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MMSD transportation reports improved reliability, launches pilot for special-education route tracking
Summary
District transportation staff reported improved on-time performance and routing stability, outlined ridership and routing responsibilities, and said a pilot to roll out tracking for some special‑education routes will start after spring break with the goal of broad rollout by the 2025–26 school year.
Assistant Director Vanessa Cruz and Senior Executive for Building Services Scott Jacker briefed the Operations Work Group on transportation operations, routing, tracking and partnerships with providers.
Cruz said the transportation department is responsible for roughly 9,000 students: about 8,000 on yellow buses, nearly 600 on specialized routes and 335 students served through the Transitional Education Program (TEP); the TEP total includes approximately 471 4K students. She described the routing workload: one coordinator handles about 8,000 yellow-bus students; two coordinators handle specialized routes (roughly 600 students) and make an average of about 54 special-ed route changes per week.
Key operational points and metrics presented: - App and tracking adoption: 3,929 app downloads and 2,943 active parent tracking profiles for yellow-bus service; tracking availability varies by provider and route type. - On-time performance: First Student reported an on-time performance rate of about 90 percent for January. - Specialized and TEP providers: First Student (including FirstAID/FirstAlt), EverDriven, Madison Taxi and HopSkipDrive are among providers for non‑CDL and flexible TEP routes; Metro provides city-transit options for students in some areas. - Pilot for special-education route tracking: staff will pilot tracking at a single school beginning in April (after spring break), gather feedback, and expand; the goal is for the majority of students to have trackable routes by the 2025–26 school year, with exceptions for very complex multi-stop or multi-site itineraries. - Capacity and workforce constraints: the district has 71 yellow‑bus AM/PM routes served by 61 CDL drivers and 21 bus attendants on specialized routes; staff noted recruiting and retention of drivers and attendants remains a major barrier and that First Student’s recruiting has been steady but not net‑positive.
Board members asked about Metro connections and early-morning travel times, family communication for route delays, whether specialized-route tracking would be available to families immediately, and how athletics and extra‑curricular charters will be supported. Cruz and Jacker said dispatch and school offices can provide live updates for families, that providers offer tracking for their routes where available, and that summer/simpler routing should be easier to track.
Why it matters: Transportation reliability and route-tracking affect student access to school and after‑school programs; specialized and TEP students are particularly vulnerable when routes change or when tracking is not available. The pilot aims to increase transparency and family access to real-time bus information while recognizing technical and logistical complexity.
Ending: Staff will pilot special‑education route tracking at a selected school beginning in April, report feedback, and identify a scaled rollout plan for the following school year.
