Reaching Maturity
Connected technology options, such as tablets, apps and Wi-Fi, provide the promise of greater mobility and operational efficiency
WRITTEN BY JULIE METEA A
decade after the iPhone’s introduction, soci- ety is more mobile than ever. Innovation has delivered internet communication through devices and applications that have become
essential to people’s daily lives. Te school bus industry has developed its own niche of mobile technologies, ranging from onboard Wi-Fi to specialized devices and applications. Bus operators, school districts, manufacturers and technology providers are piecing together connected buses for better visibility and transparency on all aspects of transportation. “Instant information is no longer a wishful thought;
it’s an expectation,” said Ted Tien, vice president and general manager for Tyler Technologies’ transportation group. “Te new norm is receiving text messages with bus ETAs, traffic delays, emergencies, snow day an- nouncements, or even a notification that their child got on the wrong bus or got off at the wrong stop.”
SWIFT INNOVATION, SLOWER ADAPTATION Mobile applications have been widely adapted for
real-time school bus monitoring, route efficiency, fleet efficiency, and driver-passenger safety. Connectivity allows real-time access to these applications, as well as video and vehicle data. “Applications provide vital information for making better decisions, especially during emergencies. Tey are driving the need for higher-bandwidth, lower cost Inter- net connectivity on the bus,” said Lori Jetha, marketing communications manager at Seon Design. Onboard Wi-Fi is still getting off the ground. In a STN survey of more than 300 readers, only 7 percent indicated that they currently provide Wi-Fi access to stu- dents on the buses. About 18 percent of the participants said they were considering onboard Wi-Fi by the end of next year, and 19 percent said they were considering the technology two years or more down the road. Te respondents indicated that they believe onboard
Wi-Fi, essentially a mobile classroom, would decrease bad behavior, retain drivers and give students the oppor- tunity to complete homework while riding the bus. A
32 School Transportation News • FEBRUARY 2017
lesser number of respondents indicated that school buses could be parked to provide an Internet hotspots to less fortunate communities. Skeptics indicated that the biggest challenges for
onboard Wi-Fi are lack of budget (50 percent) and the assumption that it would be used for entertainment over educational value (20 percent). Tat’s not the case for Fresno Unified Schools in California, which has installed Wi-Fi on all 99 of the district-owned buses. All web traffic is filtered to ensure students have an educational and safe online experience. “Fresno Unified students ride our school buses more than 5 million times during the course of a school year, and we want to make sure they are able to study and stay on top of their school work and on track to graduate,” said Fresno Unified Schools Superintendent Michael Hanson. “Te bus ride home will never be the same for our students. Tey can consider a Fresno Unified bus ride a mobile study hall.”
TABLETS TAKE FRONT SEAT
While some school buses still use two-way radios and cell phones to communicate their location and road con- ditions with dispatch, tablet based solutions and Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) will move buses into more mature mobility this year. “It’s one thing to receive a fault code or have other sensors or cameras on a bus, but it’s another to be able to act on the information through streamlined and accurate communication between drivers and dispatch. Tablets are a huge benefit to get real time information you can use to make decisions,” said H. Kevin Mest, senior vice president of passenger service at Zonar Systems. Technology providers have introduced tablets for better communication, as well as to focus an eye on driver and vehicle performance, fuel consumption and route efficiencies. At the NSTA Mid-Winter Meet- ing last month, Mest said Zonar’s second-gerenation Connect ELD-ready tablet will be available for school bus customers in the second quarter. Last summer, Tyler Technologies launched Tyler Drive, a semi-rugged tablet
CELEBRATING25YEARS
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