TRANSPORTATION ROUTING AND MANAGEMENT...

TRANSPORTATION ROUTING AND

MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

CLIENT/SERVER SOLUTION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CLIENT/SERVER SOLUTION 1

SQL Server Database 1

Network Capability 1

Easy to Use/Flexible 1

SOFTWARE CHARACTERISTICS 2

Electronic Map 2

Student Data Capabilities 2

Import/Export Connectivity Capabilities 3

Aid-In-Lieu Functionality 3

Driver/Aide Data Capabilities 4

Routing Functions 4

Save Historical Data 6

Fleet Optimization 6

Auto Create Bus Stops 6

Sex Offenders and Threat Zones 6

Redistricting (Boundary Analysis) 6

Reports 7

Bus Passes 8

SECURITY 9

SYSTEMS REDUNDANCY / DATA ARCHIVAL / DISASTER RECOVERY 9

TECHNICAL ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS 9

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 10

Orbit Software, Inc Confidential Information 1

CLIENT/SERVER SOLUTION

BusBoss Professional is written using Visual Basic specifically for any 32-bit or 64-bit Windows operating systems giving you

flexibility in data manipulation, graphics and networking. BusBoss™ is not a modular system. It is one complete package and

sold as such. BusBoss does not require maintenance tasks to insure system integrity. There are no utilities that need to be

performed on a regular basis. Tools are provided within BusBoss to allow the user to complete all data and map modifications

and updates. No vendor intervention is required to maintain the BusBoss system.

SQL Server Database

BusBoss uses SQL Express or SQL Server software attached to a SQL Server database. Most districts are well served

with SQL Express. However, for larger school districts that place heavy demands on a database, a SQL Server can be used.

When using SQL Server, it will have all the great features and functionality of SQL Express with the benefit of allowing more

users to be networked, an unlimited database size and additional database optimization features.

The BusBoss database can be located on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008.

The BusBoss program can be used on any computer with Windows 2000, XP, VISTA or VISTA BUSINESS. It may be used

on a single computer or on a network. Unlimited databases can be created for planning current, future and summer routes.

Users can login to multiple databases at the same time.

Network Capability

BusBoss Professional is fully networkable as a client/server solution or as a hosted solution using BusBoss SaaS.. It has

the ability for multiple users to simultaneously view, modify, and retrieve information. It is currently installed and operating on

Windows 2000, Server 2003 and Novell networks. The cost of the software license is the same regardless of whether

you have one computer or many workstations. There is no extra fee for extra users. No additional software per-user

or per-year user fees are charged to the district after the initial purchase of the software.

Easy to Use/Flexible

OSI has designed BusBoss with your needs in mind. Every effort was made to ensure that the system would be extremely

easy to use yet very flexible. All the major functions on the BusBoss data maintenance screens are performed similarly,

regardless of what data is being modified. All functions are easy to find and easy to use.

BusBoss does not use codes or jargon at all to represent options or descriptions. Everything in BusBoss is in plain

English. You define the data using your own words.

When data is entered into or updated in BusBoss, that data is immediately available to other parts of the system that

requires use of the data. For example, if you change the spelling of a street address, then all students living at that address

are automatically updated. This data integration is a design feature of BusBoss. There are no routines required for this to

occur.

BusBoss has a utility called BusBuster, which takes all the guesswork out of maintaining your data. BusBuster provides

a series of automatic checks to help you maintain an accurate and up-to-date system. Student, school, and route data is

checked for accuracy and completeness. Any data that is not complete or is inaccurate is identified and can be printed along

with the steps to take to correct the problems.


SOFTWARE CHARACTERISTICS

Electronic Map

All map functions and tools are available on a toolbar around the map display. All map editing, route creation/modification,

and redistricting (boundary planning) functions are performed on the same map. You do not need to change screens to

perform any map-related functions.

Information on the different map objects (stops, houses, schools, streets, etc.) is easily available in BusBoss. Simply ‘hover’

the cursor over the map object and the description displays in the status bar. More detailed information is available by clicking

on the actual map object. Information for bus stops, for example, has the schools serviced by the stop, students assigned to

the stop, and vehicles/routes servicing the stop.

