Jordan School District

Utah’s largest school district unifies more than 300 vehicles on 1 platform.

Jordan School District (JSD) is the largest in Utah and includes the Salt Lake City metro area. Dedicated to providing students safe, reliable and efficient transportation, this fleet travels more than 2.6 million miles each year. And provides home-to-school service for almost 16,000 student riders daily.

This sizeable district had recently been divided into two geographical areas, one of which was growing more rapidly than the other. To provide the highest levels of service across a vast, busy geography, JSD needs to know how its 290 school buses and 35 light-duty vans perform every day. Which is why the district implemented Zonar fleet management solutions.

Assistant Systems Technician Deborah Mckinlay has been with JSD for 13 years. She and her team are responsible for all after-market equipment added to the district’s fleet. And she shares their Zonar story.

Visibility starts with proven fleet tech.

JSD school buses are fit with a Zonar V4 telematics control unit (TCU), and fleet vans with a Zonar LD TCU. Both types of TCUs stream real-time location and vehicle data to Zonar Ground Traffic Control, our secure online fleet management portal.

Authorized JSD personnel view their entire fleet, down to location, movement and activity. And apply that data to enhance operational performance.

• Support drivers and routes when they need backup.
• Respond appropriately to concerned parents and members of the community.
• Streamline, standardize and verify required vehicle inspections.
• Strengthen reporting and compliance with Utah HoS regulations.

Teachers are ready when vans arrive.

JSD uses Zonar solutions to enhance support for students with special needs. Using geofencing and vehicle tracking, teachers are better prepared to assist when students arrive.

In Ground Traffic Control, staff define geofenced zones around schools that serve these students. Real-time LD TCU tracking for vans that transport them streams to Zonar MyView, our precision bus tracking app. Authorized teachers set up alerts in the app for when a relevant JSD van enters their defined geofenced zone. When they receive an alert, teachers prepare to meet students before the van pulls curbside.

Learn how Zonar Z Pass keeps ridership data safe.

Concerned callers get accurate answers.

Answering parent phone calls is part of JSD dispatchers’ day. Some are looking for their child’s bus. Others believe the driver skipped the stop.

Zonar GPS vehicle tracking makes answering these inquiries easier. “We don’t just serve our students,” Mckinlay points out. “We serve our community. And a tool like this helps us maintain good relations with everyone.”

JSD team members log on to Ground Traffic Control and see each vehicle’s real-time location on a map view. They provide parents accurate updates faster, without calling and disrupting drivers. Staff also exonerates drivers when data shows the vehicle arrived on time.

Backup is on the way.

Routes sometimes experience disruptions. Knowing each vehicle’s exact location enables needed agility to support drivers when a bus becomes disabled or needs backup.

Understanding where vehicles are located across the fleet shows who’s available and where.

• Pinpoint location of vehicle in need.
• Locate nearest available driver and vehicle.
• Dispatch, direct and reroute dynamically.

JSD also knows drivers who wrap up early are available to support other routes if needed.

Pre-trip inspections are verified online.

Vehicle health is also top priority. The district saw the opportunity to replace its paper-based vehicle inspection process with the electronically verifiable Zonar EVIR.

Zonar tags are placed on defined inspection zones for each vehicle. Drivers must physically visit each zone, scan the tag with their Zonar 2010 device, and perform the required steps. When the inspection is complete, digital results are uploaded to Ground Traffic Control for online verification and review.

• Drivers perform pre-trip inspections faster and with enhanced accountability.
• JSD verifies the time spent in each zone to ensure inspections are thorough.
• Mechanics prioritize and address repairs sooner to keep vehicles healthy and reliable.

Accurate HoS compliance goes digital.

JSD is responsible for reporting their drivers’ over-the-road activity, including drivetime, to comply with Utah’s hours-of-service (HoS) regulations. Zonar fleet management digitizes capturing and submitting driver hours as required.

Ground Traffic Control captures when JSD drivers start and finish their drivetime. The district compiles and submits reports electronically to the Utah State Police to show HoS compliance. Start to finish, this digital process is faster and less labor-intensive than JSD’s previous process.

Our partnership continues.

As the largest school district in Utah, JSD is committed to providing the highest levels of student transportation. And continues using Zonar fleet management solutions to monitor, manage and enhance fleet performance.

• Unify visibility into more than 300 vehicles.
• Deploy backup transportation when needed.
• Maintain community and parent confidence.
• Enhance vehicle health with verified electronic inspections.
• Comply with state HoS regulations more efficiently.