UniteGPS

What UniteGPS does

UniteGPS is a privately held, bootstrapped software company founded in 2014 and headquartered in South Portland, Maine. The company provides real-time GPS tracking and transportation management technology for K-12 school districts and small-to-medium transit agencies, operating two product lines: Crosswalk K-12 (school district routing, live bus tracking, student ridership check-in/out, turn-by-turn driver navigation, parent communication, vehicle inspections, and Medicaid billing) and Town Transit (real-time tracking, ridership analytics, GTFS publishing, and automated stop announcements for public transit agencies). The platform is delivered as cloud-based SaaS with U.S.-based data centers and integrates with K-12 Student Information Systems and General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) feeds.

Underlying technology combines route optimization algorithms, automated stop-timing recalculation when schedules change, barcode-based ridership scanning, GPS positioning updated every few seconds, and an in-vehicle tablet suite. The platform is FERPA-compliant with annual third-party audits, PTAC-aligned privacy practices, AES-256 data-at-rest encryption, and a formal Data Processing Agreement executed with every district; this positions the company as a 'school official' under FERPA. Three product tiers (Core, Plus, Full Suite) plus hardware sales (~$1,699/bus one-time, tablets with data plans) generate recurring subscription revenue alongside one-time hardware attach, distributed via direct sales, a 90-day self-serve free trial, and an established US Cellular partnership.

UniteGPS serves more than 100 K-12 school districts nationwide alongside transit agency customers such as Clallam Transit, Grays Harbor Transit, and Shoreline Metro. The company was founded by Christopher Bunnell, Steve C. Lanning, and Steven J. Lanning — former colleagues on a federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services project at the San Diego Supercomputer Center — and has scaled entirely on customer revenue while remaining profitable. The founders explicitly reject private equity capital structures, indicating long-duration owner-operator intent over rapid venture-style scaling.

Name

UniteGPS

Legal name

UniteGPS

Website

https://unitegps.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UniteGPS provides real-time GPS tracking, route optimization, student ridership tracking, and parent communication software for K-12 school districts and small public transit agencies across the United States, delivered as cloud-based SaaS.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Transportation Management Software

NAICS

Mixed Mode Transit Systems (485111), Support Activities for Transportation (488), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans (4100)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Transit MaaS Integration Platforms (GTFS/RT, APIs, Real-Time Ops Feeds) (THADALAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mobility Data Exchange & Analytics Platforms (MDM, Data Hubs, Insights) (THADALAJ)

Keywords

• Student transportation software
• School bus GPS tracking
• Transit fleet management
• Route optimization software
• SIS data integration

Headquarters

HQ city

South Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Software Subscription (Routing): Monthly or annual subscription for routing software. Core Plan at $49/month, Plus Plan at $25/bus/month, Full Suite at $39/bus/month. All billed annually.
2. Hardware Sales: One-time hardware sales for tablet suite, including tablets for buses. Estimated at $1,699/bus. Hardware pricing varies based on equipment needs.
3. Tablet Data Plans: Monthly data plan for tablet devices on buses. Part of Full Suite offering at $1,800 annually.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

UniteGPS develops and sells cloud-based GPS tracking and transportation management software for K-12 school districts (via its Crosswalk K-12 product) and small-to-medium public transit agencies (via its Town Transit product). The platform combines route optimization, real-time bus GPS tracking, student ridership tracking via barcode scanning, Student Information System (SIS) data synchronization, in-vehicle tablet turn-by-turn navigation for drivers, and a parent communication center, sold primarily through per-bus software subscriptions and bundled hardware.

Product overview

UniteGPS offers an integrated platform with two primary product lines: Crosswalk K-12 for K-12 school district transportation management and Town Transit for small and medium-sized transit agencies. Crosswalk K-12 is a unified platform combining routing, GPS tracking, student ridership, and tablet-based driver tools. The platform is offered through three pricing tiers - Core Plan (routing essentials at $49/month), Plus Plan (GPS tracking and routing at $25/bus/month), and Full Suite (tablet suite at $39/bus/month plus hardware) - allowing districts to start with foundational routing and scale up to comprehensive fleet management with tablets, student ridership tracking, and advanced parent communication features.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Crosswalk K-12: School bus routing software for K-12 school districts, featuring routing, driver turn-by-turn navigation, communication center, student ridership check-in/out, and parent visibility.
• Town Transit

Products and services

• Crosswalk K-12 UniteGPS's K-12 school transportation platform that combines bus routing, GPS tracking, student ridership check-in/out via barcode scanning, SIS data synchronization, in-vehicle turn-by-turn driver navigation on tablets, a parent communication center, mileage tracking, vehicle inspections, and Medicaid billing support in a single integrated system sold to K-12 public and private school district transportation departments.
• Town Transit Comprehensive transit management solution for small and medium-sized U.S. public transit agencies, providing real-time bus tracking, ridership analytics, route optimization, GTFS feed integration for Google Maps compatibility, automated stop announcements, trip planning, and rider-facing service alerts as a single integrated platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduces total miles driven and fuel costs through route optimization
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability2 records

Feature8 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Spare: Spare provides microtransit and on-demand transit operations software for transit agencies. It is an emerging player addressing adjacent use cases to UniteGPS's Town Transit offering, especially around flexible transit modes.

Broad incumbents

• Samsara: Samsara is a broad fleet management and IoT platform used across transportation, logistics, and public sector fleets. It overlaps with UniteGPS on GPS tracking and fleet visibility but does not specialize in K-12 routing or transit.
• Cubic Transportation Systems: Cubic provides large-scale public transit fare collection, real-time tracking, and transit data platforms for major agencies. It is a broad incumbent competing at the transit technology layer where Town Transit operates.
• Geotab: Geotab is a large fleet telematics and management platform serving commercial and public-sector fleets. It competes at the GPS tracking and fleet analytics layer with UniteGPS but is not a K-12 routing specialist.

Direct peers

• Tyler Technologies (Versatrans): Tyler Technologies' Versatrans is the largest provider of K-12 student transportation management software in the US. It is the most direct competitor to UniteGPS's Crosswalk K-12, serving similar school districts with routing, tracking, and parent communication.
• Transfinder: Transfinder provides K-12 student transportation management software including routing, GPS tracking, and fleet management. It directly competes with Crosswalk K-12 for the same school district customers.
• Trapeze Group (Modaxo): Trapeze Group, part of Modaxo, provides transit scheduling, planning, and operations software to public transit agencies. It directly competes with Town Transit for small and medium transit agency customers.
• Optibus: Optibus provides AI-driven public transit scheduling, routing, and operations optimization. It directly competes with UniteGPS's Town Transit product line for small and medium transit agencies.
• BusPlanner: BusPlanner offers K-12 transportation planning and routing software to school districts in North America. It competes with UniteGPS in the same niche of school bus routing and operations optimization.
• Education Logistics (Edulog): Edulog is a long-standing provider of K-12 school bus routing and management software serving districts across the US. It overlaps directly with UniteGPS's route optimization and fleet management capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/unitegps

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UniteGPS