An AlphaRoute Success Story: How Manatee County Trimmed their Route Count by 12%
Published on : December 1, 2023
More than 50% of U.S. schoolchildren rely on half a million yellow school buses to travel to and from school every day. This percentage has increased in recent years as more and more districts have expanded school choice. The problem is that very few of these districts seem to have enough drivers to transport the students anymore. This was the case for one Florida county who recently worked with AlphaRoute and discovered, as other districts have, that AlphaRoute’s technology can ease their pain.
The Transportation Problem
The School District of Manatee County (SDMC) was struggling. The district serves more than 52,000 students spread across more than 700 square miles south of Tampa Bay, and not long ago it had more than 150 bus drivers to bring these students to school. As of the 2021-22 school year, they had to cut their route count to 129 because of a driver shortage that only got worse as the year progressed. Fast forward to 2022-2023, and they had to cut it further, down to 106 routes. Their team worked extremely hard to make these reductions, but the resulting service was poor, with double runs in many places and drastically late arrivals both morning and afternoon. They simply couldn’t do any better in light of a driver pool which kept evaporating in front of them. Their story is the same for many good transportation teams across North America.
The AlphaRoute Solution
AlphaRoute began working with Manatee County in late 2022, using its MIT-designed algorithms to optimize district routing solutions. "We partnered with AlphaRoute to assist with route reductions to improve efficiency and address the current shortage of school bus drivers,” said Jamie Warrington, SMDC’s Director of Transportation and Vehicle Maintenance.
AlphaRoute produced more than a half-dozen unique routing solutions for Manatee County, all aligning with their policies and overall objectives. They landed on a routing solution early last summer which called for 94 buses – a 12-bus reduction – and led to more predictable and reliable service for students and families. As the AlphaRoute team added additional levels of support throughout the engagement, the School District of Manatee County was given the tools to mitigate the effects of the driver shortage.
A Transportation Triumph
AlphaRoute’s 12% bus reduction proved to be a game-changer for Manatee County, Warrington recently shared. “From the beginning, they were transparent as to their ability, set the expectations, and then executed those expectations without fail,” he noted, adding that the AlphaRoute team went beyond the scope of work they were contracted for. “Their work allowed us to see where we needed to improve our own routing practices. We are so thankful for their assistance with this project, and their post project support!" Manatee County’s success story is a testament to AlphaRoute’s optimized district routing solutions. By trimming their route count by 12%, Manatee County secured a lasting solution to a persistent problem.
If you’re interested in learning more about how AlphaRoute can improve transportation for your students, request a free demo today.
