Routefinder PLUS Provides A Peace of Mind
District Profile
Hannibal Central School District is located in Western New York. It’s a rural school district
that covers 100 square miles and transports 1,200 students of the 1,400 enrolled. The district consists of one elementary school, one middle school and one high school.
Rob Pakish is the Director of Transportation. He’s been working in student transportation for 15 years and has been using Transfinder’s solutions for over three years.
Routefinder PLUS Provides A Peace of Mind
Rob Pakish, Director of Transportation at Hannibal Central School District in Western New York took the opportunity during the current pandemic to transition to Routefinder PLUS from Routefinder Pro. During a video interview following a Transfinder University Livestream course he attended for two days to learn more about Routefinder PLUS, he detailed the improvements in the new program. “I love Pro, but there’s something about the change of the interface and how it looks from Pro to PLUS. It’s cleaner, it’s enjoyable to use, it’s a program that’s nice to look at and it certainly doesn’t lack any of the features going from Pro to PLUS.”
Pakish said there’s just more with PLUS.
“It has more ways to do what you want, more ways to figure out how to make something happen,” he said. “In Pro you could complete those same things, but you had to go around a certain direction to make that happen. In PLUS it seems like things are a little more streamlined and easier to use. I’m very excited to go live with PLUS to make this my everyday program.”
Routefinder PLUS has been a highly anticipated program that Transfinder’s clients have been waiting to get their hands on since president and CEO Antonio Civitella first talked about it in his Glimpse Into the Future during an Annual Client Summit. In the address, Civitella said Routefinder PLUS had to have everything Routefinder Pro had plus more. Some of the added features include an extensive report library that clients can now manipulate themselves to add more information or provide less information as their needs require. “There’s a lot of default situations where the reports that are provided are great and do amazing things, but being able to take control of that one more piece of your environment and what you create for the students in your district…to have more control over that is amazing.”
In addition, Routefinder PLUS offers greater speed and fluidity as you maneuver between programs. Mr. Pakish is also implementing Viewfinder and Tripfinder, which he can now access right from Routefinder PLUS without having to open a new program. “The speed is great and how fluid it is working and navigating with the new side panel that’s always there. It just seems like it’s so much more accessible to get information.”
Routefinder PLUS also applies safety policies that you want imbedded as you’re building routes giving you confidence that your safety protocols are being adhered to.
“When it comes to safety it’s obvious that the feature of making sure it’s a policy where I’m not having students (cross streets)…it’s not something I have to go into to double check if it’s an odd address or even address. The system knows the level of safety that I want required for particular trips and then to make those changes on my behalf without having to put that time into it… I mean it’s a huge time saver.”
“It’s programs like this that make my job a lot easier, a lot more efficient so I can focus on other areas of my job…that’s where I think it’s most important.”
Pakish said beyond the solution, Transfinder’s support is part of his team. Transfinder’s Client Services and Technical Support teams are also renowned in the industry with a greater than 85% rate of phone calls responded to and issues closed within 24 hours. “The support team I feel like we’re on a first name basis.
Transfinder is a very family-oriented company I feel like. It’s a real enjoyment to be able to work with Transfinder and the support team.”
