transportation services for the Tampa-area district. “A lot of the calls we get are general ques- tions. The first day of school, we get 10,000 phone calls. There’s just not enough manpower to answer those.” The program can help “filter
out the noise, get emergencies to staff, and provide better ser- vice to your community when they can get to the answers they need quicker,” she noted. To make sure parents were using the parent app that lets them track their kids on the bus, Orange County held workshops to register families for the ser- vice and promoted it via media before the rollout. “Local TV stations were more than happy to come out and see how it works,” Wen said. Doing away with the need for a pass- word, which could be forgotten,
also helped increase parent participation. Orange County also uses
The average school bus driver age is 59. Some may not be tech savvy. You need time to help them understand how it works, why it works, and get them to use it.
-Bill Wen, Orange County Public Schools in Florida
newer technology to let drivers efficiently log their work in real time, connecting directly to payroll through the same system that syncs the bus with the parent app. Such synergies help foster full engagement from drivers. Initially, the district faced a “rocky rollout” in part because of “the more vocal union members” among drivers raising concerns about the new technology, Wen said. “The average school bus
driver age is 59,” he added. “Some may not be tech savvy. You need time to help them understand how it works, why it works, and get them to use it. It’s understanding how it can help them and ‘what’s in it for me’ as a driver.”
OUR PARTS LIST IS EXHAUSTIVE
Auto-jet is the #1 choice for school bus exhaust systems, with more than 30,000 parts in stock for fast shipping. We also have custom fabrication to cover all makes and models dating back to 1970.
auto-jet.com | 800-247-5391
54 School Transportation News • SEPTEMBER 2026
©2026 Auto-Jet Muffler Corporation
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
