Aug 27, 2019, 2:00 PM
(From The 74) Two years ago, Boston Public Schools set a public competition for increasing the efficiency of school bus driving routes and optimal start times for each school. The winning design, created by a team from MIT’s Operations Research Center, produced a system-level route map that was 20% more efficient than the ones done by hand. As of 2019, the district has dropped its number of trips by nearly 400, to 2,800, using around 620 buses. Boston has reinvested the $5 million in savings into classroom renovations.
With a more efficient system in place, the district can weigh potential variables across each school year and spend time addressing broader policy options. Researchers at MIT are working on applying this algorithm to other school districts, and the project is in the early stages of adoption.
Related content
Risk & Compliance: Risk and Liability in the Era of Ride Sharing
Overdrive: Managing Transportation Risk
Listen to the latest episode of the Net Assets podcast.
