It always makes us smile here at Tyler Technologies when we
hear specific examples of how our solutions make life easier for districts, and
recently, I heard from Greenfield Public Schools in Massachusetts.

“Greenfield’s transportation department needed a better
solution to track and report on student activity outside the classroom,” said
Michael Howes, transportation coordinator for the district. After researching a
few vendors, the department realized Tyler’s Traversa solution was the best fit
for their needs. Traversa is an all-in-one transportation software solution, with
functionality for routing as well as fleet maintenance, field trips, and more.

“With the help of our account representative, the Traversa
staff was able to create custom reporting features that allow us to track and
share transportation data on our students. Specifically through home-to-school
mileage reports and the mapping tools, we can assess student ridership data and
compare it with our busing needs,” Michael told me.

The reporting functionality proved to be useful when the
department communicates its progress to other departments and committees. “The
ability to import students, create custom filters, and arrange the households
on a map of the district was instrumental in explaining our current level of
transportation efficiency to our school officials,” he said.

Asked to explain the impact Traversa will have on Greenfield
Public Schools, Michael said, “We expect to save $35,000 this year alone on
transportation costs without increasing safety risks. Next year, we expect to reduce
our transportation costs by about $65,000. That translates into another teacher
and assistant in a classroom. That means fewer students in each class overall.
That could be three assistants helping in three classrooms. A new school bus. Or
five additional crossing guards.”

I can’t wait to hear where that new-found budget is
allocated, but I know one thing: it’s great to know that the district will be
better off because they implemented a Tyler solution that met their needs and
helped them improve their transportation operation.