72% of transportation directors/ supervisors stated that there’s technology in passenger cars/trucks that they would
like to see on a school bus. (Out of 99 responses to a recent STN magazine reader survey.)
70%of transportation directors/ supervisors stated that their operation requires that newly purchased technology be covered by a warranty. (Out of 84 responses.)
85% of transportation directors/ supervisors said they compare/contrast the TCO of technology items to help with
purchase decision-making. (Out of 84 responses.)
43% of transportation directors/ supervisors said they’ve had to prematurely replace technology on a school bus. (Out of 84 responses.)
44% of that same group said the technology replacement was covered By warranty. (Out of 36 responses.)
Of the transportation directors who Aren’t covered under warranty,
38%selected a product from a different
vendor as a replacement. (Out of 16 responses.)
44 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2023
“Extended warranties may not be something people would be
as interested in with tablets as with some other hardware,” he said, pointing to the likelihood that updated models would be available after a few years. While he noted that most Transfinder customers buy for fi-
nancial reasons, a better option for remaining at the forefront of ever-evolving technology could be found via leasing. “This way every couple of years you get a brand-new model,” he noted. “If there’s a malfunction, you get a new device the next day and when you receive it, there’s going to be a sticker to use in returning the old one in the same box.” When difficulties do occur, customers take advantage of the
usual RMA process. The most reported damages are screen issues from dropping a tablet while performing inspections, Swami- nathan said, along with challenges connecting to the dock if it hasn’t been installed securely. He added that in some cases, repairing units is preferred to re- placing them. “Repairs such as screen replacements are generally cheaper than replacing an entire unit,” Swaminathan noted. Civitella shared that another option is having problems ad-
dressed remotely. The ability of customer support reps to address problems from a distance helps save time in some situations, typically when a malfunction turns out to be a software problem. “We can use mobile management applications so we can move to the tablet and actually see everything that’s going on,” he said.
Careful Selection and Use Although problems such as a dropped device may never be to-
tally avoidable, some precautionary steps can be taken, especially when considering environmental factors. “Environment is key for equipment self-care,” Washoe’s Lee said. “Even though equipment is placed in a school bus, dust and temperature variances play a key role in longevity.” He noted that having available equipment inspected during the
pre- and post-trip inspections, along with shop-related service intervals, will help alleviate failures along with capturing poten- tial failures. Tranfinder’s Civitella said a good starting point is obtaining
equipment that is less likely to be damaged in the first place. For his customers, that means buying one of the company’s new Samsung Tab Active3 ruggedized tablets, which feature tough protective cases and are designed to be dust and water resistant while functioning in extreme temperatures and pressure chang- es. Similarly, rugged RAM mounts for accessories such as RFID card readers provide similar protection. Pointing to the growing interest in RFID cards, Civitella advised taking time to plan. He said he believes that just as cameras have become commonplace, having RFID readers to track student rid- ership will become a standard operating procedure. But that will require highly capable readers. “A lot of lower-cost readers only read very low-grade types of cards right now,” he noted. But he foresees a future where
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