Farwell’s buses don’t have wireless video yet, but Scho- misch finds the prospect appealing. “If I could grab video wirelessly, it would save me a lot of


hassle,” she said. “Right now, I have a key to go and remove the hard drive from the buses. It’s time-consuming and where the storage is mounted is a tight space to get into.” Buses operated by the 10,000-student Santa Monica-


Malibu Unified School District in Southern California were first equipped with cameras 12 years ago, said Neal Abramson, the director of transportation management. Replacement DVRs purchased three-and-a half years ago haven’t lasted as long, so last year the school system replaced them in all 25 buses. The existing cameras are still functioning effectively and were kept in place. In developing the RFP for the project, Abramson said he


stayed away from features such as wireless downloading, as he felt they weren’t needed for a relatively small fleet and a minimal demand for viewing video footage. “We don’t have that many problems, but when the need arises, I just pull out a hard drive and put in a spare drive,” shared Abramson, who declined to identify his camera provider. The original can then be taken to his office or anoth-


er location for viewing. Abramson added that he is the only employee with access to the video, thus preserving chain of custody. If video must be shared, he provides it on a thumb drive or DVD, tracking the chain of custody manually with signed receipts. At the same time, Abramson noted that even the most


basic systems can prove invaluable. Having the cameras has cut down on vandalism and improved the behavior of students in general. “They know they’re on camera,


and that helps right there,” he explained. Access to video footage also helps during emergency


situations, such as determining if a misdirected child had actually been on a bus at a given time. Dealing with par- ents is also less confrontational, he explained. “If parents become defensive when students are cited for not wear- ing their lap and shoulder belts, we show them the video,” Abramson said. “Then they don’t fight it.” Abramson said he looks forward to adding external cameras when possible. “Only cameras on the inside are allowed in California right now,” he noted of the California Highway Patrol’s refusal so far to approve the installation of stop-arm cameras. “We would love to jump on that bandwagon,” he said.


Cost and More Obviously, cost is a factor in any major purchase, but care-


ful analysis will go farther than simple price comparisons. “Cheaper products end up costing more in the long run, both on downtime and on service and repairs,” said Wardle in Utah. “I have found that cheaper options are usually cheaper for a reason.” Despite attractive features, systems at the other end of the spectrum may also bring their own challenges. “Those that are priced too high can be so cumbersome that it takes a lot of manpower and re-engineering to make them work, or keep them working,” he added. “They can also be so expensive that they’re not even in the ballpark when we score and award the winning bid.” Wardle said he believes that one predictor of ongo- ing costs is the warranty. “Most companies that have a good product have a longer warranty,” he pointed out.


More Than a Picture Customers are seeking more sophisticated video centric solutions, observed Robert Scott, the vice president for


strategy at 247Security, and video combined with GPS tracking and vehicle performance monitoring is now a reality. “An operations center can now use a video-based system to see what happened, where it happened and the


condition of the bus at that time,” he noted. “Stopped, lights flashing, door opened, location of students in the bus, outside the bus, the driver’s actions. All of this can be combined into one review.” Scott said that live views into a school bus are also available as well as affordable. But the biggest innovation impacting operations is that all this information can be accessed without going to the bus. “Cell and Wi-Fi is used to bring a video-based analysis from the bus to the right person in the right place at the right time. There are really no limitations.” When asked by student transporters what about video solutions, Scott answers with his own questions. “What do you want to see? What do you want to accomplish?” Scott continued. “Be able to review an incident


involving students on the bus, review driver performance, record a stop-arm violation, observe the path of a bus and review video anywhere along the route? When studying video do you want to know where the bus was? How fast was it going, where was it, what was the engine computer reporting at the time? By answering a series of questions, you will come up with a best solution for you.”


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