BusBoss has mapping tools for easily adding new streets to your map. Simply click on the map to draw the shape of the

new road. Assign the new road name(s), address ranges, and speed limits for both sides of the street. The roads you add are

immediately available for routing your buses.

Other BusBoss map tools include but are not limited to: 1) change street names, 2) bi-directional house numbers, 3) display

street names and house number ranges, 4) add/edit/display bus stops, 5) add/edit/display house locations, 6) locate/display

schools, bus depots, and transfer locations, 7) set global speed limits based on specific road classifications or road types, 8)

set/display hazardous roads, 9) set/display road blocks, 10) set/display one-way roads, 11) set/display height and weight

restrictions on specific road segments, 12) set/display turn restrictions on specific intersections, 13) bi-directional speed limits

and 14) point based route identification. All of these functions are easily performed.

The map has the ability to zoom, pan, zoom to street, zoom to stop, zoom to house, zoom to complete route, zoom to route

segment, and zoom to full. All map functions are available on a toolbar around the map display. Scrolling the mouse will

automatically zoom in and out. Dragging the mouse to square out an area will automatically zoom into the area selected.

Users have the ability to select a point on the map and automatically get a list of the zones it is location within or a list of the

nearest routes, bus numbers, stop descriptions and stop times servicing that point.

Other mapping tools include the ability to 1) quickly create a point-to-point route with driving instructions from one location of

the map to another, 2) find a street address, 3) find a street 4) find an intersection, 4) find an address, 5) print the map, and 6)

change the map layer properties to customize the look of the map.

Student Data Capabilities

Students are entered into BusBoss either through importing or individually by the user. An add student wizard guides the

user to enter all student information needed specifically for routing.

BusBoss™ stores student information such as: 1) home and mailing address, 2) guardian name(s) and phone number(s), 3)

student photos, 4) split custody information, 5) medical information, 6) walk to school distance, 7) load delay, 8) bus type, 9)

exceptions, 10) home room, 11) date of birth , 12) sex, 13) special needs 14) care requirements 15) physicians and a whole lot

more.

Students can automatically be assigned as walkers based on each school’s user-defined walk-to-school distances. Students

can be assigned to bus stops if they live within a school’s walk zone but they need to ride because of hazardous conditions.

Students are assigned to bus stops either automatically based on a school’s user-defined-walk-to-stop distance or manually by

the user. If a student is manually assigned to a bus stop that is not currently serviced by a bus, BusBoss allows you to

display the nearby routes to edit the route to include the student’s assigned stop.


BusBoss has complete accountability for students. The system allows the user to store an unlimited number of addresses

for each student. Each address is given a user-defined description. The addresses are then assigned to days of the week,

either AM and/or PM. With BusBoss, students can be assigned to different stop locations, different buses, and different

schools each day of the week, both AM and PM, if needed.

BusBoss distinguishes between two identical addresses (the same number and same named street in two different parts of

the district) by the zip code assigned. The system accurately locates these student addresses automatically. Reports can be

printed to identify unlocated student addresses. BusBoss has easy tools for manually locating a student address that could

not be automatically located. This is ideal for districts with rural addresses.

Student incidents can be tracked using BusBoss. Each incident records the 1) date, 2) time, 3) person reporting, 4)

disciplinarian, 5) notice number, 6) incident type, 7) action type, 8) route/bus, 9) contractor, 10) description of the incident, and

action taken. Detailed incident reports can be printed by student(s), by driver(s) or by contractor(s).

BusBoss also has a graduation utility that automatically promotes students from one grade to another, moves students to the

appropriate schools, options to delete 12th graders and inactive students, and options to retain transportation information and

special education students based on age.

Import/Export Connectivity Capabilities

BusBoss is capable of ODBC links to other software that is ODBC compatible. The system stores data in industry standard

structures that are available to third party programs, such as word processors, report writers, etc.

BusBoss easily imports student data from an ASCII Comma Delimited, Text or Excel file. The district can import either an

entire student file or a partial student file into BusBoss. The import function will add students, update student information, or

withdraw students. Student information is updated field-by-field. That is, the information in the import file will update the

information in BusBoss. OSI will process and verify the conversion of the first import.

