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Patty McKelvey urges TransFinder upgrade to bring GPS, stop alerts to Monroe buses
Summary
Transportation staff presented a four‑part TransFinder migration—software, GPS hardware, parent stop‑alerts and a trips module—saying the upgrade would add turn‑by‑turn navigation, student boarding data and routing safeguards. The board asked staff to prioritize the software migration and return budget scenarios by late June/July.
At a Monroe Public Schools work session, transportation lead Patty McKelvey presented a multi‑part proposal to migrate the district from its older RouteFinder system to TransFinder RouteFinder Plus and add GPS and parent‑alert features.
McKelvey said the system is long overdue for an upgrade and pointed to rising trip volumes as part of the urgency: "Last year, we only did 377 [field trips] in the entire school year. Right now, we are at 573," she said. She described RouteFinder Plus as more modern, with training and mapping tools the district currently lacks. "Transfinder is our routing software," McKelvey said, stressing staff training gaps and the operational efficiencies an upgrade would bring.
McKelvey described the Wayfinder GPS/tablet option that provides driver turn‑by‑turn voice navigation and mounting hardware so drivers cannot hold a device while the bus is moving: "This is the one that's going to let us have turn by turn voice directions for our bus drivers on the bus," she said. She also explained a stop‑finder/RFID badge add‑on that can alert parents when a child badges on or off a bus and generate targeted delay notices to signed‑up families.
Board members pressed for costs and sustainability. Staff identified an initial quote for the software/training bundle (package 1) at about $13,002.75 and reviewed larger hardware totals for GPS and Zonar hardware; board figures discussed at the meeting approximated combined initial options at roughly $140,000 with annual maintenance to follow. The board asked staff to return with budget scenarios and feasibility for adding the GPS/hardware package in 2025–26. Steve (board leadership) asked staff to "bring that back for you that if we can show you the budget where there's an option there," with staff saying a budget update could be ready in late June or July.
Next steps: staff will provide budget scenarios and timing estimates for a phased migration; the board signaled support for prioritizing the basic software upgrade now and reviewing larger hardware phases after staff returns with fiscal options.
