March 2015 - trackschoolbus

Things You Should Know Before Buying a School Bus

Posted on March 30, 2015 by TSB Super Admin

Is your school planning to buy a new school bus this year? If yes, here is some information which will help you to make a good choice.

Types of School Buses

a. Conventional buses

These are the bus models that school bus drivers are more comfortable with. Also, mechanics find it easy to work on. The front wheels of conventional buses are in front of the driver, and the engine compartment and hood are in front of the windshield.

b. Transit style buses

These bus models are becoming popular these days. They have a wheelbase of the same length as conventional buses with a larger seating capacity. Transit style school buses can also be made on shorter wheelbases.

There are 2 types of transit style school transportation:

(i) Rear engine buses

(ii) Front engine buses

Rear engine buses are more expensive but can clear any entrance way, without any obstructions. Drivers find the bus comfortable as they do not have to experience engine heat and noise. But, unlike other buses, the emergency door is not on the rear of the bus but on its sides. This will affect the seating capacity.

Ensure the following:

1. Relevant Laws: Check for laws to buy a new school bus or a used one in your country before purchasing it to avoid risks in future. It is necessary to ensure that you have cleared all formalities as a part of the final step to buying your school transportation.

2. Engine Condition: In case you are planning to buy a used school bus, the most important part you have to give attention to is the engine. You have to make sure that the engine is in working condition before deciding on buying your school bus transport. Finding about the usage of the bus in the past is a laborious task. But, it is always best to have details of actual mileage and the service history.

Generally old buses may not have had their engines replaced before they are put for sale. In case the bus you are looking for has had its engine replaced, ask the owner for the documentation.

Also, choose the engine according to the terrain you are expecting the bus to ride on. Generally, all buses may have been built to meet the standard needs. But, sometimes, you may need a more powerful engine. A larger engine does not have to work hard and therefore, lasts longer compared to a smaller engine, which works at its maximum capacity. With increase in engine size, there is a chance of increase in design capacity in transmission. You can ask the manufacture to match the design capacity in transmission.

3. Proper Documentation: This can help you determine the time frame when the engine was replaced, thereby helping you to calculate its future life. You must ask for all necessary documentation before inheriting the vehicle to reduce the risk related to the purchase.

4. Quality Body Parts: School bus safety is important and therefore, you must check every part of the school bus thoroughly before purchasing it. The body of the school bus is to what you have to have to observe closely. Ensure that the school bus is devoid of any rust or corrosion and that the steps are secure and that it has a solid floor. This can also help to determine the longetivity of the bus.

4. Safety Equipments: Another important fact you have to keep in mind is the installation of safety equipments in your school bus transportation to ensure school bus safety. Ensure that it comes with working air bags and anti-lock brakes. Since the passengers are students, it is important to give extra care to them and. Therefore, you can have a school bus tracker installed so that the location of the school bus can be traced and communication with the driver is possible. Also, it can help you to monitor the performance of the driver and fuel usage. This can help you save lots of money as well.

5. Seek the Help of an Expert: Finally, have the vehicle checked with an experienced mechanic to see whether it is in working condition before finalizing the purchase. The mechanic can reveal if there is any problem with the engine, brakes or any other parts.

The Risks

Buying used school buses can be lot cheaper but it is an equally risky affair. Things may go wrong; for example, the warranty might have expired and finding the parts will not be easy as manufacturers may have stopped manufacturing them. But, checking the vehicle history and condition and performing a proper maintenance can control the risks to some extent.

12 Reasons Why You Should Be Using School Bus GPS Tracking

Posted on March 27, 2015 by TSB Super Admin

The safety and convenience provided by school buses are quite rare. Fatalities caused by other automobiles are eight times higher compared to school buses.

There are a lot of factors that contribute to the safety of school buses. It’s shocking to know that, a child gets kidnapped or goes missing every 40 seconds. What are we waiting for? Let’s start with a splendid modern day technology that can ensure student safety.

