School Bus Fleet, September 2015

22 SCHOOL BUS FLEET SEPTEMBER 2015 with parents and district officials bus safety features and safety training requirements for school bus drivers in an event at Suffolks training center in Bay Shore New York School board members and PTA members were taken through five separate school bus stations each focusing on a different aspect of safe pupil transportation Event organizers showed attendees school buses and vans how the Child Check Mate system works aspects of the physical performance testing and the steps it takes to become a school bus driver or monitor They also explained the reasons for some safety practices such as why bus drivers stop 10 feet away from the stop When we explain procedures and show them some of the technology we use to enhance safety theyre fascinated Mori says Greater Albany Public Schools is getting in front of parents at events to transition as smoothly as possible as Oregon schools start switching from half day to full day kindergarten a requirement passed by state legislators in 2011 After communicating the change through the school newsletter the transportation department offered to visit elementary schools on their kindergarten day when the students and parents meet the teachers with handouts on bus safety rules and coloring books and to talk with parents and students says Kim Crabtree director of transportation at Greater Albany Public Schools The transition will change drop offs for kindergartners from nearly door to door service to group stops since they will now be on the buses in the afternoon ending their school day with the other elementary school students Because of that transportation department staff members will talk with parents and students about safely waiting at a stop when and where the bus will drop off students and that for the first two weeks students will have lanyards with their stop location and assistance from bus monitors The first two weeks are pretty hands on but parents of kindergartners dont necessarily know were doing that Crabtree says Provide access to data Many apps are now available from companies such as Seon Synovia Solutions Zonar and SafeStop to help school transportation providers with GPS on their buses keep parents in the loop on buses running late route changes and other updates We can use GPS data thats already available analyze it in real time and give parents information that beforehand had only been available to transportation professionals says Patrick Gallagher director of sales for SafeStop Inc The SafeStop app updates every 30 seconds with a bus location on a map and its estimated arrival time as well as instantaneous real time alerts from the school district on delays or bus maintenance issues The app can be activated any day of the year not just right before school starts with some school districts scheduling October November and January releases Gallagher adds Sharing the information with parents not only gives them peace of mind but the convenience of being able to plan Gallagher says We found that parents dont necessarily mind if the bus is five minutes late they just want to know so they can plan around it Campbell Hall in North Hollywood California a school that contracts its bus service with Mission School Transportation launched the SafeStop app in January and immediately saw the calls from parents about bus arrival times drop significantly says Katie Jesensky scheduling and services manager at the school Now calls about bus locations and times usually only come from parents who have not downloaded the app Jesensky re sends them information on how to download and use it She also sends an email to every students parents about bus and route changes just in case they are not using the app Present clear ground rules In 2014 Danville Va Public Schools launched a new conduct policy for its COMMUNICATION Greater Albany Public Schools transportation staff talk to parents at events as Oregon schools start switching from half day to full day kindergarten Shown here are a student and a driver trainer at an event held over the summer that let students and parents see the school bus Apps including SafeStop help school transportation providers with GPS on their buses keep parents in the loop on buses running late route changes and other updates alleviating concerns and cutting down on phone calls