Technology is Changing School Buses
Technology is shifting the way school buses are used, monitored, repaired, and tracked, and most importantly, making kids safer. So, what’s in store for school bus innovation in the years to come? Let’s just say kids’ commutes are about to get a whole lot more high-tech.
Few things are riper for disruption than the classic yellow school bus. A fixture on American roads since well before the 1930s, the school bus hasn’t transformed a whole lot over the last nine decades.
That’s about to change.
School Bus Tracking Technology Takes Off
Thanks to pressure from parents and a closer eye on the bottom line, school administrators are finally starting to implement school bus tracking technology on a wide scale. Innovators in the space like U.S.-based Viafy are providing GPS-enabled hardware that’s installed directly into buses. The hardware communicates wirelessly with the school and parents to provide more transparency around scheduling, bus location, and even whether the bus arrived at a child’s stop. Bus tracking technology is the new frontier thanks to an increasingly safety-conscious populous and because schools are finally realizing that tracking their fleet and monitoring drivers will actually save them money.
Hop on The Magic (Electric) School Bus
School buses have lagged behind personal vehicles in the adoption of electric capabilities, but that’s slowly changing. Some say electric buses are the future of school transportation, running anywhere between 50-100 miles on a single charge. Why the change? The Department of Energy is handing out electric bus grants in several states, and technology is finally advanced enough to lower costs to an attainable level for districts. Some states are even offering subsidies to districts who buy electric buses to offset the higher upfront investment.
Safety Sensors Will Soon Start Saving Lives
Safety sensors in vehicles are nothing new, but they’re finally starting to see adoption within the school bus industry. Some states like New Jersey have actually mandated that all public buses eventually be outfitted with sensors, set to alarm when a child darts behind or in front of the bus, but implementation has been tricky. The technology behind sensor alarms is still being customized to suit buses, and costs to add sensors run several thousands of dollars per bus.
Improved School Bus Routing Through Technology
Inefficient school bus routes will soon be a thing of the past. New software programs are tapping into constantly-updated global maps data to help create school bus routes that save both time and money. Some offer the ability to detour known-dangerous roads, add a student drop-off or pick-up, or even relay directions to a bus driver using an app. Smart school bus technology isn’t working against all the always-connected world, it’s working with it.
Viafy is on the forefront of school bus tracking technology.
Offering both parents and schools an interactive way to track and monitor school bus activity, Viafy is the most cutting-edge solution in the industry. To find out more about how Viafy’s technology outperforms other school bus trackers, contact us today.