About Jefferson County School District
Jefferson County Public Schools is a large school district — with a student population of more than 81,000 — in the Denver metro area in Colorado. Executive Director of Transportation & Fleet Services Greg Jackson is in charge of the entire school transportation operation. In the 2021–2022 school year, students came back full-time and ridership increased significantly. Like many other school districts, JeffCo Public Schools has been impacted by school bus driver shortages.
Before HopSkipDrive
“If these kids don’t get transportation, they don’t go to school.”
Roughly 42% of the district is eligible for transportation; JeffCo Public Schools is transporting about 20% of them on the yellow bus. A recent Colorado mandate requires foster care students to receive transportation across district boundaries. In addition, JeffCo Public Schools provides school of choice transportation; if they had to suspend routes parents would become responsible for getting their children to school over a far distance.
Jackson, already dealing with a driver shortage, found himself challenged to find support to supplement the new ridership. He was committed to doing so, saying, “If these kids don’t get transportation, they don’t go to school.”
Results with HopSkipDrive
“HopSkipDrive has a great team that is connected and fully supports us. They are responsive and reactive to any questions my team has.”
Impressed with the technology, Jackson loves being able to see where CareDrivers and students are throughout all stages of a ride. This streamlines operations and communication while providing peace of mind.
Jackson is also impressed with the network of CareDrivers. “These are folks from the community and there is a familiarity to these students,” he says. “They see themselves in the CareDrivers.”
Conclusion
Jefferson County Public Schools was challenged managing ridership through a school bus driver shortage. Committed to not suspending routes, they looked to HopSkipDrive for support. They were impressed with HopSkipDrive RideIQ technology, especially the transparency into the entire Rider journey and the ability to build rides out themselves. They remain happy with HopSkipDrive, noting that the support from the HopSkipDrive team has been invaluable.