Here are 12 awesome reasons why you should rely on GPS School bus Tracking System:

1. Safety At Its Best– Yes, it is. Ensuring security is a responsibility. Students often wait in bus stops, exposed to various dangers. The external dangers, bad weather and dangerous situations can be avoided with GPS. Notifying parents about the actual arrival time of the school bus minimizes the time children have to wait at the bus stop. It can be used 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

2. Time– Avoid planning routes manually with GPS tracking system. The information is automatically collected and reported reduces errors, and does the better planing. With GPS tracking systems, time and energy can be saved.

3. Regular Monitoring– Regular monitoring of the school bus can avoid delay. While the most comfortable route is granted by the GPS tracking system, noting the flaws and working on it can gain the confidence of parents. RFID monitors the children without fail. Parents can be clear the location of their children without much effort.

4. Better Maintenance– Allow better maintenance with GPS tracking system on school buses. Accurate mileage calculation and speed limit management are possible with GPS tracking system. Know in advance about the bus service date and eliminate unwanted tension about remembering the maintenance of the bus. Battery recovery is available with accurate mileage calculation- another cost-saving method.

5. Environmental Accountability– The news is not something new to our generation. Air pollution has increased to a great extent due to our lifestyle. There are certain responsibilities towards our environment. GPS helps to optimize routing and track engine idling for minimizing the impact of a school bus on the environment. Reduce the emission of pollution and help the environment to stay green. Gift a better planet to the future.

6. Compact Yet Confident– Though the system provides a lot of services, it occupies only a little space. A typical GPS system is similar in dimensions to a mobile phone. The functioning of the whole system is simple. No space for complications. The RFID tags used to identify individual students are so small that they are used with the ID cards of students.

7. Cost-Savings– Reducing the cost is saving it. With GPS, more money can be saved. Operating the vehicle carefully can save a lot of maintenance expense and observing the speed limit and other safety measures can encourage parents to admit their children in school bus resulting in more profit for the department of transportation in school. By monitoring driving patterns, school authorities can control unnecessary expenses. GPS tracking systems are considered as anti-theft devices by most insurance companies. Insurance premium savings is an added advantage.

8. Monitoring Fuel Cost– School bus fleet managers can monitor and manage fuel cost of school buses by maintaining a track record of the routes and mileage that drivers take. Fleet managers can also ensure that the drivers are doing their work efficiently or not such as driving, staying on their scheduled routes and speed limits.

9. Tracking Driving Behaviour of Bus Driver– Fleet managers can keep the record regarding their driver’s behaviour with GPS fleet tracking. The device is capable enough to keep track of driving behaviours and patterns such as unnecessary speeding, hard braking, etc. It not only enhances the safety of passenger but also reduces costs.

10. Attendance Management– In most of the cases, these school bus tracking solutions also includes RFID tracking which helps to track students inside the school premises and also manage the school attendance system automatically. The RFID tracking provides precise attendance report. With this, parents receive alert messages if their kids go out during the school hours. Not only this much, school authorities also receive notification if any student is missing in class or enters any restricted areas.

11. Scheduling– School authorities and teachers can make effective and amazing schedules for their students if they would they come to know when the school bus will arrive and depart. This results in time management.

12. Enhances Bus Driver Accountability– Parents tend to be always careful about who is taking care of their children outside the home such as babysitters, teachers etc. But what about school bus drivers? This GPS tracking solution helps to monitor the activities of these drivers which results in ensuring the student safety.

Are Our School Buses Safe Enough?

Posted on March 25, 2015 by TSB Super Admin

Are Our School Buses Safe Enough?

The statistics do not say so!

One of the recent school bus accidents that took place in India was that of a train colliding with a school bus in Telangana in July 2014. Twenty five students were killed in the mishap. While some blame the railway authorities for the unmanned railway crossing, over speeding and negligence by the bus driver cannot be ignored.

This is just one of the very large numbers of school bus accidents happening in the country every year. It is a fact that about 41% of all children who die in transport accidents every year are from India. It has also been reported that more than 70 children were dead and many more injured as a result of school bus accidents since January 2013.

