All buses equipped with tracking devicesSatellite system eases concerns of parents
By Lois K. Solomon Education Writer
Posted July 31 2005
A new satellite system will help answer a question frequently asked by parents: Why isn't my child home yet?All 600 of the Palm Beach County School District's everyday buses were equipped this summer with global positioning systems that can track where a bus is at any moment and pinpoint where it stopped earlier in the day. Only 200 buses carried the computers last year....
In Palm Beach County, some bus drivers have been grumbling, too, driver Ethleen B. Page said. But Page, whose bus had GPS last year, said the system makes her feel more secure. "What if I got in an accident or something happened and I couldn't talk," she said. "They're paying me. I have nothing to hide."..
Full article here:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/sfl-pbts05busingjul31,0,5874469.story?coll=sfla-news-education
Well, here's some good news for the day. Again, one of the minorities of school districts led by folks who have decided to give the tax payer value for the money and government benefits they receive.
How much did it cost? About $500K according to the article. A lot of money? yes, but, used properly they can easily recover that money in as little as a year ... all the while enhancing their primary duty of protecting the students in their care.
Dave, how will they save money you might ask? Good question. Here's several proven ways:
Driver hours. No more wondering, falsified, or just plain errored time sheets. No more manual transcribing and consequent arithmetical and penmanship errors. Dozens of man hours per week saved there, alone.
Route compliance: They will know that the drivers are running their routes in the most efficient way ... many school districts face the problem that drivers often decide to do things 'their' way and the divergence from plans cost money.
Speeding: The speed and location will be monitored. This saves real-world dollars as well as enhancing safety. The only comparable method in today's world is to send out supervisors to do spot checks or to ride along. Wasted gas, wasted supervisory man hours and no where near 100% coverage.
Idle Reduction: This is an oft-overlooked "biggie". Drivers without adequate supervision sometimes start their busses at the bus yard and go back for that last cup of coffee. Idling at schools is not only wasteful but is now against federal regulations. A district of this size, if unlucky, could get assessed Federal penalties equal to a large fraction of the cost of the whole system in a year. In addition, the idling regs a schools we put in place for a very good reason ... idling bus exhaust drawn into schools ventilating systems is a primary cancer causing pollutant. Makes no sense at all to try to keep children off cigarettes and then gas them in their seats.
As a sideline, it appears that parents will be able to access the system on their own to check on student's homeward progress. An often overlooked cost recovery method is to assess those parents who want to use the system a nominal charge .. totally optional, pay and use or don't pay and don't use.
There are many more ways to save with GPS and I applaud Palm Beach County for taking initiative and being wise stewards of the funds they are entrusted with.
DISCLAIMER: As regular readers know, I sell and consult on this technology for a living. I have no connection with this effort by Palm beach, in fact it appears they are using one of my competitor's products, but that by no means diminishes their efforts. I'm happy to discuss this and other forward-thinking efforts any time.
In Palm Beach County, some bus drivers have been grumbling, too, driver Ethleen B. Page said. But Page, whose bus had GPS last year, said the system makes her feel more secure. "What if I got in an accident or something happened and I couldn't talk," she said. "They're paying me. I have nothing to hide."..
Full article here:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/sfl-pbts05busingjul31,0,5874469.story?coll=sfla-news-education
Well, here's some good news for the day. Again, one of the minorities of school districts led by folks who have decided to give the tax payer value for the money and government benefits they receive.
How much did it cost? About $500K according to the article. A lot of money? yes, but, used properly they can easily recover that money in as little as a year ... all the while enhancing their primary duty of protecting the students in their care.
Dave, how will they save money you might ask? Good question. Here's several proven ways:
Driver hours. No more wondering, falsified, or just plain errored time sheets. No more manual transcribing and consequent arithmetical and penmanship errors. Dozens of man hours per week saved there, alone.
Route compliance: They will know that the drivers are running their routes in the most efficient way ... many school districts face the problem that drivers often decide to do things 'their' way and the divergence from plans cost money.
Speeding: The speed and location will be monitored. This saves real-world dollars as well as enhancing safety. The only comparable method in today's world is to send out supervisors to do spot checks or to ride along. Wasted gas, wasted supervisory man hours and no where near 100% coverage.
Idle Reduction: This is an oft-overlooked "biggie". Drivers without adequate supervision sometimes start their busses at the bus yard and go back for that last cup of coffee. Idling at schools is not only wasteful but is now against federal regulations. A district of this size, if unlucky, could get assessed Federal penalties equal to a large fraction of the cost of the whole system in a year. In addition, the idling regs a schools we put in place for a very good reason ... idling bus exhaust drawn into schools ventilating systems is a primary cancer causing pollutant. Makes no sense at all to try to keep children off cigarettes and then gas them in their seats.
As a sideline, it appears that parents will be able to access the system on their own to check on student's homeward progress. An often overlooked cost recovery method is to assess those parents who want to use the system a nominal charge .. totally optional, pay and use or don't pay and don't use.
There are many more ways to save with GPS and I applaud Palm Beach County for taking initiative and being wise stewards of the funds they are entrusted with.
DISCLAIMER: As regular readers know, I sell and consult on this technology for a living. I have no connection with this effort by Palm beach, in fact it appears they are using one of my competitor's products, but that by no means diminishes their efforts. I'm happy to discuss this and other forward-thinking efforts any time.
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