News & Events

Schenectady, NY and Reno, NV – July 24, 2026 – Transfinder Corporation ran the table at the STN EXPO West trade show, taking home top awards in all of the Innovation Choice Awards categories: Best Software/AI, Best Hardware, Best Safety Technology and Best Green Technology.

2026 marks the first year Transfinder entered all four categories, adding Best Green Technology to the mix. Transfinder’s Best Green Technology entry was for its patent-pending tool Ride Impact Metrics (RIM).

The competition was steep in each of the four categories. The awards are based on votes by attendees of the STN EXPO West trade show in Reno, Nev., one of the school transportation industry’s largest shows, that was held July 13-14. Attendees evaluated nominees’ solutions on the trade show floor. Eligible voters included school districts, bus contractors and consultants. 

“As I told Team Transfinder today after learning that we won in all four categories, awards are gratifying but what matters most is what they represent. And what these awards represent is our commitment to continually improving the lives of the students, schools and communities we serve,” Transfinder President and CEO Antonio Civitella said. “We know that these innovations will help students get to school and back home safely each day. We know that parents will have more confidence in their school’s transportation department. We know routers and dispatchers and drivers and supervisors will have at their fingertips more tools to do their jobs better and make even smarter decisions quicker. That is what matters most.”

Here’s a look at submissions in all four categories that Transfinder entered and won:

Best Green Technology: Transfinder’s patent-pending Ride Impact Metrics (RIM), embedded in Transfinder’s parent app Stopfinder, helps families and school districts understand the environmental and personal benefits of school transportation. The solution calculates estimated carbon emissions avoided, household driving time saved and transportation savings generated by the yellow school bus system. Future reporting can extend impact analysis at the route level, fleet level and district level, helping transportation departments quantify the broader value of yellow bus transportation. By turning transportation data into meaningful sustainability insights, Stopfinder highlights the positive impact school transportation has on communities every day. (Note: This is Transfinder’s first time entering and winning this award).

Best Software/AI: Atlas is Transfinder's proprietary intelligence platform that brings AI-powered assistance and smart automation directly into student transportation operations – leading to smart times and smart maps. Atlas helps transportation professionals find information faster, make better decisions, and reduce manual effort while working with routing, planning, and operational data. Atlas moves beyond simply explaining how to complete a task to helping perform the work itself through natural language commands. Also, in combination with intelligent analytical tools that can glean real routing speeds from actual school buses and real stop times from your actual stop information, the quality of maps is improved and stop times are more precise. Combined with innovations such as intelligent categorization, advanced calendar-based routing, and continuously improving transportation insights, Routefinder PLUS and Atlas deliver a smarter transportation management experience. (Note: Transfinder has won this award five straight years).

Best Hardware: The Wayfinder Hardware Suite modernizes the driver experience by combining RFID reading, barcode and QR scanning, push-to-talk communication, and PIN-based student identification into a single integrated platform. The solution gives drivers more flexibility when identifying students and communicating with dispatch while reducing operational friction. Voice messages can be transcribed automatically and text messages can be read aloud using test-to-speech functionality. By consolidating multiple functions into an intuitive hardware ecosystem, Transfinder delivers a more efficient and connected transportation experience. (Note: Transfinder has won this award four straight years).

Best Safety Technology: Live Share is Transfinder’s proprietary real-time collaborative mapping and incident response tool that allows transportation teams to instantly share interactive maps, drawings and operational information with trusted stakeholders. Through secure text-based access, recipients can view live updates without requiring specialized software or accounts. Incident commanders can direct attention to specific locations, notes or maps using “Focus on Me” capability, automatically guiding all participants to the same view. Live Share improves coordination during incidents, events, emergency response situations, and day-to-day transportation planning. (Note: Transfinder has won this award three straight years).

The recent awards further confirm why Transfinder’s routing solutions are the industry leader, with one in three students riding buses routed with Transfinder technology. To learn more about Transfinder’s solutions, visit http://www.transfinder.com/solutions, call 800-373-3609 or email solutions@transfinder.com. 

About Transfinder
Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Schenectady, New York, Transfinder is a national leader in intelligent transportation systems, providing transportation management systems and services to school districts, bus contractors, police departments and adult care facilities. Transfinder, has been on Inc. magazine’s “fastest-growing company” list for 13 years. The software and hardware company has received numerous awards, including Best Software, Best Hardware Best Safety Technology and Best Green Technology. In addition, Transfinder has repeatedly won Best Places to Work, Top Workplace and Best Companies to Work for accolades. Transfinder develops and supports routing and scheduling solutions for optimal transportation logistics. Transfinder also created the award-winning Patrolfinder policing technology to enhance law enforcement. For more information, visit www.transfinder.com.