School bus accidents and mishaps happen around the world. For instance, it was just few months ago that a four year old girl was suffocated to death in her school van in UAE. Unfortunately, the child had fallen asleep in the bus and the driver, without knowing that, had locked the van from outside. This was not the first time it happened. There were about 5 similar cases reported in UAE in the past 10 years.

Children are the future of our country and they don’t deserve to die at a tender age. Only if the school authorities could be a little more careful!

What has been done so far?

With a rise in accidents involving school buses, there have been rules made on school bus management by the concerned authorities in India to assure safety and secure ride for the students and for parents to let out a sigh of relief:

Installation of CCTV in school premises are made compulsory. The footage of the CCTV must be kept for 60 days and must be handed over to the police in case of any investigation purpose. 500 school bus cameras have been installed by the Bangalore Metropolitan Corporation. GPS has been declared compulsory by Central Board of Secondary Education.

School bus drivers are restricted to have interaction with students beyond a limit in school bus and socializing with students is also limited.

Entering school grounds are restricted to authorized people. Any person suspicious entering the school premises will be reported without fail.

ID cards are issued to parents, which must be bought while picking up their children. If they cannot come for picking up their children, an SMS must be send authorizing another person to pick them up.

In the early part of 2015, CBSE had taken an appreciable step to strengthen the security system and to ensure the safety of students. CBSE has made it mandatory for all school buses to have GPS installed in them. This helps the school authorities to track the location of the school bus and to take immediate actions in case of unscheduled bus stops. Previously, CBSE had made speed governors mandatory in school buses to prevent over speeding but only few schools obliged.

Schools should ensure that all rules and regulations in order to provide a safe journey for students are strictly followed. Use of School Bus Tracking Software can help parents and school authorities to keep an eye on school buses and about the performance of the driver can ensure school bus safety and avoid such incidents from repeating.

What can be done?

School bus incidents always end with a condolence note by the authorities and the announcement of compensation, nothing further. Most of the school bus related incidents happen due to the negligence of the school bus drivers or school authorities. Therefore, turning a blind eye towards the avoidable incidents is only going to affect the reputation of the school and hence it’s necessary to start thinking of solutions to prevent school bus incidents.

a) Make sure that parents accompany younger students to the bus stop

b) Ensure that the students board and alight from the bus only after the bus comes to a complete stop

c) Assign an employee in every bus to monitor the students and to ensure that no student had been left behind in the bus once it reaches the destination

d) Verify previous records of school bus drivers before hiring them

e) Device systems such as CCTV cameras and GPS systems should be installed in school buses to monitor the performance of school bus drivers and to ensure the safety of students

f) Train students to remain seated in the school bus throughout the journey to school or on the way back home

g) Conduct seminars or classes to school bus staff at least once every year to instil safe driving practices in them

Are these enough or do you think more measures can be taken? Please share your comments with us.

Never Miss Your School Bus Again (Video)

Posted on March 18, 2015 by TSB Super Admin

Never Miss Your School Bus Again

As a parent, realizing your child missed the school bus would be one of your biggest horrors, especially in the evening. It’s a dangerous world, and your fears are totally justified. But, more often than not, your child would have missed the bus simply because she failed to notice the school bus leaving.

As a concerned parent, you start thinking. “Isn’t there any way to notify me immediately in case my child misses the bus?” Today’s ever growing technology should be able to find a solution for this one small thing to ensure student safety, right?

Yes, certainly.

GPS Technology!

It was initially developed for military purposes and later became popular through smartphones.

There are 24 GPS satellites circling the earth at any point of time. These satellites help in locating positions with mind blowing precision with the help of RFID tags. The RFID tags would be part of the student ID card which makes it easy to identify individual students.

You can take a look at the video and see what impact a school bus tracking device can have on student safety.

Once a student is identified, various activities of the students such as boarding the school bus, leaving the school bus etc are sent as notifications to smartphones in the parents hands.Smartphones play an integral part in getting the best out of this technology. As people carry smartphones everywhere 24/7, it is easy for schools to reach parents.

Different types of GPS tracking systems are now available on the market. Some are stand alone systems while others come as part of systems that already exist such as the school ERP.

