One of the major factors affecting the quality of education and the school’s reputation is the amount of time spent by a child on the school bus. According to WHO 2018, Road traffic crashes cause up to 50 million injuries globally each year. With the increase in accidents and crime rate, parents get worried about the safety of their children during transportation. They live in a constant fear owing to the potential security threats on their children traveling to and from the school. 

Considering these safety concerns, we are now in an era where school authorities are getting well equipped with transportation system technologies. The evolution of wireless location-based services led to the requirement of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) for the school buses. 

Traditional School Bus Tracking Systems 

Traditional school bus tracking system works when a school bus is equipped with a GPS device tracker. The GPS tracking system is a navigation device to track its location and movement. It allows parents and school administration to monitor real-time location and speed of the school bus.

A GPS based tracking system ensures the safety of students and benefits in many ways such as:

• Parents have an estimated time of arrival and departure of the school bus. 
• Improved goodwill of the schools.
• Increased safety of the students as well as of the drivers. 
• Reduced wait time at the bus stop.
• Bus speed and route monitoring.

However, there are still some loopholes in the traditional way of tracking school buses. What if a student never boarded the bus? What if the driver is drunk? What if your child missed the bus? 

Enhanced School Bus Tracking System

Technological advancements and the recent emergence of Internet of Things (IoT), has come up with a solution that ensures complete visibility. While traditional GPS based data confirms the movement and location of the school bus, IoT empowers this system by tracking the child’s location, attendance, and movement. 

The IoT-based system allows school administration and parents to track safety and conditions in real-time inside a school bus. It makes the traditional tracking system more secure, reliable and efficient in operation. The modern school bus tracking system binds GPS, GMS and RFID technologies together to bring more transparency in operations. 

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)

Maintaining attendance of every child in a school bus can be a tedious and unreliable process. However, RFID can help in tracking the attendance of a child rapidly and effortlessly. RFID tracking technology comes with a unique RFID tag for each child. When an RFID tag is placed before an RFID reader, it senses the information and sends to parents using GSM. 

The RFID technology along with GPS and GSM helps in tracking student’s attendance on the bus, their pickup and drop time and their absence. The system effectively reduces the concerns that the parents have about their ward’s exact location. Furthermore, it enables school bus operators to effectively utilize and plan their bus routes. The RFID vehicle management system even tracks if the instances of speeding or rash driving take place. 

Video Surveillance in School Buses 

Video surveillance has now been mandated by CBSE in school buses. Cameras help in monitoring student’s and driver’s behavior at all times. There are often situations or fights between kids where keeping a track record of all the activities becomes necessary. In addition, video surveillance ensures the safety of all the students to and from

school. 

Not to mention, cloud services allow parents to keep track of all the activities of their wards on their mobile phone with the help of an app. 

Conclusion

Nowadays, smart education is not just a theory or a trend but a necessity to bring more transparency in school operations. IoT technologies in combination with GPS and GMS are making this a reality. If you haven’t backed up your school transportation system with these enhanced bus tracking solutions, then it’s time for you to give yourself and others peace of mind. Get started by scheduling a free demo for Yellow.live, a modern school bus tracking system leveraging IoT technologies.

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