Top 5 Types of Bus Safety Equipment Installed
“Geo-fencing key locations in our district will enable us
to have more accurate data to better serve our students and community. Attendance tracking will enable us to be pro- active on critical dates that have historically been low (in) attendance,” he stated. “Routing software enables us to be more efficient, but true route-building training will increase our efficiency.” Onboard video surveillance systems was the most popular
choice among survey respondents at 61 percent, followed by GPS at 45 percent and two-way radios/communication systems at 42 percent. John Steves of Granville Central Schools in New York
shared some of Scribner’s goals — better service, cost effec- tiveness, cost control — and similar strategies to meet them, such as purchasing the “top three” technology noted above, as well as an SIS. “Te live GPS tracking allows the location of any given bus to be plotted on our routing software and an actual address to be given to authorities, be that a school or mu- nicipality. It also enables us to reset routs for more efficient use of our limited resources. Tis system is part of the new digital radio system we purchased,” said Steves. He noted that onboard camera systems are a “great tool for
passenger and driver management,” as are the high seatbacks and seat belts featured on their new school buses. Granville has a fleet 16 buses and 20 drivers, including subs, who transport 600 to 700 students, or just more than half of all students. Charles Semple of Illinois’ Teutopolis Unit 50 School
District had new digital two-way radios installed on his fleet of 20 buses last year. “Te two-way radios are a great time-saver and safe-
ty measure,” said Semple, who manages 25 drivers who transport about 850 preschool through grade 12 students. “Technology has minimized down time but, most of all, the overall cost of operation.” Yet adopting digital two-way radios did not go as
smoothly for John Ryan of Warsaw Community Schools in Indiana, who purchased GPS to work with his communica- tion system. “Te new digital radios have given us quite a few head-
aches in trying to get the best use of the programming and configuration of the different channels to make everyone happy,” Ryan explained. “We had a disastrous first morning when the overload from the finally installed GPS equip- ment caused the entire communication system to crash, leaving us with no communication, until we unhooked all the GPS hardware and sent the engineers back to the drawing board.” Ryan added that he purchased GPS with the goal of
reducing the cost of transporting nearly 5,000 students as well as wear-and-tear on his 71 buses.
www.stnonline.com 53 55% Warning lights 47% Crossing gates at front of bus 42% Special passenger crash protection* 24% Several emergency exits 23% Special mirrors
*Includes well-padded, high-back, energy- absorbing seats, occupant restraints or special requirements for wheelchair restraint systems. Source: School Transportation News readership survey.
14 : Median number of hours of refresher/ in-service training drivers receive each year
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84