The Rising Popularity of GPS Trackers

This technology has become so popular and effective that in November 2014, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced that it is mandatory to install GPS in school buses across the country.

In fact, the atrocious amount of road accidents and other incidents happening every year in India has made GPS tracking systems a necessity for several states.

It’s not just in population that our country is close to China. Each passing hour, 13 people die in road accidents on an average in India. With 1, 30,000 fatalities on road, India have overtaken China as the country with most annual road accidents.

So announcements such as the one recently by Maharashtra Transport minister (GPS trackers are to be made mandatory for taxis and autorickshaws across the state), are not surprising.

GPS Isn’t Just About Identifying Location

GPS technology aids in improving safety not just by providing location information to parents and teachers. It also helps schools to continuously monitor school buses, keeping a tab on speed, traffic, unscheduled stops and more.

By monitoring driving patterns, schools will be able to notice issues such as rash driving. This helps them to take necessary actions on time.

There were a couple of incidents where the school bus was hijacked. Police were easily able to track down the bus and rescue students thanks to GPS tracking device installed in the buses.

Benefits to Schools

Giving importance to student safety by means of GPS systems are advantageous to schools in other ways. For instance, they are able to measure the efficiency of their school bus fleet with the location data. Also, better safety means lesser maintenance to the fleet. All of this on the whole improves the reputation of an institution. After all, who wouldn’t want to send their child to a school with splendid safety and security systems?

Students are the future of our country, and their safety issues should be dealt with utmost seriousness. Let’s hope that technologies such as GPS tracking systems will continue to evolve and provide valuable protection to them.

Why School Buses are the Safest Mode of Tranport for Students

Posted on March 16, 2015 by TSB Super Admin

Use of school buses to transport students from home to school is a century old practice and a very safe one too. From the "Kid Hacks" of the early 19th century to the "Class A" giants, the advance in safety and security has been remarkable.

With latest technologies and a number of laws, the concern of school bus accidents has been addressed effectively.

There have been minor glitches in school bus transportation over time. But technologies such as the GPS and RFID have made school buses the safest mode of transport for students.

Statistics show that they are 7 times safer than a family car, 31 times safer than walking to school and 288 times safer than cycling to school.

So what would you prefer? If all this information hasn't convinced you, there is more! It is a fact that the modern day school buses use more technologies than your average car.

Technologies That Made School Buses the Safe Mode of Transport for Kids

The use of Kid Hacks to carry children from home to school and back dates back to as early as the 1930s. Even though they were not a technological marvel, the idea of school kids being safely transported in a closed vehicle gave parents a sense of relief. More over it prevented the kids from walking long distances and hence keeping them fresh for school.
With a new age came new challenges. Time was crucial and the then popular carts were slow as they were drawn by horses. This led to the replacement of these horse-drawn wooden carts with automobiles. The invention of the automobile engine was a technology that sparked a huge change in the outlook of school buses.
With increase in the number of automobiles on road, the issues of road accidents were becoming a menace. This forced the school bus manufacturing companies to focus more on the safety measures on board a school bus. As part of this, the wooden vehicle body was replaced by all metal ones.
To further add to the safety, guard rails and shatter-proof glasses were used on these buses.
Followed by this, strobe lights, reflective strips and even seat belts were introduced.
Safety was the primary concern when technologies such as speed monitors and CCTV cameras were brought into the school buses. This made monitoring the driver and his driving habits very easy.
The next big technological advancement came in the form of school bus GPS tracking systems and Wi-Fi enabled buses. GPS made tracking buses and monitoring drivers even easier. The routes could be planned before a trip and made sure that the buses followed these paths. Also, documentation was made easy with real-time monitoring.
In an age where parents have very less to no time at all because of a tight work related schedule, a GPS tracker helps them keep an eye on their kids from anywhere on the planet. All they need is a hand-held mobile phone with a school bus tracking software that helps them with the tracking.

