September 5, 2014
Investing in the Safety of Students
School District Issues Request for Proposals for Transportation Software
A formal Request for Proposals has been issued, through the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District, for the purchase of school transportation management software to help ensure the province’s school transportation system is operating as effectively and efficiently as possible. The purchase of the software was among the key considerations put forward in an independent student transportation review, released last year.
“Over the past year, the Department of Education and school districts have been working on a number of considerations raised in the report – with the most critical being the review and purchase of new bus routing software that will help determine if our current system is operating at peak efficiency. The report clearly stated that this software should be in place before government considers any policy changes around school transportation, particularly the 1.6 kilometre eligibility zone, which they acknowledged as the standard in most Canadian jurisdictions.”
- The Honourable Darin King, Minister of Education
Minister King said that a number of companies have already demonstrated their software products following the release of an Expression of Interest in June, and that this formal Request for Proposals is an important next step in the continuation of the Provincial Government’s follow-up to the report.
Since the student transportation review was released in August 2013, the Provincial Government has been working with its school transportation partners on several other points raised in the report, which include, but are not limited to:
- Finalizing revisions to the contract template for private school transportation operators;
- Continuing an external camera pilot project by installing high definition (HD) camera systems on school buses to identify drivers who violate school bus safety laws; and
- Developing improved driver training programs.
In August 2013, following a consultation process, Deloitte completed an independent review of the province’s school transportation services. The review is posted online at: www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/busing/index.html.
QUICK FACTS
- A Request for Proposals has been issued for the purchase of school transportation management software designed to help ensure the provincial school transportation system is operating as efficiently as possible.
- This action is in response to a key consideration contained in the student transportation review, released in August 2013.
- Over the past year, the Provincial Government has been working with its school transportation partners to follow through on points raised in the report.
- Budget 2014 allocates $52.6 million for school transportation.
- More than 47,000 students are transported a total of seven million kilometres in Newfoundland and Labrador each year.
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Media contact:| Heather May Director of Communications Department of Education 709-729-0048, 697-5061 heathermay@gov.nl.ca |
2014 09 05 10:05 a.m.