Users have the ability to filter the students (new and/or existing) and compare the data in the import file to the information

already stored in BusBoss. BusBoss will validate the information and alert the user of any errors or warnings that should

be corrected prior to importing the student information.

BusBoss can also export data to ASCII text format and to any Microsoft application such as, Word, Excel and HTML. Use

exported data to create your own custom reports such as mail merge documents for parent letters or bus passes.

Aid-In-Lieu Functionality

BusBoss automatically calculates the Aid-In-Lieu amount for students being transported by their parents. BusBoss knows

how many days a student is enrolled based on an entrance and exit date stored in the student screen.

The Aid-In-Lieu amount is calculated based on the yearly Aid-In-Lieu amount (entered on the BusBoss configuration screen)

divided by 180 days multiplied by the number of days the student is enrolled (maximum 180 days).

A report is available that will print the name, school, number of days enrolled, and Aid-In-Lieu payment amount for each

student.


Driver/Aide Data Capabilities

BusBoss™ has the ability to store information for drivers and aides, other than just their name. The drivers and aides can then

be assigned to routes and busses.

BusBoss™ stores driver information such as: 1) home and mailing addresses, 2) licensing (state, class, and endorsements),

3) employment dates (interview, application, superintendant approval), 4) recertification due date, 5) date of last physical, 6)

violations, 7) testing, 8) absences, 9) other check dates (criminal background, child abuse, 19-A certification, finger printing,

motor vehicle report, etc.) and 10) driver photos. BusBoss™ also has integrated alerts to notify you when driver’s various

licensing, certifications and physicals have expired or are about to expire.

Routing Functions

BusBoss offers an intuitive, computer-assisted approach to creating safe and efficient bus routes. With better tools and

more information available, transportation personnel can do their jobs more effectively and easily with BusBoss. Using your

expertise, experience, and knowledge of your district, BusBoss’s planning tools will give you the efficient and realistic routes

you need.

BusBoss defines bus stop descriptions automatically, when a stop is added, based on the name of the nearest street or

intersection. You can manually change the description if necessary. A single stop can be used for more than one school on

different routes. Unrouted stops are displayed automatically noting the count of unrouted students at each stop.

BusBoss allows you to create door-to-door stops singularly or in bulk. Simply click the Create House Stop tool and the

house location will be used to automatically create a house stop using the house address as the stop description. This house

stop will automatically be assigned to the active student and can also be assigned to other students sharing the same address

that need to be picked up and/or dropped off at their home.

BusBoss provides districts the flexibility to create different routes for different days of the week for the same bus. In fact, a

different morning and afternoon route can easily be generated for the same bus. Students can be transported in any

combination, such as multiple schools on the same set of buses. Transfer routes can be created and all students needing

transfers will be automatically assigned.

Routes can be the same or different for every day of the week. Route variations can be saved to a history file to accurately

print route reports (bus schedules, passenger lists, etc.) for any day of the school year. Student route information is

automatically updated when routes are saved or closed by the user. Simply change the route and click the save icon.

BusBoss allows you to display the names of students at any stop on the route from the route text screen. You can open a

student record from the routing screen, make changes to the student record, and have them immediately take effect in the

routing screen.

BusBoss has the ability to graphically display students’ houses in relation to their bus stop and their approach to their bus.

Students with special needs can also be identified using defined icons. Students with special needs can be assigned

individual load delay times so that the time at their bus stop is increased based on how long it takes them to get on or off the

bus.

Route reports, such as bus schedules, passenger lists, driving directions, route costs and route maps can be printed without

leaving the routing screen.


BUSBOSS ROUTING SCREEN

BusBoss uses a split screen for routing functions. One side of the screen displays all the route information in text format, the

other side of the screen displays the graphic map with the route paths highlighted and arrows showing the direction of travel.

On the text screen, you can examine statistics of the route at each stop including the time at the stop, the miles traveled, the

number of students, and students assigned to the stop/route. Users also have the ability to identify overloaded routes and

make adjustments as necessary.

