SPECIAL REPORT
finder’s president and CEO. It doesn’t need a beefy, workhorse computer system to run, because the work happens in the Cloud. However, if the district already has a good IT department and wants to run Routefinder Plus on its infrastructure, it can. Routefinder Plus is one way to help them have the latest product without chang- ing their existing systems.” When it comes to making
decisions on how to integrate different technology solutions, Rob Scott, president and CEO of Viafy, advised student transport- ers to sit down with their vendors and their district IT departments to discuss requirements. “I’d tell them to study the in- house capabilities and talk to vendors about what’s going to be required. Ask the district’s student database platform provider how it can work with a GPS provider to implement a parent application,” advised Scott, whose new com- pany partners with his old, 24/7 Security. “Also,” Scott continued, “under- stand your staffing capabilities to make it work in an ongoing way. The IT department needs to maintain these solutions for the transportation department. Trans- portation is skilled in maintaining buses, but their staff may not be as skilled on the technology side.” Scott shared that transportation managers who are considering new technology should also con- sider more than the initial cost. As a former transportation director, he said he knows that running a transportation department is difficult. Employing technology to make the job easier creates value. “Integration must take place at
some point, whether it is getting student data into a planning solu- tion, or student data to enable a parent app, for example,” he said. ●
Integrated Student Tracking & Checking Chula Vista Unified School Dis-
trict, located south of San Diego, is California’s largest elementary school system. It now uses the patented hands-free TrekCheck ridership solution. It is a passive system that doesn’t require students to scan or swipe an ID card. “They simply hop on board with
their fob,” said Gina McDuffie, president of Treker. “The fob can be inside a backpack, pocket or purse, and can go through the wash. The fob also lasts five years, which eliminates the need to issue a new one each school year.” McDuffie explained that Treker is trying “as much as possible” to be a sole-source solution for school districts to remove the “guesswork” from trans- portation directors when they are choosing software. “We have GPS, routing and ridership all in one place, and we integrate seamlessly with other technol- ogies,” she said. “For example, we are a Transfinder marketplace partner, and have a native API. This makes the set-up process super simple for Chula Vista and other districts that already use Transfinder.” Treker also provides its Trek Alert Child Check system that complies with the
The TrekCheck system at Chula Vista Unified.
Paul Lee School Bus Safety Law in California. That law was enacted in response to the death of a 19-year-old student who had autism and died on his school bus after being forgotten for eight hours. Treker worked with Chula Vista to install the system on all 113 of the district’s school buses, said Treker founder Thy Tang. He reported that Treker developed a wireless system, so installation doesn’t
require running a wire to the back of the bus. The system features a mandato- ry alarm that sounds at the end of routes and forces the bus driver to walk to the rear to deactivate it. The idea is that the drivers will scan all seating posi- tions for any students who did not exit at their bus stop. “We have a module that plugs into the fuse panel, and the button in the back
is wireless. This saves three to four hours of installation time,” said Tang. “To operate the system, the driver must go to the back to turn the alarm off. If the button hasn’t been pushed but the engine is shut off and the door opens, the clearance lights flash. After three minutes, the horn blows. It also notifies the school district and local police that a child has possibly been left on the bus.” Child Check-Mate Systems has been a leader in providing technological solu-
tions to help school bus drivers perform their mandatory post-route inspection for students who are still on the bus. Company officials have hinted that its core competencies and how they might integrate with other solutions in the future are in expansion mode, following USSC Group’s acquisition earlier this year. “The addition of USSC engineering and development, coupled with the
bright minds at CCM, will result in enhanced product offerings and services,” forecasted Joseph Mirabile, president and CEO of USSC Group, in March. USSC Group is best known in the school bus industry for its Fogmaker fire
suppression system, one of the technologies that the National Transportation Safety Board recommended for all new and existing school buses in June.
26 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2019
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