SPECIAL REPORT
including those who live in remote areas that prove to be too expensive to send buses to. ALC’s dispatch, routing and driver support teams are on-station during all hours of student transportation, so they can assist school ad- ministrators, parents and drivers. ALC offers accurate and specific custom
pickup and drop-off locations that are updated to allow for changes in traffic flow, con- struction or individual needs. MRM provides visibility for districts to view the same re- al-time status, driver and vehicle locations that are available to ALC’s internal dispatch team, said Prettyman. The ALC My Ride Manager gives districts a
holistic view of their transportation. It provides districts with the same tools that the dispatch center uses to see everything in one place. This includes current trips, completed trips and upcoming scheduled trips. It features a com- prehensive view of all students and the retrieval of information on a single trip or single student. There are also integrated maps that allow
one to view the location of vehicles, as drivers pick up students and make their way to each destination. Annie Ellenberger, director of technology at
ALC Schools, said users receive updated esti- mated times of arrival, based on location and traffic. There are details on the day’s drivers, vehicle, model, color and license plate. Durham School Services, which is based in
Illinois, began using the company’s propri- etary Bus Tracker app five years ago, so parents will always know where their child’s bus is. Dan Sutherland, general manager of Durham School Services in Algonquin, Illinois, said overall feedback on the app has been positive. “One of the biggest challenges we have faced
is all the phone calls we get from parents when their child’s bus does not arrive,” he explained. “The Bus Tracker app is a way to cut down on traffic in the dispatch office. It gives parents the ability to see where their bus is. They can see the bus is only one minute away, and they don’t tie up lines in the dispatch office. This allows us to keep lines open for more important calls. Parents benefit, because they know where their child is.” App technology is especially helpful for school bus service that is provided to students who have special needs. ALC Schools is based in San Clemente, California, but provides
28 School Transportation News • SEPTEMBER 2019
transportation for special needs and homeless students who attend 350 school districts across 18 states. Elsewhere, Here Comes the Bus is a school bus tracking app from Synovia Solutions, which was acquired earlier this year by a public company, CalAmp, a tech solutions company. The tracking app is improving morning
routines for parents and students, by giving them real-time bus location and alerts to get them to the bus stop on time. This means no more standing at a bus stop when it is cold and raining or snowing, or in the pre-dawn hours, wondering when the bus will arrive. It also means children have fewer excuses to miss the bus. A family can download the app, create a
secure account, add the name of the student and everything is set. This shows the real time location of the child’s bus on a map, then gives scheduled and actual arrival times at home for morning, mid-day and afternoon routes. It provides push and email alerts when the bus is near or when the bus has been substi- tuted. Alerts are available in English, Spanish and French, according to Here Comes the Bus information. Also, Here Comes the Bus has achieved
some recognition outside of the student transportation industry. It was awarded the IHS Market Innovation Award at the Con- sumer Electronic Show this past January. The app was considered an example of innovative technology. “This app provides real time school bus tracking, and it helps parents understand where the school bus is, so they can make a better decision on when to send the kids out to meet the school bus,” said Bryan Mitchell, spokesperson for Here Comes the Bus. “It works, because we put GPS trackers inside every school bus in the districts we serve. This information is given to the parents, so every parent can know where the school bus is.” Here Comes the Bus serves about 300
districts, and more prospective clients are in the pipeline. Synovia also recently debuted a less costly app version for small districts. “We are working on more innovative products. We want to provide a more safe and convenient bus experience for parents and students,” con- cluded Mitchell. ●
STN Reader Survey Says
41%
use an app to show parents
location/arrival time of buses & student tracking
Out of 176 responses
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