Laws Which Help Tackle Accidents

Have you ever wondered why school buses always come in yellow? The answer is quite simple. This has been made an international standard and is used so that other drivers may easily identify these buses. There are numerous similar laws in place to protect school buses from accidents. Some of them are given below.

Other vehicles must maintain a minimum distance from a school bus and must also slow down when in a school zone.
Other drivers must wait for the school buses to load and unload.
The words “School Bus” must be shown in front as well as behind the school bus.
The driver of a school bus must follow a strict code of conduct. They must drive the buses within the specified speed limits and should refrain from driving under the influence of drug or alcohol.
The drivers should also avoid making unnecessary stops.
Buses that use CCTV cameras must preserve the video footages for a span of at least 3 months.

Apart from keeping students safe, technologies have also helped in many other ways. Pollution – a major concern for the new world is controlled to some extent by bringing technology into transportation.

The use of electric or propane-based school buses has helped reduce the number of personal vehicles on the road. The above mentioned aspects can indeed prove that school buses are the safest mode of transport for students.

Top 10 School Bus Companies

Posted on March 13, 2015 by TSB Super Admin

Throughout the years, the task of making the best buses for school transportation has been handled by various companies. This article features 10 school bus companies which made a name for themselves, when it came to redefining the way we look at a school bus.

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1. Wayne Corporation

Topping our list of companies is Wayne Corporation. Though the company declared itself bankrupt and discontinued operation in 1992, the Wayne Corporation had played a vital role in the development of safe buses for school children. They were the first and foremost to introduce the concept of school buses for schools.

Their innovation predates the famous yellow coloured buses which are widely used these days. They introduced the horse drawn carts, including kid hacks, which later evolved into automobiles which used full metal body chassis.

Wayne Corporation introduced guard rails on the sides of all school buses, inboard wheelchair lifts, and even high-headroom doors. They were the first with a school bus based upon a cutaway van chassis, the Wayne Busette. This chassis design is still one of the most popular in North American markets even after more than 35 years.

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2. Blue Bird

An all time giant, the Blue Bird Corporation (formerly called Blue Bird Body Company) is clearly one of the top school bus manufacturing companies even today.Blue Bird’s corporate headquarters and main manufacturing facilities are in Georgia.

It was in 1937 that the company began production of full-steel bus bodies. This innovation would soon replace the wooden bodies which were commonly used in the United States. The yellow colour for school buses was proposed by a Blue Bird engineer in a 1939 conference and is still in use today.

3. Gillig Corporation

What began as a carriage and wagon shop in 1890 in San Francisco, California soon became a pioneer in school bus designs. In 1920, Gillig Corporation which was then called Gillig Bros. created and patented the “California Top” roof design which most of the buses use even today.

From manufacturing automobile, hearse, truck, and bus bodies, Gillig Corporation went on to become almost entirely dedicated to the production of school buses by 1957. They were also instrumental in designing the diesel-powered rear-engine transit style school bus. Gillig produced the 855-D with a passenger capacity of 97 which were the highest-capacity school bus to be ever produced.

4. Ward body Works

The company was established in 1933 in Conway, Arkansas and was well known for manufacturing bus body parts. In the 1960s, Ward School Bus Manufacturing, Inc, a subsidiary of Ward Body Works used various updates that modernized manufacturing and production.

During the 1970s, Ward became one of the largest school bus body manufacturers in the United States. They had a 25% market share in 1973. Just like most school bus manufacturing companies, the glory days of the Ward body works came to an end in the 1970s and the company filed for bankruptcy in July, 1980. An investment group assisted by the then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton were involved in purchasing the assets of Ward Industries. In 1981, Ward was officially renamed AmTran.

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5. AmTran

A successor to Ward Body Works, the AmTran or American Transport Corporation headquarters and manufacturing facilities were also located in Conway, Arkansas. In 1987, AmTran introduced an extra rub rail right below the window line.

They specialized in manufacturing of type A, C and D buses. In 1999, AmTran made plans for a new facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The company was re-branded as International, then IC in 2003 after being purchased by Navistar International in 1995.

