show where the buses are, but parents also can get live data from the school with a smartphone application. It’s a website link. Tey can see when a stop is completed.” And the experts agree that, while there
are certain required basic communications functions, you can add as many layers of technology as you can afford. “If I am a transportation director, I can
install a GPS/AVL system that enables me to see where all my buses are and look at it by route or by specific bus,” Shigley said. “Te key thing is I know where my buses are at any one point in time. I can view live the onboard surveillance system. I can be notified if a bus is more than five minutes behind schedule. I can click on a bus and get all the operations on that bus.” Houston ISD has taken GPS a step
further based on an employee’s suggestion. Houston runs 994 buses on 825 routes. Mark Swackhamer, senior manager of fleet operations, said the district has
about 1,900 GPS units on its buses, police cars and services vehicles. Tey not only have the capability of tracking buses by route or bus number, but they are also able to monitor arrivals, departures and ETA’s with a setup similar to the arrival/ departure status boards in airports. “We can enter the name of a school
and review the routes associated with that school,” Swackhamer said. “We can monitor both planned and actual arrival times. We use the AT&T cellular network and Synovia GPS software for this project. Aric Taylor, our manager of routing and scheduling, designed the system with Synovia.” Te onslaught of Irene brought into
play the business continuity component of emergency planning. In hurricane territory, the effectiveness of mobile communications is determined by how quickly business can resume, a measurement Swackhamer knows well. Te district’s recuperative powers were
15,000 online requests. 5,000+ trip requestors. 500+ administrative approvers. 60+ school campuses. 4 transportation centers. 2 field trip coordinators.
0 paper
Not magic. EasyBus
The Field T
54 School Transportation News Magazine October 2011 transportation software
EasyBus
tested by Hurricane Ike in 2008. “Te day after the hurricane we had to
evaluate our buses, and we could not get through on our cell phones, but we could text,” Swackhamer said. “Our radio system was on backup generators and we had GPS access to track the buses.” Sprint announced Irene’s impending
arrival by issuing a news release advising its customers to prepare their mobile devices for the hurricane’s impact. As part of this procedure, portable generators were strategically placed along Irene’s projected path to offset the loss of commercial power to its cell towers and switches, as well as Cell Sites on Wheels (COWs) to immediately restore wireless service should the power fail. Te wireless provider also advised the
use of text messages whenever possible because in the time it takes to make a call, 30 to 50 text messages could be sent. Sprint also recommended using social media instead of phone calls. ■
transportation software
rip and Dispatch Experts. 888.327.9571
easybus.com/easytrip See Us At Booth # 938
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