All routing and map-editing functions (zooming, information, adding roads, adding bus stops, etc.) are available to you during

the routing process using the same map. You do not have to change to a different screen to accomplish these tasks.

BusBoss will automatically calculate route paths by finding the shortest path (based on actual street network) between bus

stops. The number of students, time, and cumulative miles at each stop are automatically calculated when the route path is

created. Driving directions are also automatically generated when calculating route paths. Users have the ability to modify the

driving directions if needed.

The route paths calculated by BusBoss are determined using actual travel distances and bi-directional speed limits so that

times and mileages at each stop are accurate. You can define an average load delay time per student (in seconds), and a

load delay time based on an individual student’s special needs. These load delay times are incorporated into the routes to

determine actual times. You can also specify a time adjustment for any stop on a route. Speed limits on road segments can

also be modified to accurately calculate stop times.

Route paths can be displayed using different colors for each route. You can display routes based on bus number, driver, type

of route (Pickup/Dropoff/Noon Kindergarten), or by schools serviced by the route. It is easy to determine where routes can be

made more efficient by viewing overlapping route paths.

All route paths can be changed manually by the user. Clicking on the road segments defining the path the bus travels easily

changes the path between any two stops on a route. Other route changes include 1) assigning routes to specific vehicles, 2)

reordering of stops by dragging and dropping the stop, 3) inserting/deleting stops, 4) add/delete/rename bus routes, and 5)

modifying the individual stop times.


Save Historical Data

BusBoss allows the user to take a “snapshot” of the student and route data and save it to history. When you make changes

to current students and routes, the historical information is not affected.

BusBoss is the only transportation program that allows the user to save as many days to history as needed. This can be

used to calculate state reports for different days of the month to get the most state reimbursement. Then print accurate routing

reports several months and even years later. This is particularly useful if you get audited and need to print routing reports from

prior years.

Fleet Optimization

Fleet Optimization is a tool to automatically create hypothetical bus routes using your current student stop locations, school

assignments, depot locations, bell times, maximum bus loads and student ride times for increasing the efficiency and

decreasing the costs of transporting your students.

Fleet Optimization will automatically generate optimal routes for individual or combined schools using selected criteria. The

routes created do not affect the current routing used throughout the district. These routes can then be analyzed using

complete bus schedules, passenger lists and route driving instructions. Individual routes can be made active so users have

the ability to make manual adjustments, as needed. Once the routes are active they are available to be used immediately.

Optimized route paths are generated while taking into account travel restrictions (height, weight and turn restrictions) road

hazards (one-sided pickups), roadblocks and one-way roads. Ideally, reducing the number of buses and drivers required

where inefficiencies exist.

With BusBoss, you can create an unlimited number of ‘what-if’ scenarios without altering the current routes. New scenarios

with user-defined descriptions are easily created with BusBoss. Routes can be modified and saved in the new scenario.

You can change from one scenario to another by simply logging into the new scenario. This allows you to easily evaluate

scenarios side-by-side in order to select those that better serve the district.

Auto Create Bus Stops

BusBoss has the functionality to automatically determine the optimal locations for all of your student stop locations based on

the current enrollment, road restrictions, boundaries, rider eligibility and walk to stop distances set for each school.

Sex Offenders and Threat Zones

BusBoss™ gives users the ability to visually identify the location of sex offenders and threat zones located within the district to

ensure bus stops are kept at a safe distance. Daily updates for sex offenders can be downloaded automatically from the

Family Watchdog website (annual fee applies –sample agreement included). This functionality can also be used to monitor

drug zones or gang areas or any specific locations which should not be used as bus stops. An alert will be displayed when

there are pre-existing stops or a user is trying to add a new stop within a user-defined proximity to a sex offender or threat.

Redistricting (Boundary Analysis)

The redistricting component is a standard feature in BusBoss that works with the same map and student data records as the

bus routing component.

BusBoss has flexible drawing tools and editing tools for creating zones (boundaries). Zones can be hidden or displayed in

different colors, at user discretion.

BusBoss provides the ability to display student home locations in different colors for selected variables such as grade,

school, race or user-defined variables. The system is capable of counting the number of students or listing the names and

addresses of students found within any zone. Student counts are displayed by a user-defined variable, such as grade or

ethnicity. It is immediately capable of counting or listing students located inside a newly drawn zone.