6. IC Buses

IC specializes in school buses, shuttle buses, multi-function school activity buses (MFSABs), and commercial transit buses derived from their school bus designs. IC or Integrated Coach is the name given because the bus body, engine, chassis and are all produced within a single corporate structure.

Initially the name was IC which was later changed to IC buses in 2009. The year 2010 was marked by the launch of IC’s largest bus and also introduced its smallest one. IC buses are one of the modern giantsand have turned their attention to manufacturing rear-engine transit-style buses since January 2011.

7. Thomas Built Buses

Thomas Built Buses, Inc commonly called Thomasis an American bus manufacturer operating in High point, North Carolina. In 1936, Thomas stopped the production of its streetcars which were a trend back then and opened a new frontier in school bus manufacturing.

By the 1970s, Thomas Car Works was one of the most dominant manufacturers of school buses in North America and in 1972 the company adopted its current name Thomas Built Buses. Thomas was the first to design and manufacture its own school bus chassis for both its front and rear-engine models before any of its competition.

As the economic turmoil hit America, the company began to downscale manufacturing. In 1980, a smaller school bus on a cutaway van chassis was designed. This went on to become a popular model and is still in production.

By the end of the 20th century Thomas was one of the only three principal builders of large school buses in the United States.

Watch our Youtube video on State of the Art School Bus Safety by TrackSchoolBus

8. Carpenter Body Company

Though the company was founded in Mitchell, Indiana in 1919, they produced their first bus in 1923.Produced Type A, B, C, and D buses. The Company initially was known to build hauling wagons for two cement factories and gradually began building “kid hacks” that were horse drawn, with wooden benches to carry children to school.

Carpenter’s first true school bus was built wholly of wood and later on combinations of steel and wood replaced this all-wood construction. In 1935, a change was made and all-steel bodied buses were made.

Carpenter’s conventional-style school bus (the Classic) underwent body revisions in 1984 and 1986. Carpenter Body Company was one of the big 6 in the school bus manufacturing industry. But like the rest of the companies, economic meltdown affected them badly and in May 2001, Carpenter was shut down by Spartan Motors, its parent company.

9. Collins Industries

Located in Hutchinson, Kansas, the company specializes in manufacturing of Type A school buses, along with ambulances and other special-purpose vehicles. The company was founded in 1971 and by 1998 it comprised of four subsidiaries: Collins Bus Corporation, Capacity of Texas Inc, World Trans Inc. and Wheeled Coach Industries Inc.

Collins went on to purchase Mid Bus in 1998 and the assets of Canada-based manufacturer Corbeil Bus Corporation in 2007. The company has about 900 employees across three manufacturing facilities.

Collins Industries was later purchased by American Industrial Partners. In 2010, AIP combined Collins with Fleetwood Enterprises, Halcore Group, and E-One to form Allied Specialty Vehicles.

10. Wayne Wheeled Vehicles

It is a trade name given to a division of vehicle manufacturers who specializes primarily in production of school bus. In late 1992, Harsco Corporation purchased the rights to use the Wayne brand name, product rights, as well as parts and tooling during the liquidation of assets of the Wayne Corporation that took place in late 1992.

The BMY Division of Harsco operated WWV (Wayne Wheeled Vehicles) from an assembly facility at Marysville, Ohio, where military trucks were also assembled. School bus production began there in 1993 and ended in early 1995. The economic meltdown led to the close of entire operations and the property was vacated.

Do you think we have missed out on any important names? If so, please leave it in the comment section.

Top 10 School Bus Companies from TrackSchoolBus

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How GPS Tracking Can Influence a School’s Reputation

Posted on March 10, 2015 by TSB Super Admin

Parents always want their children to be admitted to the most reputed ones. Most schools put forward eye-catching curriculums, infrastructure and even hire the most technically qualified faculties each year to attract parents and children.

But is that enough?

Parents are now looking for schools that can provide more. Here comes the role of GPS tracking systems to help schools to raise their reputations to a whole new level.

A quality GPS tracking system can help schools in a number of ways. The primary reason being the additional safety and security it provides for students both on and off the campus.

