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Transportation staff recommends GPS routing software; board to consider at next meeting
Summary
Jennifer Langford presented options for GPS-based routing and fleet-management software to the Overton County Board; cost estimates and vendor comparisons were discussed and the board asked staff to place the item on the agenda for formal consideration.
Jennifer Langford, who presented a transportation update to the board on March 11, recommended implementing routing and GPS fleet-management software to improve student-route documentation, substitute-driver support, parent notifications and vehicle maintenance tracking.
Langford said the software can build routes for regular and special trips, flag unsafe roads, provide turn-by-turn directions for substitute drivers, push notifications to parents about estimated arrival times and create digital trip approvals and cafeteria notifications. She said hardware options include a plug-and-go GPS unit or a more expensive hardwired device tied to a specific bus.
Langford provided vendor cost comparisons she had gathered: a turnkey option using Samsara with GPS devices totaled about $27,155 for the first year and an expected annual fee thereafter of about $19,340; a Zonar hardwired system was estimated at roughly $42,000; and the transportation-software-only annual fee figure discussed for the district software was about $6,800. Langford said the vendor would provide training (six months was mentioned for some vendors).
Langford recommended a demonstration and told the board she had spoken with three companies. Board members asked staff to check budget availability and to place the proposal on next week's agenda for further discussion and possible approval at the June meeting. No formal procurement action was taken at the March 11 session.
