So this being Kentucky, they should have had Mitch McConnell do it?
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That’s not even wrong.
Optimization modeling can get surprisingly wild, quickly.
Multiple variables in your target function get you into upper-dimensions and working with tensor functions. I failed out of one of those grad programs 
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Before, definately not. Currently? More likely as the pool for drivers completely dried up during and after the pandemic. It’s really bad too - my local school district now only provides bus service if you’re over 1.5 miles from the school. Have a kindergartener walk a mile each way is not ideal.
Looking at the current recruiting page, my district pays $25/hr, training covered if you need, free healthcare, and I know there used to be a $2k signing bonus. That’s not too bad really.
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Exactly my first thought before I even got to the block quote. Our district had this exact same issue last year, just not quite as bad (the issues were more centered on morning pickup, thankfully). And this is after a district-wide initiative to push back school start times as some kids are getting on the bus as early as 6 am; the district completely ignored the overwhelming support for later start times and instead hired an untested, but cheaper bus company.
Yeah, our summer vacation runs ca. June 20-Labor day, but when I was a kid in the Midwest is was May-ish to August. I remember sitting in a hot, humid classroom with crap ventilation in absolute misery. But at least we got out of school while it was still muddy and chilly in the evenings! /s
Exactly. For context:
Now granted, that’s full time after five years’ contract, but still. Really shows where our priorities are and that unions kick ass.
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so you’re saying parent should just box their children up every morning? 
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They’d probably be treated with more respect.
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Okay, I got a little lost and thought you might be talking about Mitch driving the bus route.
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careful. he might actually contribute something useful to the country that way. don’t want to ruin a lifelong record right at the end
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Obligatory old Southerner whinging: “August. When I was a kid there was no slacking around till August. We started mid-February. And there was no bus. We walked or rode our bikes. Or if it was too far to bike we’d hop on a kangaroo that was heading in the right direction. And there was none of this modern technology like biros or light bulbs or glass in the windows or flushing toilets or …”
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You had roos? We had to wrangle a passing dinosaur and hope we got there before it got hungry! But you tell young people that, and they won’t believe you!
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I wasn’t aware Kentucky even had schools.
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You had schools? We used to have classes under a bush, and our books were made of broken glass!
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Yep, people who don’t know what AI is want AI to solve all their problems. So companies that offer to solve problems with AI that probably shouldn’t be solved with AI are either lying to get a contract or proposing a poor solution jus too they can get a contract.
(although I’ll note the traveling salesperson problem is computationally infeasible for large numbers of stops, any planning school routes is well past that point; machine learning in related problem areas like 2D bin packing have had some interesting advantages, but that doesn’t mean AI is actually a good idea here, just, um, it isn’t total snake oil because the traditional solutions are mostly heuristic guesswork, and anytime you get into that territory chances that some sort of ML might be able to make better sets of guess work go up somewhat, and more so when despite not knowing how to find optimal solutions you can actually useful grade solutions a ML model comes up with)
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Wasn’t actually kidding about the slime mold solution. These guys seem to be pretty damned effective.
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Somehow after five or six decades of busing; the early 21str century manages to fail once again. 
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Glad to know that, once again, people in the south are fodder for comedy, instead of people who matter… /s
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ALL people who ride public transportation matter ,
regardless how young ( or old ) , or how geo-situated !
{ yes , i saw the slash s , restating as agreement and emphasis }
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Will they be offering a guarantee: Thirty minutes or your kid is free?
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You gotta watch the constraints. There was probably one solution that involved a very few busses driving for 6 hours to cover missing drop-offs from otherwise efficient routes. You’re supposed to apply a penalty to the total score to when things like 6 hour routes happen; sounds like that wasn’t done nor the results properly inspected.
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