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District updates StopFinder rollout and EV‑van protocols; mounts and training remain
Summary
Transportation staff said 23 of 30 bus drivers are trained on the district tablet system, the district needs nine custom mounts (estimated $25,100, eight‑week lead time) for remaining buses to activate GPS StopFinder functions, and vehicle‑use protocols for newly delivered EV vans are in development.
Novi’s transportation office told the school board on Dec. 19 that the district is nearing full deployment of the StopFinder/RouteFinder tablet system but still needs custom mounts and training to enable GPS and parent‑tracking features.
Miss McNelly reported that 23 of 30 drivers are trained and seven drivers remain to be trained; one will be trained the following day and the remainder will be scheduled when school resumes after winter break. She said the district needs nine additional custom mounts for the tablets, which are permanently affixed to buses and have an eight‑week lead time. She cited an estimated cost for the mounts of "$25100" (recorded in the meeting). "Once the tablets are live, and they're in use, GPS is an embedded function within the tablet," she said, noting parents will be able to track routes after mounts and training are in place.
Miss McNelly also said the district received electric vans and is developing vehicle‑use protocols; the district plans to use TripFinder within the StopFinder platform to route small trips (10 passengers or fewer) through transportation and to manage EV‑van scheduling. She said she will share sample protocols and finalize procedures in early January.
Board members asked for timely procurement and implementation; Miss McNelly said she would approve purchases required to get mounts ordered so the district can complete deployment in the first quarter of 2025.
