TransPar Group of Companies Highlights Complexities and Key Practices for School Districts Considering Bell Time Changes
Lee's Summit, MO (PRWEB) June 06, 2017 -- The TransPar Group of Companies, a partnership of three leading organizations from across the school transportation industry that offer an array of products and services, continues to offer their knowledge and expertise to school districts that are currently considering the complex process of changing bell times. Their advisory and consulting division, School Bus Consultants, recommends that solving the bell time problem can facilitate with solving the driver shortage problem by changing the demand and supply equation.
“The decision to change school bell times has so many challenges that extend beyond school transportation, but it is often this very service that such decisions hang on,” stated Tom Platt, President of School Bus Consultants. “How you prepare to address the bell time question is at least as important as your ability to design routes. Through a broad use of technologies, analytical techniques and facilitation skills, we offer start-to-finish assistance when a school district is considering a school bell time change strategy. A focus on knowing where the opportunities are early in the process will increase the likelihood of success. We convey to clients that even minor time changes can have a major impact on the community, and our methodical and interactive approach allows us to manage this difficult and complicated process optimally while providing significant value to school districts and their communities.”
Given the countless hours spent working with school districts of different shapes and sizes, the TransPar Group of Companies has the expertise to share key practices that each district needs to know in order to successfully navigate each complexity and make changes without disruption. Recently, company executives hosted a webinar wherein they discussed the topic of bell times, school buses and bus drivers being inextricably related and how these different aspects of their operation must be managed together. As it pertains to adjusting school start and end times, School Bus Consultants works closely with districts to identify alternatives to traditional bell times and create capacity in a system to support these potential changes while mitigating likely negative financial impacts.
“Recognizing that transportation impacts this decision to change bell times so heavily, it is critical to engage with planning professionals as early as possible in order to identify scenarios that might be as close to optimal as well as feasible,” added Platt, who recently presented at the Adolescent Sleep, Health, and School Start Times National Conference in Washington, D.C. This conference is noted within the school transportation industry for bringing together experts on teen sleep and bell time changes for a discussion on why altering bell times is important, and how school districts can successfully make this change without any disturbance.
“People are fearful of a change from the status quo and they experience an enormous amount of loss aversion,” Platt said. “It is our experience that in trying to explain the results of any cost or service analysis, getting people to at least consider, if not overcome, their biases in order to really be able to assess impacts is crucial.”
For school districts interested in receiving information on bell time studies or to learn more about the TransPar Group of Companies and their portfolio of products and services, please visit http://www.TransParGroup.com.
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About TransPar Group of Companies
The TransPar Group of Companies is a partnership of three leading organizations from across the school transportation industry that offer an array of products and services that represent the most comprehensive and responsible services in the industry. And this is done while keeping students safe and improving the cost and quality of school transportation operations. The three business units include TransPar, which provides Management and Staffing Services to develop solutions for difficult operational questions and problems; School Bus Consultants which offers Advisory Services to deliver resources and expertise that transportation contractors and organizations often cannot access on their own; and Transportation Services Co. providing Fleet Management Services and Training Products to help customers create the strong foundation necessary to support effective service delivery. So no matter the needs, the TransPar Group of Companies is the all-inclusive solution to creating a successful, reliable, and profitable student transportation program. For more information, please visit http://www.TransParGroup.com.
Tim Ammon, [email protected], http://www.schoolbussafetyco.com, +1 888-518-3377 Ext: 510, [email protected]
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