If authorities want students to commute to and from the school by the school bus, they must take full responsibility for the children’s safety. This is where it becomes imperative for the buses to have tracking systems. GPS technology enables fleet managers to stay updated on the real-time positions of all the buses. Geofencing takes fleet management one step further.

What is Geofencing?

A geofence is a virtual fence around a specific area. Devices connected to this geofence get notifications every time the bus enters and exits the area. It also records the amount of time spent inside and outside the area. Live tracking with geofencing lets the school and parents know where the bus is at all times and notifies them if the geofence parameters are breached. 

Benefits of Geofencing

The benefits of geofencing can be experienced by the school management as well as parents of students who travel by bus. The key benefits are:

Easier Fleet Management

Geofencing and live tracking make it easy for fleet managers to keep an eye on the entire fleet at a glance. If a bus reroutes itself and crosses the geofence, the management will be instantly alerted about the same. This makes it easy for them to take instant action towards finding out the reason for rerouting and makes their operations more efficient. 

Control Driving Speeds

Along with live location, geofencing also allows the school authorities to check the speed at which the bus is traveling. This helps the authorities identify rash drivers and maintain driver safety standards. If and when need be, authorities can schedule driver training programs to reinforce the school’s safety policy.

Makes it Easier for Schools to Ensure Children’s Safety

Parents depend on the school to know where students are at all times from the time they leave the house on the bus till the time they are dropped back. With geofencing, this task becomes much easier for schools. They can now keep track of buses along different routes and thus ensure that the students on the bus stay safe during their commute.

Simpler Scheduling of Pink Ups and Drops

With geofencing parents can get alerts when the bus has entered a particular area. This makes it easy for parents to pick-up and drop their children at the bus stand. For example, parents may choose to be notified when the bus has left the last stop and only then take their children to the bus stand. This minimizes the length of time children must wait at the bus stops.

Peace of Mind for Parents

Most importantly, geofencing gives parents of students traveling by school bus peace of mind and builds trust between them and the school authorities. They will be able to trust school authorities to know where their children are at all times and to be prepared to respond quickly to any rerouting of buses or if they make any unnecessary stops. 

Easy Accessibility

Geofences can be connected to various devices. When a school bus enters and exits a geofence alerts can be sent to the parents’ phone or to their email. This ensures that messages are not missed and parents stay in contact with the school at all times. 

To Conclude

Having students travel by school bus is convenient for parents and it makes it easier for the school to manage traffic outside its gates. To encourage parents to send their children to school by bus, schools must be able to reassure parents of their student’s safety while they commute. GPS tracking and geofencing helps schools do this without adding to the workload of fleet managers. Are your school bus routes geofenced?

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