LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The largest school district in Kentucky will spend nearly $1.2 million to map out new bus routes and stops.
The Jefferson County Public School System is now using a routing system called Traversa Student Transportation from Tyler Technologies out of Plano, Texas.
"We are working to modernize our transportation system," Tyler Sharon, JCPS Executive Administrator of Operations, said at June's school board meeting.
However, many parents and bus drivers still remember the transportation issues from 2023, when JCPS used a different company to map out bus stops.
"This year has been a dream in comparison to the year before," bus driver Christine Turner said. "We designed our own routes, basically."
Turner has spent the past 10 years of her life driving JCPS school buses. She saw first-hand the busing problems in 2023.
"It's frustrating that people blame the drivers," Turner said. "They need to pick a system and stick with it."
The district used transportation management company "AlphaRoute" during that time. An audit in 2024 blamed AlphaRoute for causing transportation issues that led to the cancellation of several days of classes after a "transportation disaster" that saw some children arriving home from school as late as 10 p.m.
In total, the audit revealed JCPS paid AlphaRoute $858,167. It also found JCPS officials share the blame, because the district did not include its transportation department in a majority of the conversations around implementing new school start times and student assignments.
That's why JCPS began looking for a new vendor last fall. After several rounds of interviews with eight different candidates, "Traversa was unanimously selected for its alignment with JCPS's goals and comprehensive feature set," JCPS spokesperson Carolyn Callahan said in a written statement.
Callahan said Traverse is different than the previous "aging legacy software" because it will be operated within a newly created centralized routing team.
"While the software will be a valuable tool, the routing department is the source of experience and knowledge it is built on," Callahan said. "JCPS routers control the final decisions on school bus routing for the district."
A committee made up of staff from JCPS's Information Technology, Special Education, Routing and and Operations departments chose Tyler Technologies' Traversa because of its "longstanding expertise in school transportation," Callahan said in the release.
With a $1,193,681 price tag, Traversa is a huge investment. Turner said she doesn't think it was money well spent.
"I think they just need to leave it to us," Turner said. "I really do. We know more about what the traffic patterns do. We know what needs to get done."
JCPS said Traversa software is being implemented now, and Callahan said it has already been used successfully for JCPS Summer Success League. The rollout for the full district is planned for the 2026–27 school year.
However, Sharon said changing school start times could complicate that.
"We acknowledge that we've made a lot of changes to start times and busing over the last few years,' he said. "We want to be conscientious of that and receptive to the feedback."
Related Coverage:
JCPS bus routes generated by software with flawed track record in another district
JCPS responds to audit blaming district, bus route service for transportation disaster
New audit places blame on JCPS, AlphaRoute for transportation disaster on first day of school
JCPS hiring blitz aims to bolster fleet of school bus drivers in Louisville
JCPS restores bus stops for some magnet, traditional school students in Louisville
JCPS to restore 60 bus routes, give families new options after challenging year
JCPS rolls out new bus portal for parents, students to track pickups, drop offs
JCPS bus routes generated by software with flawed track record in another district
Copyright 2025 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.
