U‑46 transportation staff outline bus replacement plan and plan to shift routing software

School District U‑46 transportation staff presented an updated age and obsolescence plan for bus replacement on June 2, cautioning that upcoming boundary changes and projected enrollment reductions could affect routing and vehicle counts.

Director Marcy Murphy said the plan is based on the current fleet and that boundary changes could reduce the number of vehicles needed. Board members asked about large replacement years shown in the plan and whether seatbelts would be included as manufacturers update models; staff said some providers are integrating seatbelts and the district is planning for future purchases accordingly.

The presentation also covered a planned migration from the district’s current VersaTrans system to Traversa (a Tyler product). Staff described Traversa as a more modern product with an improved parent app and a multi‑year rollout timeline of about a year because of the district’s size.

Why it matters: fleet replacement timing, vehicle features such as seatbelts, and routing software changes affect bus procurement budgets, driver training and family communications about parent‑facing apps. Presenters noted the need to plan for training and communications if buses with seatbelts are procured.

Action taken: this item was informational; staff responded to board questions and said they will share additional planning materials. No formal board action was recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.

Next steps: transportation staff will continue route planning under new boundaries, incorporate seatbelt considerations into procurement, and proceed with a staged Traversa roll‑out with vendor training and parent app improvements.