Tech company behind Kentucky school bus problems had similar issues in Ohio last year

By TRAVIS LOLLER, MATT O’BRIEN and BRUCE SCHREINER
Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The company behind a disastrous change to a Kentucky city’s school bus routes that resulted in more than a week of canceled classes had similar problems in two cities in neighboring Ohio last year. Bus-routing vendor AlphaRoute has pitched its mathematical models and machine-learning technology as a way of saving money and smoothing out complex bus routes in school districts around the U.S. It has touted its connections to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But the algorithm-driven solutions have not always been successful. Both Cincinnati and Columbus school districts dropped the company last year after the realities of the technology did not live up to the promises.