From keeping track of a student’s or a school bus’ location to knowing the fuel efficiency for trips, GPS tracking systems are more than useful. They help reduce fuel consumption, thereby providing profit to schools and fleet companies.

A GPS tracking system can be used by schools to instigate confidence in parents, who are worried about their children’s safety.

But how can such a technology help build a school’s reputation?

Here it is…

1. As said before, the GPS tracking system can give complete visibility of the fleet and children. This helps the school to directly monitor the driver as well as its students. The school can check if the buses follow the routes that have been allotted to them, thereby keeping an eye on the driver.

Moreover, the drivers can also communicate with the school authority. This could come in handy in case of misbehaviour by children. A student’s discipline directly influences the reputation of a school.

The society sees him as the upholder of the ethics and virtues of the school to which he belongs to. This makes monitoring them very important.

2. It can also help schools to build their reputation among parents. This can be done by addressing the key concerns raised by them and the greatest one being student safety.

A GPS tracker along with an RFID card can help parents and schools to keep an eye on their children. The data provided is in real-time, which makes GPS highly reliable.

3. A GPS tracking system makes the school buses environment-friendly. Considerable reduction in pollution helps the school to be socially accepted as it is a service to the society.

4. It also helps build trust with the drivers. Besides tracking, a school bus tracking system helps in the documentation. It stores data such as driver work hours. This helps to maintain transparency.

Using a GPS tracking system also reduces the requirement of a dedicated resource for documentation. As the process takes place in real-time, it becomes a lot faster too.

5. It helps to track and reduce fuel costs of school bus fleets by keeping a track record of mileage and routes that driver takes. Not only this, transport managers can monitor driver’s behaviour while riding the bus and can ensure that they are on their scheduled route at the scheduled time. This will also reduce the risk of accidents.

6. This helps schools in improving scheduling for students by keeping a track of when the school bus will arrive and depart. With this school authorities can create schedules for their students more effectively. This will result in better time management.

7. Using GPS tracking technology, school authorities can maintain a detailed, efficient and accurate track record of all the essential details of school bus fleet and students. This helps the authorities to manage the school bus fleet in a well and an effective manner along with ensuring student safety.

8. With the help of GPS tracking technology, abduction of children can be avoided to an extreme level. As it is integrated with RFID cards which they have to swipe while boarding and deboarding the bus and when they swipe it, school authorities and parents will get the notification.

Not only this, both the school authorities as well as the parents track whether the bus is travelling in the scheduled route or not.

9. Implementing GPS tracking system in school buses will be a great move for every school. As in case of any emergencies such as traffic block or any mishaps in the route, school authorities will get notification which helps them to take the necessary step to tackle the issue.

10. It will help to perform regular maintenance of school bus fleets as it sends regular reports regarding fleets to concerned persons. And also helps to know if the fleet is ready to use or not.

The reports can be customized so that the transport managers can schedule the maintenance easily.

The Surprisingly Interesting History of RFID You Should Know About

Posted on March 7, 2015 by TSB Super Admin

Who would refuse an efficient and reliable way to collect and store data at affordable rates? Smart technology makes life easy and exciting. RFID is one among those inventions that has revolutionized the life style of many.

It is a fact that Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an integral part in our life. Productivity and convenience are taken to the next level by the system. RFID tags are becoming so intricately sewed into our society that an average person probably experiences it every day without realizing.

Few uses of RFID

Student tracking and enuring their safety
Tracking products
Payment of road toll
Passports
Identification of the movents of animals and humans
Library books
Shipments of materials

Fascinating history behind RFID

The invention of RFID has got a fascinating history of its own. It was not a sudden invention. The seed of RFID dates back to 1800s

1800s

Fundamental understanding about electrical energy began
1846 – Michael Faraday proposed that light and radio waves are a form of electromagnetic energy
1864 – James Clerk Maxwell published theory of electromagnetic radiation
1887 – Heinrich Rudolf Hertz was the first person to transmit and receive radio waves
1896 – Guglielmo Marconi sends first Atlantic wireless transmission

