Due to recent cuts in the state budget, many school districts in rural Nebraska are having to reduce their costs in undesirable ways, such as eliminating programs or faculty. GIS Workshop and the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management in Computer Science and Management Design Studio are developing a software system that will enable schools to save money by reducing the costs associated with school bus transportation.

The system determines the quickest and safest route for a bus to take, thereby reducing the amount of gasoline consumed, as well as the time-on-the-clock for the driver. The cutting-edge algorithm was developed after months of research into various techniques recently developed by several top mathematicians. The system is comprised of several GIS software components. This enables administrators to identify locations where students should be picked up, and automatically incorporates that point into the route. This system also reduces the time administrators spend on planning routes.
Future Opportunities

In the future, GIS Workshop hopes to extend the project by adding Automatic Vehicle Locators to each bus, which would provide parents with up-to-the-minute information on the location of their child's bus via the Internet.