The school bus is one of those modes of transport that are unavoidable. They make a reasonable alternative both in the economic and environmental aspects & Ensure Safety of Children in School Buses.
The use of school buses helps ease the traffic and help students reach school in trust hands. As new technologies come into the world, there is a constant need to change and evolve our everyday transportation.
Ensure Safety of Children in School Buses
Just the driver does not define school buses. Although all school drivers are vetted and selected for the job, they are many technological advancements that can help increase the safety and assurance of the bus. If parents are putting their kids into a van, they expect top-of-the-line protection for their kids.
For example, one such resource is fleet software; these are applications that help maintain a record of the whole fleet and make the operations more efficient. This is done from a single software and costs a minimal subscription. Using such software, the school can keep track of all the buses, get service and fuel warning, manage driver roaster, and much more.
There are two levels of safety that we can consider. One of them is personal and emotional parameters; this included the right atmosphere for students and meeting health and hygiene standards. The second is technical-dependent safety; this involves the better functioning of buses and the tech that supports this.
While most buses today are practical and covered by insurance and government laws, they can always be taken to the next level. No parents or students should have to think twice before stepping into one of them. Just having a small list of these mentioned on your booking page will encourage more users towards your fleet.
Allow Bus Tracking
The best way to leverage technology to its best is by tracking. Using GPS and IoT technology, parents and students can follow the busses as they travel on the route.
This can save students the trouble of walking to the stop ahead of time. It can also help parents track their kids on the way back from school. These systems don’t just help the parents and students, but also the school management.
Plan Routes Effectively
Planing is the bases of all functional networks. By using some of the modern dispatch software available, schools can plan the routes and the fleet well-in-advance.
This helps keep the system well-oiled and saves a lot of time and effort. One every detail is planned to the key; it also ensures lesser fuel is consumed, drives are not in the dark, and the parents are aware.
Bus Surveillance
Using surveillance systems and dash camera can go a long way in enforcing a sense of confidence. These can be used to check on students in real-time, as well as keep a record of any incidences that might break-out on the bus.
It can also help to monitor the behaviour of the driver. In the case of an insurance claim, these cameras also footage work as evidence and owning these also reduce insurance costs.
Digital Slot Booking
Technology can also improve the process of claiming a seat on the bus or booking a spot on a new route. This helps the driver find the exact location of the pickup, based on the slot reserved.
The school fleet management will also learn information about student bookings to help plan routes better. If any student decided to discontinue the bus service, it could save the driver the effort through a simple notification.
Driving Assistance
Using speed governors, obstacles detectors, and GPS systems — the driver can be assisted for better driving.
While most of the process depends on the experience of the driver, we can use technology to make life a little easier. Simple additions like reversing camera, stop-request buttons, etc. will help the driver make more effect trips without fatigue.
Automated Entry Systems
To ensure that the only people entering a school bus are children and authorized personal, we can use scanning hardware and RFID cards. By such a system, the safety of the children can be guaranteed.
It can also help in marketing an attendance. In a situation such as this one, the doors will only open to those with pre-approved access cards or scans.
SOS buttons
A common feature in cabs today is a great way to enhance safety. These are simple IoT devices that trigger a warning to the school and the emergency services if they are hit.
In case of any distress, the children can hit the button that will send a message to a designated person. This will promote faster action for uncertain situations.
Conclusion | Ensure Safety of Children in School Buses
Some parents might be concerned about the safety and security of these technological add-ons.
For example, there is often a fear that cameras could get hacked, or the essential information could be compromised from a database. These are factors that do not come in the way if we are using tech from a reliable and trusted service. They come with many levels of firewalls and encryption.
If you are a school or a fleet owner, you might be worried about the added cost from these add-ons. The truth is that in the long run, they give you the maximum return on investment.
Having top-of-the-line tech will increase trust in the user and, in turn, grow business. Additionally, with fleet management systems, you will be saving on fuel costs and labour costs with the help of computer-generated calculations.
We often fail to understand the level of support the right technology can give to an existing system. With the many innovations happening around us, it is to adapt to the times.
These applications and hardware are brought to the world to make our lives more comfortable, and they do just that. Additionally, reduce costs and make the workforce highly efficient.