1920s

As a technology, Radar was developed in U.S
RFID which is a combination or radio broadcast was developed soon after

1930s

In order to distinguish enemy aircraft during WWII an IFF transponder, a related technology was used by Britain

1940s

RFID was invented

Refined Radar
“Communication by Means of Reflected Power” was published by Harry Stockman, exploring RFID

1950s

Full fledged research and development on RFID

In laboratories technologies related to RFID were explored
Long-range transponder systems for aircrafts were designed

1960s

R.F. Harrington studied electromagnetic theory related to RFID
Inventors began to use radio frequency technology to devices in market beyond military purpose
Electronic Article Surveillance, a simple and affordable equipment used to counter theft was developed
“1-bit tags” meant that Electronic Article Survelliance systems could detect only the presence or absence of the tag
The first and till date, most popular use of RFID technology is represented by Electronic Article Survelliance

1970s

Researchers including academic institutions, government laboratories and companies began to work hard on the development of RFID technology
Electronic toll collection, animal and vehicle tracking, and factory automation were the aim behind the hard work
The first U.S patent was received by Mario W. Cardullo on January 23, 1973 for an active RFID tag

1980s

RFID technology were implemented fully
Europe and U.S applied the RFID system in transportation, business applications and animal tracking

1990s

RFID was used widespread
Companies and consumers began to use RFID widely around the globe
RFID was used to keep traffic flowing at toll collection system in 1992 at Houston, Texas

2000s

RFID enhancement
The cost of RFID began to decline
RFID began to be used in official documents like Passports
From 2005 RFID technologies are widely used in almost all industrial

2008, the number of devices connected to the Internet exceeded the number of people on Earth

GPS Buses – A New Breed of School Transportation

Posted on March 6, 2015 by TSB Super Admin

History of School Buses

The use of school buses to transport kids from home to school dates back as early as 1827. Horse-drawn carts were designed to carry up to 25 students and were popularly called “kid hacks“. A Quaker school in London were the first to use these carts.

It was around 1886 that the U.S also started using these school buses. The company called Wayne Works were the first to promote the use of such vehicles. They went on to modify this concept to introduce an automobile chassis for the buses in 1914. As time went by, these buses evolved to become much more efficient. Eventually, they became one of the safest means of road transport for school students.

By 1927, full steel body buses came into the picture. These were considered to be the ancestors of the modern buses. Buses with passenger side windows became the trend later on and were used in models that were popularly called, the “California Tops”. These designs were to become a benchmark for the modern day buses.

Shortcomings of the Early Buses

School buses, became much safer to use in time. But if we compare them to the modern buses, the ancestors were still at a huge disadvantage.

Lack of comfort was an issue. Relative to the buses of today, the earlier ones had a serious lack of comfort. The number of students that could be capacitated was also low.
Used inefficient engines. As the automobile industry flourished throughout the 19th century, so did the quality of engine. This has helped the buses to enjoy better mileage and smoother operation.
Drivers’ comfort was also a questionable factor in these buses.
Where the buses went or if they stopped at the right bus stops could only be guessed; hence raising serious security concerns.
There was no monitoring system to guide drivers in case of a traffic block on an event such as an accident.

The Modern Mammoths

The modern buses are a treat to the eye. With loads of safety and security features, they are the safest vehicles on the road. The school buses were given their now famous yellow colour in 1939. During 1980 to 1990, reflective strips were used on the buses, so that the other drivers could identify them easily. This was followed by the use of LEDs and strobe lights. The 21st century witnessed the integration of GPS into school buses. This was a quantum leap when it came to addressing the issues of safety and security. Being a former military technology, its use in school buses has improved security remarkably.

Benefits of the Modern School Buses

GPS tracking system are installed that provides the latest updates on the buses and the kids using them. The data is transmitted in real-time and hence there is no delay in information exchange.
Technologies such as GPS, Hybrid engines and many others make school buses of the modern era, way more fuel efficient than what they used to be.
Huge reduction in pollution.
Stronger chassis, better air conditioning system, seat belts, air bags and many other features make these buses more desirable.