American Logistics Co.

About Us Professional Development Contact Us

It’s the Driving Force Behind All That We Do.

American Logistics Company (ALC) is a full-service national transportation management company serving school districts across the United States to deliver transportation for special needs students, including homeless (McKinney Vento) students.

Recently, the National Association of Pupil Transportation (NAPT) awarded ALC a “Recommended Service.” Currently, ALC is 1 of 5 companies to have earned this designation.

Efficient and Cost-Effective School Transportation
Combining elements that drive the efficiency and flexibility required to make pupil transportation programs successful, ALC works with school districts to deliver transportation for students with special needs, including the homeless (McKinney Vento) and isolated families.

ALC leverages its ParaMax® analysis software to assess a school district’s current transportation program. ParaMax defines maximum efficiency algorithms that “right-size” each transportation route, then ALC will identify the optimum mix of dedicated buses and non-dedicated alternative transportation solutions required to cost-effectively serve each trip.

With ParaMax, ALC can lower the costs associated with transporting special needs students by an average of 20% by reducing the required number of buses, along with their associated costs (i.e. drivers, benefits, insurance, fuel, etc.). ALC can also shorten the amount of time that students spend being transported.

State-of-the-Art Transportation Management
ALC’s proprietary Customer & Driver Management System (CDMS) routing, scheduling, dispatching and tracking software system, enables the company to provide schools with unmatched efficiencies when it comes to transporting special needs and homeless students.

CDMS monitors every one of the thousands of trips per day managed by ALC. For example, when a parameter of the trip is not met, an exception is automatically transmitted to the Customer Service Team where a highly trained Dispatcher or Customer Service Agent (CSA) will personally engage to rectify the situation. The CDMS technology makes it easy for school districts to obtain detailed performance data – and even monitor daily operations from a secure web-based system.

Additionally, all independently contracted drivers are required to carry a BlackBerry®. The device allows ALC’s dispatching center to communicate with the driver and capture information for reporting purposes. The BlackBerry® is also equipped with GPS, which allows ALC to monitor the activity of the vehicle in real-time, and ensure that the independently contracted driver is running on-time, and picking up and dropping off as scheduled at the correct locations. ALC is alerted immediately if there is any deviation from the scheduled route.

From ALC’s state-of-the-art Operations & Customer Service Center (OCSC), located in St. George, Utah, a six-person, cross-functional team provides routing, dispatch and customer service for the school district. Any member of the team can answer questions from the district/school and communicate directly with our independently contracted drivers. Each team member is trained in all aspects of district policies and procedures ensuring professional courteous communications. Our OCSC, as well as our drivers operate, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Qualified, Independently Contracted Drivers
Mindful of the unique requirements of special needs students, in particular, ALC requires that all of its independently contracted drivers complete a rigorous training program that includes instruction in sensitivity to disabilities versus handicaps, etiquette and state and federal compliance. The vehicles operated by ALC’s independently contracted drivers are also outfitted with special needs equipment including car seats, safety vests and wheelchair access, as required.

Each of ALC’s independently contracted drivers must also undergo background checks for driver qualification, and testing for drug and alcohol abuse. These drivers are subjected to DMV screening, as well as Department of Justice (DOJ), FBI and Child Index finger printing and background checks. These measures provide school districts with the highest degree of assurances regarding the qualifications and safety of ALC’s independently contracted drivers, particularly where children are concerned.

ALC is a zero tolerance employer and aggressively promotes a drug free workplace. The company’s drug and alcohol policies meet the requirements of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Drug Free Work Place Policy.

ALC works closely with its independently contracted drivers to ensure that their vehicles conform to Motor Vehicle Safety Standards as established by the Department of Transportation 49 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Parts 390 and 571.

Liability – We’ve Got You Covered
ALC provides its school district partners with certificates of insurance and policy endorsements. All of ALC’s independently contracted drivers, and their vehicles, are insured according to the following minimum requirements:

· Worker’s compensation as required by law

· Comprehensive general liability coverage in an amount not less than $1,000,000 for each occurrence/claim, and not less than $1,000,000 aggregate.

· Comprehensive automobile Comprehensive automobile liability insurance for an amount not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence/claim with $1,000,000 aggregate limit

· Comprehensive automobile liability insurance for an amount of $1,000,000 plus $4,000,000 may be available upon request at an additional cost to the district

The school district is also named as additional insured on the comprehensive automobile liability insurance and the commercial general liability insurance.

Simplifying Budgeting and Invoicing through Accountability
ALC pricing is simple and repeatable, based on local for hire transportation rates. It consists of a modest route initiation fee, fee for special handling of wheelchair or car seat, and a per mile fee. ALC only charges for live miles (while the student is onboard) based on MapQuest® routing. Wait time and no show fees are minimized due to ALC’s extensive communications process. The benefit to the school district is that the fee will always be the same for every trip, every day, regardless of time, traffic, weather conditions, or any detour route the independently contracted driver is forced to take. This supports price consistency and enables the school district to accurately budget transportation costs.

Because of the electronic file generated for each trip. This file lists the student, the independently contracted driver, GPS, time and date stamp. Invoicing is simple with a detailed, verifiable history of each trip that can be provided electronically weekly or monthly.

Doing Business with ALC

Because we specialize in serving students with special needs and their families, ALC offers the following distinctive services:

· The same driver and vehicle every day. Students and parents should have consistency. With the same independently contracted driver every day, communications with parents is enhanced and service levels increase. In the event that the driver is unavailable, pre-qualified standby drivers are ready to take the driver’s route as needed.

· Parents meet drivers prior to service engagement. Prior to transporting any students, ALC and the independently contracted driver meet with the parent/guardian to learn more about the specific needs and desires of the families during the transportation of students to and from school, and establish the times and locations for pick-up and drop-off of the student.

· A variety of vehicles to match the needs of the route. ALC’s special needs transportation program is customized for every district incorporating students into buses, wheelchair accessible vans, minivans or sedans. Because vehicles are “right-sized” for each trip, this flexibility and can often lead to shorter travel times for the students.

· GPS. All trips are managed via real time trip tracking and the district will have web access to view all the events for every student each day.

· On-time performance. ALC has an on-time performance record of 97%, across all business segments, on a national basis.

The Bottom Line
With ALC’s 21st Century approach, special needs students can be serviced more efficiently and at a lower the cost.

The industry has tried and tried again – in vain – to use local taxi companies to provide a similar service.  However, they do not have the accountability, real-time management and trip tracking management, or operational and cost efficiencies that our schools and most valuable assets – our children, deserve.

An ALC transportation program will increase a school district’s efficiencies, increase the satisfaction levels of both parents and students, reduce long-term costs, and minimize the overall “pain” – out of sight out of mind.

More About American Logistics Company
American Logistics Company (ALC) is a full-service national transportation company serving the paratransit, non-emergency medical and school transportation sectors. The company leverages state-of-the-art dispatching technology to manage a fleet of dedicated and non-dedicated vehicles across the United States, providing high quality, innovative transportation services that raise the bar for efficiency, cost-effectiveness, driver safety and accountability.  ALC currently serves government agencies, medical plans and school districts, managing more than 50,000 trips per month, with an on-time record averaging 97%, and satisfaction rating averaging 98%.

Contact:
Chris Thomas
American Logistics Company, LLC | Tel : 866.999.3371 x225 | Cell: 858.344.7498 | 520 W. Dyer Road, Santa Ana, CA 92707 www.amlogco.com
Managing Passenger Transportation

Charley Kennington
Innovative Transportation Solutions, Tel: 731.744.4495, 7145 West Tidwell Road, Houston, TX 77092 www.iTransSolutions.org