Maintaining a fleet of buses to transport students to school is a major expense for school districts. An efficient bus routing system can greatly reduce the time and cost associated with transportation, while also ensuring the safety and comfort of students. Optimizing large-scale school bus routing problems (SBRP) is challenging due to the huge…

Outlines steps in forming transportation priorities to meet decreased fuel allotments. (MF)

A computer-based method was developed that can translate available data about schools, students, and bus facilities into a set of bus routes and schedules prior to the start of the school year. Each route can be so designed via the computer model that student riding time and bus capacity constraints are satisfied at the same time that total bus…

Introduces a computer program for school bus routing. (MLF)

The energy crisis can be a real burden on school transportation budgets. Suggested are items in departmental budgets that should be examined. Survey responses show what a number of school districts are doing to reduce fuel consumption. (Author/MLF)

Standardized bus schedules allow a more efficient use of buses and drivers. Cites experiences of districts using the four-bell schedule where high schools open first, followed by middle schools, and then elementary schools with two opening times. A computer routing system can be used to route buses more efficiently and draw school attendance…

A computerized routing and scheduling system for the San Francisco Public Schools includes the batch processing of bus route assignments and schedules for all schools and the online terminal processing of daily changes. (Author/MLF)

The application of operations research and computers is providing school bus routing and scheduling to five California counties. Illustrates the system requirements, steps for computerized calculations, a sample bus assignment report, and three data files. (MLF)

A review of significant activities in the area of computerized school bus routing is conducted. The various factors which contribute to the complexity of transporting students to and from school are first surveyed and, following this, the overall problem is formalized in terms of a system of nodes and links. An analysis of several routing systems…

School systems will soon be using microcomputers to design their school bus routes and aid in the management of transportation programs. Offers guidelines to bring microcomputer bus management to school systems. (MLF)

Changes in school bus schedules and routes result in more uproar among parents than almost anything else. School districts alter bus routes for various reasons--lack of local or state tax revenue, safety, and efficiency. School boards should give parents as much notice as possible, as early as possible. All school officials need to know the new…

As in Edina, Minnesota, many schools are finding adolescent sleep research persuasive enough to consider later or multiple starting times, risking parents' and teachers' wrath. Time adjustments become entangled with issues such as bus transportation, interscholastic athletics, student jobs, child-care arrangements, and juvenile crime. Tips are…

There are two basic approaches offered in current computerized transportation routing and scheduling programs: the mathematical programming approach and the intuitive optimization approach. Lists questions that an informed buyer should ask of the routing and scheduling company. (MLF)

Since the energy shortage occurred, pupil transportation has employed major conservation measures that have reduced the amount of fuel required to transport children to and from school and school authorized activities. Some basic guidelines for sound fuel reductions in school transportation are supplied in this pamphlet. From these guidelines, a…