7 Essential Technology Enhancements to Improve School Bus Safety

In our last blog on bus safety, we outlined the key aspects of bus safety and explained why it’s important to rethink how we view school buses, seeing them not just as transportation but as mobile extensions of the classroom. In fact, with the increased use of mobile devices such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets, our students and our schools are more connected than ever before. They are connected at home, on vacation, on weekends, on holidays, at school, and while on the bus wherever it takes them. Many of our students who use school bus transportation are using this time to complete their homework on these connected devices. So, if our students are using the buses as an extension of their classroom, shouldn’t we provide them with technology they would typically use in the classroom? Especially when it comes to safety, the answer to this question is a resounding, yes! But what technology does that mean?

As discussed in our last blog, buses are the first and last interactions students have with anything that is related to school each day. It is essentially their entry and exit points of the school. No different from the other students who walk to school or get picked up by their parents, except they are in the care and custody of the school until they are dropped off at their bus stops. This means we have a responsibility to ensure their safety until, and in many cases, after they are dropped off at their bus stops. Keeping this in mind, here are some of the technology enhancements you should consider for your buses:

1. Robust WiFi: Frankly, the use of WiFi is an absolute necessity when it comes to keeping your students safe. This holds true for keeping your students safe while they are en route to and from school.
2. Panic Buttons and Emergency Alerting Applications: These systems allow for bus drivers to report an emergency quickly, and when preconfigured, can alert all     necessary stakeholders with a single push of the button.
3. Push-to-talk Over Cellular (POC): Similar to a radio, POC is a device that uses the cellular and WiFi systems you have to communicate. These are much less expensive than legacy traditional radios and have the functionality of a panic button.
4. Student Management: A system that checks and tracks students when they get on and off the bus.
5. Bus Route Trackers and Notification Systems: These systems allow schools and parents to monitor the status of their buses and track when their students will be picked up and dropped off.
6. Video Surveillance: Video surveillance that not only monitors the students but also records the activities on the buses, and has the ability to monitor the buses remotely.
7. Gun/Weapons Detection: This is an AI enhanced system that is layered over your existing video surveillance system that notifies administrators and sends alerts when a gun or other weapons have been detected.

Just like every other aspect of school safety, the use of technology on buses requires us to understand the manual safety processes first. Once those are understood, technology increases the effectiveness and efficiency of your safety procedures. It is also important to assess your risks and needs prior to investing in safety technology for your buses. As threats to school safety evolve, so too will technology.