VMC provides a range of  services for Schools and School Systems and has serviced over 200 school systems throughout the northeast. Specifically, these educational institutions include K-12 grades that transports students to and from the educational program sites.  VMC has worked with schools, Intermediate Units, BOCES, and other regional consortia in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

For this sector, VMC offers a range of transportation management services with special expertise in working with sensitive populations.

• Preschool Handicapped Children
• School Aged Handicapped Children

These populations are extremely delicate passengers. Therefore, the level and accuracy of service needs to be at the highest level. Therefore, special expertise is required.  We see the following challenges across our client base.  Please click on the tab below to find out how VMC applies its expertise to address these challenges.

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  High Cost
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  Customer Relations
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  Exposure to Liabilities
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  Reconciliation of Cost Obligations
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  Vendor Price Increases

High Costs

VMC has developed a set of practices and tools to address the challenges arising from the high costs of transportation.  The following mobility management solutions are applied expertly after the local situation is evaluated:

Vehicle utilization to reduce cost per passenger: Vehicle Utilization cost reduction focuses on Initial Routing, Mid-Year Routing, and Ongoing Routing.   It involves these activities:

Creating competition to dampen price increases: Competition can be impacted by Recruiting transporters and reviewing Invoices.  

Demonstrating visibility of factors that impact costs: VMC helps create transparency of costs by Measuring Vehicle Days of Service.

Customer Relations

VMC has designed and offers a service to manage the Call Center and Point of Contact for transportation organizations. Timely communications with transportation and education administrators is particularly critical for student populations and sensitive populations of all ages. This premier service ensures the creation of consistent and credible communications between  parents and guardians and the transport entities.

The history of events is tracked by a Communication Log that can be accessed by the appropriate parties.

The service also establishes Standards of Responsibility.  This includes both the Parent Handbook to delineate Parents responsibility and policies that are articulated in the Bid Specification that defining the Transporters Responsibility.

Exposure to Liabilities

Transportation under any circumstances is risky, but particularly so with sensitive populations.  Proactive assessment of conditions can help avoid unnecessary accidents or anticipate dangerous conditions.

VMC’s has significant experience in working with transporters, municipalities, schools, and private organizations to assess the conditions necessary to safely transport sensitive populations.  There are several key services that support the Assessment of the degree of safe conditions.  These include Field Inspection of Vehicles; Record Inspection of Driver Certification requirements; and other safety checks to get ahead of this ongoing challenge.

Reconciliation of Cost Obligations

Record Keeping Accuracy is a monumental challenge for all sectors.  This includes  of accuracy of Reimbursements,  Attendance Review,  Attendance Tracking, and Payment based on Budgeted Transport Fees. These are among the key issues addressed by VMC in its oversight of the project.

Since the Pandemic, this task is now the MOST time consuming performed by VMC.  It is also the most difficult.  It involves reconciling the transporters invoices & being sure the reconciliation is  accurate & in the form necessary so that State & Federal Aide is maximized. School district & local governments are now faced with an enormous administrative task that requires added staff or is just not getting done.

If payments made are wrong or revenue is inflated– it could mean that desperately needed reimbursement is not being received or is compromised.

Vendor Price Increases

Niche markets require very specific  management expertise.  The particular challenge of this sector is compliance with the mandatory maximum numbers of children that can be transported together.  As such, supply and demand are often out of balance and vendors can take advantage of the situation creating uncontrollable price increases.  VMC provides a support system that carefully watches costs by maximizing utilization of vehicles and “market making” tactics to ensure enough competitors enter the bidding process.