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foot transit bus,” he said. David McManus of Creative Bus Sales, which installs the Child Check-Mate system, said that costs remains a barrier despite a lot of interest shown by school districts that attended a recent demon- stration in Sacramento. “Te requirements have created a situation where installation
is very unique per bus according to year, make and model, and it’s unfunded,” McManus said. “We want to do our best to keep it affordable. Te number of interior lights is different, and the braking system is different. All these factors play a role in the cost of parts needed to complete an install. Tere is some anxiety, but we want to help them. We’re all in this together.”
CALIFORNIA IS NOT ALONE Te problem of students being left on board school buses is not unique to California, of course. Te Saratoga Springs City School District in New York is partnering with Tyler Technologies on a pilot program that tracks students with ID cards bearing their names and photos. Students swipe cards as they get on and off the bus, and an alarm sounds if a student tries to board the wrong bus. A GPS tablet maps routes for bus drivers and the ID scanners provide real-time information to parents and school officials. “Tyler came to us initially because they wanted to do a pilot and
work out the kinks in their system,” said transportation director Cheryl Dalton. “We asked a lot of questions. We seem to get more phone calls from working parents asking if their child rode the school bus. Te card helps with that and the count system.” Texas school districts have had the option of installing electronic child check systems for the last decade. Rafael Salazar, transporta- tion director in the Northside ISD in San Antonio, said he only buys buses with electronic child check systems. “No children have been left on board (alone) with these systems, but the checking protocol has caught about a half dozen (left behind students) during the 15 years I’ve been here,” he said. Te type of system you get depends on which company the bus manufacturer deals with. I can’t tell which one is better. All I know is that they work very well.” Te Brisbane Times in Australia reported last month that more than 440 buses were being equipped with scanners to prevent any more children from being left on board buses. Tis comes after a series of incidences where special needs students were left on board in hot and cold weather. Te system will require bus drivers to scan a card reader after checking for sleeping students. It will also record when a student boards or leaves the bus. Tat technology, however, will be paid for by the Department of Education and Training Victoria.
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28 School Transportation News • MARCH 2018
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