Happy
Returns? School
Districts, School Bus GPS & ROI
The sticker shock that once paralyzed school districts with fiscal terror is losing some of its impact
By Art Gissendaner T
Today’s school bus technology is leading some transportation directors to deliver a new message: the bread they cast upon the water today will be returned to them ten-fold over the life of the vehicle.
Transportation officials increasingly are making a convincing case
that technologies available today are worth the initial cost. Tey increase the operational efficiency of school buses while reducing the operating cost, extend service life and help improve everyone’s health by reducing the size of the bus’ environmental footprint. Global Positioning Systems (GPS), telematics, Electronic In-
spection Systems and other advances make it possible for the bus to not only communicate to mechanics location, speed and bat-
40 School Transportation News Magazine April 2012
tery status but also vehicle maintenance diagnostics. Technicians can now almost immediately tell where a bus hurts and how seri- ous the pain is so a prognosis can be made while the vehicle is still on route. Corrective actions can also be planned before the bus returns to the yard and, when it does, steps taken to fix the issue. Tis can effectively eliminate any down time, which saves maintenance and other associated costs. Tis versatility is making GPS a staple for school bus fleets. Te
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