passenger counting and occupancy estimation, and expanding those concepts to include detecting unsafe behavior, seatbelt compliance, standing violations, door obstructions, or confirming that no students are left on the bus at the end of a route,” she continued. These concepts can run at the edge for real-time aware-


ness, with selected data samples streamed to the cloud for further analysis, review and reporting, Jetha noted. Safe Fleet is exploring how generative AI and tra-


ditional deep-learning models can work together by helping locate a specific lost item on a bus or identifying an unusual object that does not belong to address real transportation pain points, she added. “While many of these capabilities are still in develop-


ment, the technology is maturing rapidly,” Jetha said. “Our focus is on responsibly integrating these tools into our core platform in ways that are practical, scalable and aligned with how school districts operate, using AI to improve visibility, reduce manual review and ultimately support safer student transportation.” Brooks noted while many school districts and transit systems use AI to attempt to identify aggressive behav- ior, there are currently shortfalls to its capabilities, which are expected to get better over time, he added. While Bryer said he is unaware of any pilot projects


automatically flagging altercations or risky behaviors, he suggested districts are working toward it. “It’s in an infancy spot now where our cameras could


do it, but they would also provide quite a bit of false alerts,” he said. “For example, if you were trying to detect a fight on a bus and if a student stood up and maybe started dancing, that might give you a false positive.” Berndt said rather than focusing on detecting an alter-


cation, “emerging best practices emphasize identifying leading indicators of risk. AI can help detect patterns such as aggressive driving, unsafe maneuvers or recurring safety trends enabling earlier intervention and coaching.” Prevention and operational visibility are often more


impactful than real-time reaction, said Berndt. “By combining AI video with telematics data, districts can establish consistent, data-driven safety programs that support accountability, documentation and trend analy- sis, without requiring constant manual oversight,” he said. Geotab’s Safety Center and analytics tools help trans-


portation leaders move from reactive incident response to proactive risk management by analyzing driver behavior, contextual fleet data and comparative bench- marks, he added.


Addressing the Technology Gap Brooks said while technology gaps are shrinking with


46 School Transportation News • MAY 2026


AI improving daily, the biggest challenge is convinc- ing school officials to utilize the tools in school and on buses. He routinely conducts security assessments for schools and recently addressed a school board about all of its significant security and safety failures and issues. “They pushed back, saying cameras were not need- ed in the school and AI was not safe in schools. They believed the ‘old school’ days were better,” he said. “The technology gap is not the issue. It is the mindset gap. We need to do a better job of explaining how AI can help us keep people safe.” Bryer said it will take time for the student transporta-


tion sector to adopt the technology because AI needs to be used in real time. “When it comes to video analytics, you have to have


a data plan. You have to be connected through a cel- lular provider. You’re not really using the full bells and whistles of AI technology unless you are live. With the data plan comes more money spending,” he continued. “Even if you’re using AI cameras, you’re still not going to be able to do anything until you review the incident manually, which still requires human interaction. But if you go live or wireless, you can set up automatic alerts for what the AI did detect.” Jetha noted a growing technology gap between what’s possible today and what many school districts are cur- rently using. “Adoption, not technology, is often the biggest barrier,” she said. “Concerns around AI accuracy, privacy and trust can slow progress, even when the tools themselves are mature enough to deliver meaningful safety and operational value. “Safe Fleet’s platform was built to meet the stringent


security, privacy and compliance requirements of public safety and law enforcement, including [Criminal Justice Information Services]-aligned practices and end-to-end data protection,” she continued. Berndt’s take on the school transportation technology


gap is that it often stems from fragmentation. “Many districts rely on multiple disconnected vendors,


one for cameras, another for GPS, another for reporting, which can limit the value of the data collected,” he said. “AI is most effective when it is integrated into existing operational workflows.” “We’re just skimming the surface right now of what’s


potentially possible,” Bryer said of AI in school buses. “We’re going to see things where you get AI data that has monitored routes nationwide. The real benefit of AI is taking the data that it sends us and making planned improvements around its suggestions.” ●


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