BusPlanner recently hosted a webinar featuring Brian Callegari, the Operations Specialist at Pasco County Schools, as the guest speaker. The agenda of this session was to explore effective routing strategies in the face of an ongoing driver shortage.
Brian shared how Pasco County leveraged BusPlanner to reduce their bus routes by 35% — all while dealing with the challenges of a growing student population.
Moving Away from Manual Route Planning
Before 2019, Pasco County Schools’ transportation routing process was manual and inefficient. Brian and his team relied on basic tools to enter route data manually. It was a time-consuming and labor-intensive system that made change necessary.
That’s when Brian and his team came across BusPlanner, a platform that offered powerful automation and centralized routing capabilities. This solution allowed for consistent route planning, removing the human element that sometimes introduced errors and inefficiency.
Rollout Amid COVID-19
As Pasco County Schools started the onboarding process with BusPlanner, the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown began, disrupting everything. But instead of pausing progress, the shift to remote work accelerated digital transformation. With BusPlanner’s remotely accessible tools and support, Brian’s team could continue route planning remotely and prepare for a safe return to school.
Still, when students came back, staffing shortages posed a new challenge. With 436 routes planned and only 220 drivers available, the district had to rethink its transportation strategy.
Leveraging Data to Tackle Driver Shortage
Faced with a growing student population and only 220 drivers to cover 436 routes, Brian and his team turned to data for solutions.
They started by analyzing ridership patterns, stop locations, and student density, identifying major inefficiencies. In some areas, buses were stopping 20 times in the same neighborhood, where 3 stops would have sufficed.
But the breakthrough came with the analysis of student records and GPS tracking.
Detailed Student Records:
A critical success factor was granular student data. Pasco County Schools used BusPlanner’s extended properties to input nearly every detail possible, i.e., up to 100 custom fields per student. This detailed dataset allowed the team to make better-informed decisions about stop placements, route lengths, and overall efficiency.
One key move was the establishment of a no-transport zone. Students living within two miles of their school no longer received transportation, based on data showing that they could reasonably walk or be driven. This change alone generated significant cost savings.
Invaluable GPS Insights:
Using GPS data, Brian and his team tracked which eligible students used bus services. Of the 51,525 eligible students, 17,713 had not been using student transportation services, either because they didn’t ride or hadn’t requested service. This level of detail helped avoid unnecessary bus assignments and route planning, saving time and resources of the transportation department.
Boosting Bus Occupancy by 44%
By analyzing student ridership data and optimizing routes, Pasco County Schools increased average bus occupancy from 77.5 to 111.3 students per bus. This shift allowed the district to reduce total routes from 436 to 273, i.e., a 35% decrease, without compromising service quality.
The change was implemented midway through the school year, during a tight four-month window over winter break. And when students returned in January, the plan worked well!
This increase in occupancy translated directly to fewer buses on the road, lower costs, and more efficient use of a limited driver pool, demonstrating how smart routing can tackle operational challenges.
Continuous Optimization for Maximum Efficiency
Brian highlighted that optimization was not a one-time project — it is an ongoing commitment. The Pasco County Schools team routinely reviews ridership data, GPS reports, and route performance to identify areas for improvement. They continuously adjust routes to minimize deadhead mileage and adapt to changes in student enrollment or transportation needs.
This proactive approach ensures that Pasco County’s transportation system remains cost-effective, responsive, and sustainable year-round.
Key Takeaways
Pasco County Schools’ journey shows that even in the face of unexpected challenges — a pandemic, a severe driver shortage, and a growing student population — smart, data-driven strategies can transform student transportation operations.
By embracing technology, maintaining detailed student data, and continuously analyzing ridership patterns, Brian Callegari and his team turned a major obstacle into an opportunity for long-term improvement.
To learn more about Pasco County Schools’ journey, watch the complete webinar!
