Optimize School Bus Routing with Software Solutions

UniteGPS helps K-12 transportation teams build efficient, defensible bus routes with software that connects routing, SIS data, GPS tracking, parent communication, and performance analytics. Replace spreadsheets, paper maps, and institutional memory with a practical system built around real district workflows, backed by live support and a 90-day risk-free trial that removes pressure from budget timing.

School bus routing software dashboard for transportation teams

Our School Bus Routing Services

Integrated routing, optimization, SIS sync, communication, and analytics tools for school transportation teams.

Routing

Build and manage bus routes straight from your student data — assign students to stops and zones, support transfer points, double runs, and day-of-the-week routing for split-custody and dual-address students, and drag stops between routes instantly.

Route Optimization

Analyze your existing routes to find consolidations, eliminate redundant routes, and cut daily mileage and student ride time — with before-and-after overlays and documented dollar savings to defend route changes to your board.

Automated Optimization

The engine behind optimization: it rebalances student loads across your school bus fleet within hard constraints — capacity caps, maximum ride time, and bell windows — and proposes consolidation scenarios for your team to review and approve.

SIS Integration

A daily data feed from your student information system — PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, Skyward, or Harmony — that works even without the SIS transportation module, flagging new students, address changes, and disenrollments in one action center and bulk-importing staff.

Communication Center

Parent messaging by email and SMS: send each family their stop and pickup or drop-off times, broadcast route changes, and handle weather and emergency alerts — replacing manual phone trees and a pile of separate apps.

Field Trips

A shared trip calendar with a request-and-approval workflow (secretary → AD → principal), Google Calendar export, and bus and driver assignment checked against your daily routes.

Transportation director optimizing school bus routes on routing software

Our School Bus Routing Process

Review Your Current Routing Workflow

UniteGPS starts by learning how your transportation team currently builds routes, handles student changes, communicates with families, and reports to leadership. This helps identify the fastest path from spreadsheets, paper maps, or legacy tools to a workable routing system.

Set Up Data And Routes

Optimize Routes With Defensible Data

Launch Tools And Train Users

Measure Results And Keep Improving

Trusted By Districts

Success Stories

See why K-12 districts choose UniteGPS to simplify routing, improve safety, and reduce transportation office workload.

"Since partnering with UniteGPS, managing operations has been a breeze. Staff are able to make timely operational decisions without impacting service simply by monitoring the fleet's real-time performance. Customers love how easy it is to track and view their bus on route in real-time from anywhere on any device. Top..."

Derek Muench

"Since we began using Crosswalk K-12, it has been a game changer for us. Just all around with setting up routes, seeing where the buses and students are at, how much they ride, if they're riding. If a parent calls saying that the bus didn't stop, we can look and..."

Tim Lyons
The UniteGPS Difference

Why Choose UniteGPS?

UniteGPS combines practical software, hands-on setup, and long-term partnership for school transportation teams. We don't just sell you software and walk away — we stay, we share what we know, and we help you build a transportation operation your district can be proud of.

K-12 Focus

Built specifically for K-12 transportation workflows, from routing through GPS, ridership, and parent communication.

Proven Adoption

More than a decade of customer-driven development, with 100+ districts using UniteGPS nationwide.

Low Risk

A 90-day trial includes route and SIS setup, reducing risk before budget commitment.

Live Support

Human, in-house support with named implementation contacts, training, and no chatbot-only ticket queues.

Meet The UniteGPS Team

Founder-led transportation software built from real district needs.

Portrait of Christopher Bunnell, Co-Founder of UniteGPS

Christopher Bunnell

Co-Founder

Christopher Bunnell is a Co-Founder of UniteGPS, the company he helped launch in 2014 after watching his own children wait in the freezing Maine winter for a school bus with no arrival information. Driven by that firsthand frustration, Chris partnered with Steve C. Lanning and Steven J. Lanning to build a real-time GPS tracking solution that gave families the visibility they deserved. Before UniteGPS, Chris served as the on-site client representative in Baltimore for a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services project, while the technical team operated remotely from California. At UniteGPS, Chris has led client relationships and stakeholder engagement since day one, ensuring the platform continues to solve real problems for school districts and transit agencies nationwide.

Portrait of Steve C. Lanning, Co-Founder of UniteGPS

Steve C. Lanning

Co-Founder

Steve C. Lanning is a Co-Founder of UniteGPS, bringing deep database architecture and enterprise-level technical expertise to the platform since its founding in 2014. Steve previously served as an Oracle database administrator on a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services project at the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego, where he first collaborated with Chris Bunnell. In the early years of UniteGPS, Steve balanced the project alongside other professional commitments until growing client traction made it a full-time pursuit. His database expertise has been instrumental in building a reliable, scalable platform that now serves over 100 school districts nationwide, supporting everything from route optimization to student ridership tracking and SIS data integration.

Portrait of Steven J. Lanning, Co-Founder of UniteGPS

Steven J. Lanning

Co-Founder

Steven J. Lanning is a Co-Founder of UniteGPS and the primary architect behind the Crosswalk platform, which he has built and continuously refined since the company's founding in 2014. Steven began his career on the same Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services project as his co-founders, focusing on solution quality assurance and software testing for production readiness while simultaneously pursuing formal software development training. When UniteGPS launched, Steven committed full-time to product development, translating real feedback from transportation directors and drivers into practical platform features. His customer-driven approach to engineering has helped UniteGPS grow into a fully integrated transportation management solution trusted by K-12 districts and transit agencies across the United States.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can route optimization actually reduce our costs?

Often, yes. A free route optimization study analyzes your routes and returns a documented savings plan plus an independent outside assessment for your board — not just software output. For a mid-size district it's fairly standard to find $300,000 to $500,000, and eliminating a single route saves roughly $40,000 to $50,000 a year.

There's no way to consolidate — we're at max capacity. Can optimization still help?

Do you integrate with our SIS, like PowerSchool or Infinite Campus?

How do you handle a student who lives with one parent one week and the other the next?

How is our student data protected?

Is the free offer a first-year deal, or a forever type thing?

Can we do year-to-year? Our board is funny about long-term agreements.

Is your support a chatbot, or a real person?

Still Have Routing Questions?

Get practical answers from a transportation software specialist.

Certified & Trusted

Awards and Recognition

FERPA Compliant badge

FERPA Compliant

Protects student transportation data privacy.

100 plus districts served badge

100+ Districts Served

Trusted by districts across the country.

12 years in business badge

12 Years In Business

Built steadily since founding in 2014.

Ready To Optimize Your Bus Routes?

Tell us about your school bus fleet size, routing challenges, and current systems. We’ll explain the best-fit tier, trial setup, and how UniteGPS can help you improve routing decisions with defensible data.

Contact Us Today

For immediate assistance, feel free to give us a direct call at 207-591-7777.