With BusBoss, you can create an unlimited number of analysis sets to be used for automated district planning. New

scenarios with user-defined descriptions are easily created in BusBoss. Zones can be modified and saved in a new

scenario. You can change from one scenario to another by simply displaying the individual zones.

Redistricting Reports

BusBoss has the ability to print maps displaying boundaries (zones) created by the user. If a color printer is available, the

maps can be printed in color.

BusBoss has the following boundary analysis reports:

Count of students by school by grade within a zone

List of students (name, address, school, grade) within a zone

List of stops and students within a zone

List of addresses within a zone

Mailing Labels for students within a zone

List of students by race type within a zone

List of routes traveling within a zone

List of streets within a zone

List of streets with house number ranges assigned to schools within a zone

REPORTS

BusBoss has over 100 built-in reports to choose from and OSI is always adding new reports as we get requests from our

customers.

Student Reports

Twenty-two reports are specifically about students. You can list or count students by school and by grade. You can print

reports of student’s route assignments or students without route information. You can project each student’s annual travel

time and miles. There is also a report that tells you which students are being transported within each school’s walking distance

because of hazardous conditions (for DOE reports).

Routing Reports

BusBoss offers all the routing reports you will need. You can print bus schedules, passenger lists, driving directions, route

maps, and many, many more.

Report Generator

If you do not find the report you need, you can create your own custom report using the BusBoss report generator. With the

report generator, you can create an unlimited number of custom reports on any data in BusBoss (not just students).

BusBoss’s report generator is capable of multi-level sorts (ex. by school, by grade, by name). It also allows you to define

filters for searching complex information. You can easily change sort orders and filters to change reports. Report formats can

be saved to a user-defined report to be recalled for future use without reentering all report information. In addition to a built in

report generator, the BusBoss system data is accessible by standard third party report generators through ODBC

connections.

Postcards

BusBoss generates postcards to notify parents of their child’s transportation information. Listed are the school name,

AM/PM bus number, AM/PM stop description, and AM/PM time. If a student has transfer information, that too will print on the

post card. The student transportation information can also be exported to Excel to create mail merge documents for

generating custom postcards, letters, and bus passes, etc.


Student Smart Cards

BusBoss™ may be modified to integrate student smart card data using the unique student id number programmed on the data

storage portion of card. The cost for this modification would depend on the complexity of the changes needed by the District.

Bus Passes

Credit card style Bus Passes can also be generated (with or without a

charge to the parent) from within BusBoss™ that can be used

throughout the district. It can be used by the driver to identify students

eligible to board their bus. It can also be used for automated student

attendance and student identification by the cafeteria, library, computer

labs, and multiple other departments.

When implemented with a vehicle GPS tracking system,

school officials can be provided with a list of student passengers

on individual bus routes in real-time while providing a notification service

to the parents.

School buses must be equipped with a GPS tracking device and as the

bus travels from stop to stop, the tracking device records the

passengers and immediately forwards this information to BusBoss™.

The bus pass contains an RFID Tag, Bar Code or Magnetic Stripe

(special bus pass is required) that transmits a unique number; no

personal information is contained in the tag.

Some systems can send a text message to parents to let them know

when their child’s bus will arrive at their stop in advance, helping

parents manage their time. Also, the system may be able to alert a

parent or school that the child did not get on or off their designated bus.

These systems allow individual schools to continue monitoring their students who ride the bus after leaving the school

grounds. This real-time monitoring provides quick access to information by administrators when an emergency arises.


SECURITY

BusBoss™ has security built into the client/server application. A user must have a user name and password to login to

BusBoss. Each user is assigned to a user group. A system administrator can create an unlimited number of users and user

groups. User groups are assigned to the individual screens in the system as follows:

No Access – user cannot enter the data screen

Read Only Access – user can enter the data screen, but cannot change the data

Full Access – user can enter data screen and change the data

BusBoss™ automatically creates an audit trail, storing the user’s name, GUID, date and the before and after information for

all changes throughout the system. The auditing report requires user access rights. Open records are automatically locked to

prevent overwriting someone else’s changes. The user is prompted with the user’s name currently accessing the record and

is given the option to open the record in read only mode.

