Route Optimization
Turn student enrollment data into efficient bus routes, rosters, and printable route sheets while reducing reliance on paper maps, Google Maps, or one person’s memory.
Learn More →School Bus Scheduling Software & Route Planning
UniteGPS helps K-12 transportation teams replace paper maps, manual rosters, and guesswork with a connected school bus scheduling and route planning platform. Build efficient routes, sync student data, guide drivers, track buses in real time, and keep families informed—backed by free 90-day setup, unlimited live support, and a system built from real district feedback.
Our School Bus Scheduling Software & Route Planning Services
Connected routing, tracking, communication, and ridership tools for modern K-12 transportation departments.
Routing Essentials
Start with core routing tools, automated optimization, SIS integration, parent communication, field trips, and support through an affordable annual tier for every district size.
Learn More →GPS Tracking
Track buses in real time with 5-second updates, mileage categories, geofence alerts, speeding and idle notifications, analytics, and basic parent app visibility.
Learn More →SIS Integration
Sync enrollment data from systems such as PowerSchool, Skyward, or Infinite Campus to keep routes, stops, and student assignments accurate without manual uploads.
Tablet Suite
Equip buses with tablets for turn-by-turn navigation, student scan-on and scan-off tracking, vehicle inspections, advanced notifications, and special-education documentation.
Learn More →Route Optimizer
Get a no-cost, no-obligation optimization study with route analysis, documented savings opportunities, and an outside assessment prepared for board-level review.
Learn More →Our Route Planning Process
Assess Your Transportation Needs
UniteGPS reviews your fleet size, current routes, student data sources, and operational goals. This helps identify the right tier, required integrations, and whether route optimization, GPS tracking, tablets, or parent communication should be part of your rollout.
Connect Student Data Sources
Your student information system connection is configured during onboarding so enrollment data can flow into routing workflows. This reduces duplicate data entry and keeps route assignments aligned with the district’s authoritative student records as changes occur.
Build Optimized Bus Routes
The UniteGPS team helps build routes, rosters, and printable route sheets during the free 90-day setup period. Districts can replace paper maps and inherited routing knowledge with a structured system that staff can maintain confidently.
Launch Tools for Daily Operations
Drivers, administrators, and families receive the tools enabled in your selected tier, such as GPS tracking, route sheets, tablet navigation, parent app access, ridership scanning, and alerts that support safer, clearer daily operations.
Support and Improve Continuously
After launch, UniteGPS provides unlimited live support with no ticket queues. The team continues improving the platform based on district feedback, helping transportation departments refine routing, reporting, communication, and compliance over time.
Success Stories
See how districts improve route efficiency, parent communication, driver confidence, and transportation accountability.
Why Choose UniteGPS?
UniteGPS is built for districts that need practical tools, responsive support, and long-term reliability.
Routing, GPS, tablets, parent tools, and SIS sync work together in one platform.
Integrated Platform
Routing, GPS, tablets, parent tools, and SIS sync work together in one platform.
Free Setup
Your district receives hands-on onboarding with routes built during the free setup period.
FERPA Compliant
UniteGPS protects student transportation data with FERPA-compliant systems and responsible workflows.
Live Support
Founders remain directly involved, with unlimited live support and no impersonal ticket queues.
Meet the UniteGPS Team
Founder-led transportation software built around real district needs.
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.
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.
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
What does school bus scheduling software do?
School bus scheduling software helps districts organize routes, rosters, stops, drivers, and transportation data in one system. UniteGPS turns student enrollment information into efficient bus routes, printable route sheets, and driver-ready assignments. It replaces paper maps, spreadsheets, Google Maps, and institutional memory with a repeatable routing process that transportation teams can manage year after year.
How does school bus route planning software improve routes?
UniteGPS uses student data, stop locations, routing rules, and fleet information to help create more efficient school bus routes. The platform supports automated route optimization, roster generation, route sheets, and SIS data sync. UniteGPS also offers a free professional Route Optimizer service that analyzes existing routes and provides a documented savings plan for district review.
Can UniteGPS integrate with our student information system?
Yes. UniteGPS includes automated SIS integration in every tier, with setup handled during the free 90-day onboarding period. The system can sync student enrollment data directly into routing and ridership workflows, reducing manual roster uploads and keeping routes, stop assignments, and student records aligned when students move, change schools, or update transportation needs.
How much does school bus routing software cost?
Pricing depends on the tier and fleet size. Routing Essentials starts at $49 per month for 1–5 buses, $98 per month for 6–15 buses, and $196 per month for 16+ buses. GPS Tracking & Routing is $25 per bus per month. Tablet Suite software is $39 per bus per month, with additional tablet data and hardware costs.
How long does implementation take?
UniteGPS includes free 90-day setup with routes built for your district. During onboarding, the team helps configure routing, SIS integration, and platform settings so transportation staff are not left to build everything alone. This hands-on setup is designed to move districts from manual processes to a usable routing system with less internal lift.
Does UniteGPS include live GPS bus tracking?
Yes. UniteGPS GPS Tracking & Routing includes real-time bus tracking that updates every 5 seconds, works even when the ignition is off, and provides mileage tracking, geofence alerts, speeding alerts, idle alerts, and performance analytics. Districts can also activate a parent app so families can see bus location information and reduce calls to the transportation office.
What is included in the driver tablet suite?
The Tablet Suite includes on-board driver tablets with turn-by-turn school bus navigation, student ridership tracking, advanced parent notifications, vehicle inspections, mileage by category, and IEP/Medicaid invoicing support. This tier is useful for districts that need to prove which students were on which bus, support substitute drivers, and document transportation compliance.
Is UniteGPS available for districts nationwide?
Yes. UniteGPS serves K-12 school districts nationwide across all 50 states. The platform is built for districts of different fleet sizes, from small operations with a few buses to larger transportation departments needing routing, GPS tracking, ridership records, parent communication, and SIS integration in one connected system.
Still Have Routing Questions?
Get clear answers from a real transportation software expert.
Awards and Recognition
Student data protection for K-12 transportation.
Trusted by districts across the United States.
FERPA Compliant
Student data protection for K-12 transportation.
100+ Districts Served
Trusted by districts across the United States.
Since 2014
Founder-led platform built without private equity.
