That intentionality extends to their transportation provider.“ We don’ t yet have tablets on all vehicles, so we rerun route sheets manually and communicate updates in a very calculated way,” she said.“ We have about a 48-hour window to route a student and notify all stakeholders: school, parent, and contractor.”
EVALUATING SUCCESS When asked how she measures the ROI of Transfinder’ s software, Roman offered a surprising yet telling answer: the quiet.“ When I first started, the phones never stopped ringing,” she said.“ We couldn’ t even get through a to-do list. Now, we still have stressful days, but when it’ s quiet, and the only calls are clarifying questions? That’ s how I know it’ s working.” Additional success metrics include real-time sign-in data from school staff, proactive communication with multilingual families, and the ability to eliminate previously required newspaper listings of bus routes.“ The students know where they’ re going now,” she said.“ That’ s a huge shift.”
“ TRANSFINDER WAS WORTH IT” A few years into implementation, Lewiston’ s commitment to Transfinder was tested. The State of Maine, previously footing the software bill, announced it would end funding for routing software across the board. Districts would have to pay or switch.“ I went to our superintendent and said,‘ This doesn’ t happen in six months. If you want to switch, it’ ll take a year. We’ ll strand students if we don’ t do it right,’” she said. Ultimately, Lewiston’ s administration supported keeping Transfinder, recognizing both the institutional knowledge built over years and the risk of starting over.“ We run two departments: nutrition and transportation,” she said.“ I know how much software costs. This one is worth it.”
A MODEL DISTRICT From Transfinder’ s side, Lewiston stands out not just for its scale, but for how fully and thoughtfully it has adopted the platform.“ They’ re a sweet spot district, not too small, not too big; but they use the full range of what we offer,” said Antonio Civitella, president and CEO of Transfinder.“ Alisa and her team give us honest feedback. We’ re constantly evolving to serve clients like them who treat us like partners, not just vendors.” Civitella emphasized the importance of helping clients avoid a common trap: jumping straight to the“ cool” tools like parent apps without first building strong routing fundamentals.“ You better have good data if you want to put a parent app in parents’ hands,” he said.“ Otherwise, you’ re just exposing your weaknesses.”
LESSONS LEARNED Civitella offered a clear takeaway for districts considering similar software: Don’ t be swayed by flashy tools or bargain pricing.“ Everyone wants the parent app, the GPS, the driver tools,” he said.“ But you have to start with reliable routing. Alisa understands that. She’ s not afraid of the technology. But for less tech-savvy districts, we partner step by step.” He also warned that switching to a cheaper system often means giving up future flexibility.“ You may not need all the bells and whistles today,” he said.“ But what happens when you do, and your new system can’ t deliver?”
LOOKING FORWARD For Roman, the work is never done. She is eyeing next steps like expanding translation capabilities for multilingual families, integrating all GPS sources from multiple vendors into a single view, and continuing to train every school user who touches transportation data.“ My background in food service helps,” she said.“ In nutrition, I know it takes eight seconds to feed a kid. So I look at transportation the same way: what should normally happen, what’ s an exception, and how do we build systems that get it right every time?” For districts with similar challenges, such as complex routing needs, rising student populations, limited staff, or outsourced fleets, Lewiston’ s experience is a powerful case study in how the right tools, team, and technology can rewire a transportation system for better efficiency, safety, and trust.
12 | SCHOOL-BUSRIDE. COM | SEPTEMBER 2025