SYSTEMS REDUNDANCY / DATA ARCHIVAL / DISASTER RECOVERY

Disaster recovery events are controlled by the environment in which BusBoss™ is installed. With the wide variety of hardware

and network infrastructures it is not possible to provide a stable disaster recovery package from within the BusBoss™

application. Due to this uncontrolled variable, disaster recovery methods and plans must be applied and tested by the

customer with support limited to the BusBoss™ software itself and ramifications of the event of a disaster to its internal

functionality.

BusBoss™ does utilize SQL Server 2000, 2005 and 2008 versions in all editions. This resource provides many alternatives to

our customer base including Native SQL Server backup tools, Native SQL Server Data Replication, SQL Server Mirroring and

Log Shipping. These commonly utilized recovery plans are well documented by Microsoft but are limited by the edition chosen

at time of purchase. An example of the limitations of certain editions of SQL Server is Mirroring and Log Shipping being limited

to Standard and Enterprise Editions. However all editions of SQL Server provide a full functional native backup strategy

including full, differential and transactional by means of logs. This provides all editions with the ability of “Point in Time”

recovery at a low cost initiative.

Further strategies of disaster recovery for SQL Server and other hardware related technologies should refer to the

manufacturer and are not supported by BusBoss.

TECHNICAL ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS

BusBoss™ uses quite a lot of RAM during its operation. Since users will be logging in to a database server, that RAM usage

will occur on the server. Data processing is done on the database. The database is hosted by the server. This means that

each end user workstation will not be impacted by this processing.


SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

If this system will only be used for BusBoss, you do not need to purchase a “Server” machine for your server. “Servers”

typically have RAID array drives with multiple processors, etc… For a “BusBoss™ Server”, a high-end workstation machine

will suffice. If you intend to use the “BusBoss™ Server” for other applications, it is recommended you purchase a typical

“Server” machine.

Orbit Software also has a Real-Time bus tracking solution. If you intend to purchase this system in the future, it is

recommended that you purchase a typical “Server” machine. With the Real-Time tracking product, much more disk access is

required and therefore a faster hard drive would be recommended.

The SERVER SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS for hosting the BusBoss™ database are as follows:

Computer with Windows Operating System (2000/XP/2003/VISTA/2008)

Pentium IV Processor 2GHZ or faster

17" Color Monitor capable of 800 X 600 screen resolution

100Mbps Network Card

Internet Access

2GB free hard disk space or greater

4GB (2GB Minimum) RAM or greater

32MB Video card

The RECOMMENDED WORKSTATION SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS for BusBoss™ Client are as follows:

Computer with Windows Operating System (32-bit XP or 32/64-bit VISTA)

Pentium IV Processor 2GHZ or faster

19" Color Monitor capable of 1024 x 768 screen resolution


Internet Access

1GB free hard disk space or greater

2GB RAM or greater

64MB Video card

The MINIMUM WORKSTATION SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS for BusBoss™ Client are as follows:

Computer with Windows Operating System (32-bit XP or 32/64-bit VISTA)

Pentium IV Processor 1.5GHZ or faster

17" Color Monitor capable of 1024 x 768 screen resolution


Internet Access

512 MB free hard disk space or greater

1GB RAM or greater

32MB Video card

The monitors on the workstations should be as large as possible to maximize viewing the map and routes for efficient routing

capabilities.

BusBoss™ is a high-end graphics software application, therefore the better the video card and monitor, the faster the

performance will be. When the map is zoomed further out, there are MANY roads to view, and drawing all the roads will take a

considerable amount of time with a poor video card. The monitors on the workstations should be as large as possible to

maximize viewing the map and routes for efficient routing capabilities.

Thursday, 04/26/2012

2081 E. High Street, Suite #2, Pottstown, PA 19464-3211 | ph 866-740-8994 | fx 484-941-0825

www.orbitsoftware.net | [email protected]

TRANSPORTATION ROUTING AND MANAGEMENT...

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