Reliable communications is never more necessary than when operating rural routes, where dead spots are common.
to make school bus transportation safer. A few years back, Kent County, Maryland also made such a change. Te school district is located about 25 miles from Balti- more yet is one of the most sparsely populated districts in the state. Its boundary spans over 400 square miles and operates 36 buses to transport its 2,200 student riders. Te district had several problems with its existing legacy system.
Onboard tablets are beginning to supplement traditional two-way radios for driver communications.
system. Tey finally went with a bid of $4,880 for the upgrade. Te investment does not end there, however. Te total investment comes with a monthly data fee. Tis can
add up. For example, California’s Truckee Unified School District near Lake Tahoe spends $350 per bus, per month for a data fee. Another school district in Washington State spends between $600 and $800 per bus per month. It all must be weighed against the tangible and intangible benefits a digital system provides. In Belding, Michigan, the perceived benefit of communica- tion improvement was enough to motivate the school board to vote in favor of it. The school disrict mirrors many seeking such an upgrade to expand range, improve the overall quality and effectiveness of communication, and invest in technology
60 School Transportation News • JULY 2017
For one, transportation staff experienced significant radio interfer- ence from nearby Baltimore. Tey also had a very wide range they needed to cover in the rural district. Some areas were out of range for communications. Like Belding, Kent County upgraded its com- munications to a digital system and resolved many of these issues. Many other school districts are following suit as they take a long-term perspective on their school bus operations. “Two-way radio technology is continuing to shift to digital
radio from analog,” says Mest at Zonar. “However, this trend is beginning to slow. Te slowing down of adoptions is not because schools are sticking with analog but because when they make technology investments in their communications, they are start- ing to look at longer term solutions. Two-way radios are great purpose built means to verbally communicate with limited dis- tractions for school bus drivers. Schools are looking for addition- al benefits of sharing information and data that improve safety, compliance and efficiencies for their bus operations, include verbal communication.” ●
CELEBRATING25YEARS
PHOTO CREDIT: MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS
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