Bus app to use route numbers instead of asset numbers, which is a number that parents couldn't easily see due to it being on the back of the bus, Chandler said.
The board of trustees heard from parents that there were concerns for the bus not arriving on time and parents not knowing where the bus or their kids were, Trustee Michelle Alkhatib said.
"It seems like you're listening to the community," Alkhatib said. "You're listening to the schools and ensuring that we're covering all those missing things that haven't been there in the past to ensure that we are providing the best possible service."
Zonar GPS tablets will allow drivers to clock in and out and allow them to see which students get off at which locations. Zonar equipment will be added to all critical points on the outside and inside of the bus for vehicle inspection. Drivers can then use their tablets to scan the critical points and send in any defects through their tablet to get a service technician to inspect the bus, Chandler said.
Three service trucks have been ordered and received and will be outfitted with the necessary repair equipment, such as lights for if they have to pull onto the side of the road, air compressors and other equipment for service outside of the bus barn repair shop.
The backstory
After 30 years of paying a third party for bus services, LISD approved the creation of their own transportation department at the April 30 work session.
This change was done because hiring outside services would have increased the cost by $3 million to $5 million more than their current cost for contracted bus services.
By bringing the bus services in house, the expected increase from the fiscal year 2024-25 cost is about $2 million, per district documents.
Looking ahead
Bus routes are currently being established with the routing vendor using the district’s current data for the 2025-26 school year, Chandler said.
A system will be put in to better track students when they get on and off the bus using radio-frequency identification, Chandler said. There will be a proximity reader that can read ID badges and a sound will play to identify whether a student is supposed to be on that bus or not.
"For safety reasons, you would want to [use this system for high schoolers]," Chandler said. "I mean there are times where you might have a student that looks like they are a high school age student and they're not and they shouldn't even be on the bus."
Animal signs will be placed on the bus near the route number to help younger students identify their bus. Students will be given a bracelet to match the animal on their bus.
"It works really well for the first few weeks of school," Chandler said. "The kids enjoy it and I always get good feedback from families so I think they'll enjoy that."
The district is working towards hiring an assistant director and maintenance technicians. They will also evaluate the condition of the buses with physical inspections.
LISD will update their website and add a video for students and parents about safety features and important information regarding the buses.
