DRIVING THE INDUSTRY SINCE 1991


neously,” he said. “It’s certainly a timesaver.” When an incident occurs, bus drivers


can hit a panic button, which will direct Anderson to the exact point in the video. Otherwise, he said parents usually estimate the time their child reported a problem. “Sometimes it’s important to watch


before and after the incident because we’ve found there are things that lead up to the altercation,” Anderson continued. “It certainly has vindicated drivers who were accused of things they didn’t do.” Another way the system saves transpor-


tation staff valuable time is by “checking in” daily and reporting when cameras are not working properly. “It’s diagnostic, so it alerts you when


there’s a problem with a camera,” he said. “Our technician doesn’t have to check 150 cameras — now he can just look on the screen and know which cameras to fix.”


WATCHING THEIR BACKS Steve Veeder, transportation supervisor at


Lyons Central School District, noted that he has peace of mind knowing his Seon


video camera systems are monitoring what both children and drivers are doing on the school bus. His 17 large buses transport about 400 students in the central New York region, between Rochester and Syracuse. Yet, Veeder still can recall the pushback he


received from drivers when he first implement- ed the onboard video cameras three years ago. “It’s quite interesting, because when I


introduced the camera idea, the drivers’ immediate reaction was, ‘Oh no.’ Tey were totally against it, thinking it was me trying to catch them when, honestly, it was just opposite — it was to help protect them while they’re doing their job,” he said. “Now I have drivers who don’t like to drive buses without a camera.” When parents report that a bus driver


yelled at their child, for example, he can as- sure them it didn’t happen, but if they insist that it did, then he has the tools to verify it one way or another. Video footage is saved onto a hard drive on each bus that stores about 60 days of video before the system records over it. When a complaint comes in, he goes out to that specific bus, pulls the


hard drive, hooks it up to his computer and reviews the footage. Veeder said common complaints range


from buses not showing up to drivers speeding to drivers failing to use their flashing lights when stopping to pick up or drop off students. “I will randomly pull a camera to look


at bus routes and times to watch drivers’ speeds, check that they are using their reds (flashing lights) and to make sure their times match mine in the office,” he shared. “Usually the video exonerates the driver of wrongdoing.” 


Outsourcing means savings.


Routings, vehicle maintenance, school bell time management, capital investment, operator training and many other specialties.


Pupil Transportation is a complex business that includes many aspects such as routing, vehicle maintenance, school bell time management, capital investment, operator training and many other specialties. But when you get right down to it, the two most important reasons school districts and private school systems outsource their student transportation are safety and savings. By far, according to independent research, the safest way for children to get to and from school is on yellow school buses. It’s safer than walking, riding a bike, public transportation, taxis and even being dropped off and picked up by a parent. Independent research also tells us that outsourcing can save school districts 10% or more in their transportation costs.


www.atlanticexpress.com 7 North Street, Staten Island, NY 10302 busdev@atlanticexpress.com 1-800-336-3886 ext. 8073


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