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Contractor tells Acadia Parish School Board buses running near capacity, touts AI cameras and live-map tools
Summary
A transportation contractor told the Acadia Parish School Board on Nov. 18 that the district has 78 drivers for 78 routes, highlighted a 98.8% run-execution rate in September, and described Lytx AI cameras and BeaconConnect live-map and family-app features the vendor says can improve safety and communication.
Christina, a transportation contractor representative, told the Acadia Parish School Board on Nov. 18 that contractor and district staff are focusing on staffing, safety and technology to keep buses running reliably. "We currently stand at 78 drivers for the 78 routes," Christina said, noting the contractor also maintains 13 full-time substitute drivers and two AM/PM subs while six employees are on long-term leave.
The presenter identified absenteeism as the main disruptor to service and described steps the contractor is taking, including bonuses, disciplinary actions and monitoring absenteeism trends. The contractor reported a 98.8% run-execution rate in September and said October showed an upward trend in runs.
On safety, the presenter said there have been nine accidents this year — five described as non-preventable and four preventable — and highlighted the use of Lytx in-bus cameras. "This is the Lytx camera that's located in every single bus. It's an AI driven safety tool that monitors the drivers while they're driving, gives them coaching in real time, and then scores that coaching back to us," Christina said. The cameras can detect roll-throughs, phone use and seat-belt use and generate video for follow-up coaching or incident review.
The contractor also described BeaconConnect, a proprietary technology platform used to manage routes, incident reporting and communications. Two features are ready but not yet activated for the district: a live map that would let administrators see buses in real time and a zone-based family app that notifies parents when a bus enters or leaves a user-defined area around a stop or home. The contractor said Dialpad, an AI phone system, is being implemented to surface caller and student-route information to staff handling parent calls.
Board members asked questions about absenteeism and the family app’s usefulness during early dismissals; one board member said, "I like what I heard tonight, and I'm really looking forward to those maps coming out," praising the anticipated ability to show bus locations during weather-related early releases. The contractor said all spare buses are currently on the lot and reiterated a commitment to continue working with district IT and staff to implement the optional tools.
The board received the presentation; no formal action was taken on contracting or on activating specific technology features during this meeting. The contractor said a district point person will be needed to lead any activation of BeaconConnect features.
