BusRight – a safe and efficient school bus technology provider – recently announced it had raised a $7 million Series A funding round led by Las Olas Venture Capital. Participating investors include prior round lead Ubiquity Ventures, Underscore VC, Long Journey Ventures, SilverCircle, Automotive Ventures, Alumni Ventures, CreativeCo Capital, and several prominent angel investors. And BusRight will use the funding to double its employee headcount, accelerate its product development and expand its customer base among U.S. K-12 education transportation systems. In connection with the funding, the Founding Partner at Las Olas Venture Capital, Mark Volchek, will join the company’s Board of Directors.
School buses represent the largest mass transit system in the U.S., with an estimated 480,000 buses transporting over 26 million students daily. And in 2018 alone, public spending on student transportation topped nearly $30 billion. But despite massive spending, school bus drivers are quitting at record rates: A nationwide survey found that 57% of schools are experiencing “considerable” bus driver shortages, and in urban districts, that figure rises to 69%.
During times of persistent driver shortages, increasing route complexities, and rising parent demands, BusRight works with:
1.) K-12 Schools so they can better plan and manage bus routes, streamline their transportation communication, and enhance student safety
2.) Bus Drivers so they can access optimized routes, turn-by-turn navigation, and real-time bus tracking
3.) Parents & Caregivers so they can have peace of mind about where their children are and stay updated on bus schedules
BusRight’s proprietary technology includes routing software, real-time GPS, dynamic driver navigation via military-grade tablets, and a bus-tracking app for parents. Instead of interfacing with multiple vendors to tackle routing, location, and communication. And BusRight offers one centralized platform and a personal concierge for every customer, which empowers school administrators to focus less on transportation and more on education.
The company started with an idea that BusRight co-founder and CEO Keith Corso, a high school senior at the time, brought to Phil Dunn, then the CIO of Greenwich (CT) Public Schools. Corso went on to attend Northeastern University and before joining BusRight, Dunn served as the CIO of Broward County (FL) Public Schools, the nation’s sixth-largest school district. As CIO, Dunn was responsible for managing the technology for one of the largest school bus fleets in the world. Since its inception, BusRight has experienced rapid growth and customer adoption, including:
1.) Secured paying customers across 23 states, including Native American reservations such as Navajo Nation in Arizona and military bases in upstate New York
2.) Grew revenue over than 700% in 2022 alone
3.) Maintained less than 1.3% in customer churn
4.) Completed average sales cycle of about 30 days
5.) Welcomed thousands of parents to the platform
KEY QUOTES:
“Our country’s school bus fleet is two and a half times bigger than all other forms of mass transportation combined, yet most directors of transportation still rely on pen and paper to plan and manage their routes. With traditional navigation designed only for cars and drivers prohibited from using mobile phones, routes must be memorized, which burdens drivers and offers little insight into where students are. We founded BusRight to make the very difficult job of school administrators, student transportation leaders, and drivers a lot more manageable, and provide much-needed clarity on the whereabouts of our most precious cargo: children.”
— Keith Corso, Co-founder and CEO at BusRight
“As the former CIO of one of the largest school districts in the country, I saw first-hand the inefficiencies our school bus system faces. BusRight promotes equity, connectedness, and improves the overall experience of schooling. The technology not only improves the operational efficiency of districts, but also instills a sense of confidence in their leadership because parents have visibility into their children’s transportation.”
— Phil Dunn, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer
“Coping with driver shortages has been really challenging, and with dozens of after-school programs, students living at multiple addresses, and families wanting to be more involved with daily pick-ups, routes have become a lot more complicated. BusRight streamlines our operation, allowing me to design and update bus routes on an app – literally with the touch of a button – and instantly communicate with all of my drivers and families.”
— Shonia Gaston, Director of Transportation at Kimberly School District in Idaho
“BusRight is infusing technology to modernize a foundational industry in a safe, methodical manner and their vision will make school administrators and directors of transportation the superheroes they deserve to be. As a fellow EdTech founder, I’m thrilled to share my experience with Keith and the BusRight team, and help them advance their impressive customer traction and impact even further.”
— Las Olas Venture Capital Founding Partner Mark Volchek
