SPECIAL REPORT
Safety Trainer Reggie Payton, left, and Dispatcher Mike Gay of Midlothian ISD in Texas, discuss student tracking and bus routes using the SMART tag system.
I Can See You, Now Parent apps provide school bus transparency, peace of mind
Written by Debbie Curtis W
hen Winter Storm Avery struck New York City last November, the flurries weren’t strictly snow and ice. The storm immobilized traffic, including
thousands of school buses on afternoon routes, thus spurring angry parents, activists and city officials, to take action. Some children were stuck on the bus until midnight, and frantic parents were left with no way to find out where those school buses were. In response, city officials moved quickly to write and pass a new bill. In January, New York City Council members passed a new law to give parents some peace of mind regarding their child’s whereabouts and arrival times of buses. Nearly 130,000 children who are in kindergarten
through fifth grade rely on one of New York City’s 9,500 school buses to get to and from school, daily. The Student Transportation Oversight Package (STOP) promises par- ents of these children the ability to know where the bus is via a free smartphone app. The New York City Depart- ment of Education said it plans to implement it by the start of next school year. Up until the City Council’s bill passage, only about 6,000 buses that serve students with special needs were
20 School Transportation News • APRIL 2019
equipped with GPS. The technology will eventually ex- tend wide, with a bid expected to open this spring. Additionally, the New York City Department of Educa-
tion will be required to send notices of late bus arrivals and departures on a daily basis. “Families deserve safe and reliable school transpor-
tation, which is why we’re placing GPS on all buses in the 2019-2020 school year,” said Miranda Barbot, a spokeswoman with the city’s Office of Pupil Transpor- tation. “We have GPS through a device called NavMan on all special education buses, as well as two-way radio communications with all buses. We look forward to (our) continued partnership with families and schools as we make improvements to our school bus system.”
Apps Can Bridge Gaps While it’s true that many forms of online technology
are accused of isolating people, a good parent app can actually bridge communication gaps between bus driv- ers, students, parents and the school. “One terrific thing that came along with having the
parent app is that it helps our drivers really know their students,” said Craig Pelletier, the computer routing technician for Midlothian Independent School District
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
