Huron Valley School District equips buses with new software for safer commute
HIGHLAND, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) — As the start of the school year approaches, an Oakland County school district is stepping up its safety measures when students ride the bus.
"In any spot in this path I can see how fast the driver was driving," said Supervisor of Transportation Belinda Tallent.
It's called "Bus Right," an app that will be installed on all school buses in the Huron Valley School District beginning this year.
"All of them have a GPS on them so when they're on the road, I can see their positions exactly with a less than three-second delay. So, on my computer screen, I know where all the buses are all the time," said Tallent.
The software shows buses in real-time.
"Another really nice feature about this software is that we're able to see where buses were, where they've been when they stopped," Tallent said.
A district driver for nine years, Corinne Springer is looking forward to having a tablet with turn-by-turn directions instead of having to juggle all the paperwork for her routes.
"It will be helpful to have the information all in one spot, but for those brand-new drivers that are new to the district that have no idea where they're going, where all these back roads are, it's going to be a lot easier for them. It's going to keep everything in one place so all the information about the students, their addresses, their information, their grade levels, their names," Springer said.
This is a game changer for bus drivers, the district, and families. Soon, parents like Ben Duby will be able to download a separate app to monitor their child's bus.
"There's absolutely some peace of mind. When I heard about this, I said great, I can check the map and see where the bus is, and I can make sure the kids actually get to the stop on time," said Duby.
Technology is creating an all-around safer commute to and from school.
"When we've watched in the past drivers had to use paper directions to read while they're trying to drive a 40-foot vehicle with 70 kids behind them, it just does not feel great. Now, with this tablet and them being able to get their hands on the wheel and listen to the directions, it's just the level of safety that we see as just huge," Tallent stated.
The district says the app specifically for parents will be tested in a few weeks. If all goes well, that app will be available real soon.