Month: September 2017

How to Choose the Right Seat for Student Passengers?

Posted on by TSB Super Admin

 

Without doubt, the safety offered by a school bus to school students cannot be compensated by any other means of transportation. But we can definitely increase the safety features of school buses by equipping them with a GPS Tracking System (which may provide students with RFID cards) and other safety measures.

Staying seated on the school bus ensures safety. The less a bus driver is distracted, the more will he concentrate on driving. Shifting seats inside the bus and moving away from the seats can cause injury to the students. Seats of the bus are arranged to make the journey safe.

There are certain tips to keep in mind while choosing the right school bus seat of the bus. Safety should be the prime consideration inside the school bus. A typical school bus consists of seats with 39 inches wide and with maximum seating capacity of 3.

Wait for the bus in the safest place. Get in to the bus without rushing forming a queue. Hold the hand rail of the bus, while getting inside the bus. Choose the right school bus seat inside the bus.

Tips to choose the right seats revealed;

“When you make a choice, you change the future.” ― Deepak Chopra

It is important to have a clear idea about, how the students should be seated. Reserving permanent seats for students is an effective method of reducing the rush inside the school bus.

It’s better to finalize the seats according to the route of the bus. Those who board the bus early and leave late can be given the last seats. Students who board the bus late and leaves early can be given front seats. Authorities must take special consideration while choosing seats for students. If any student finds the allotted seat uncomfortable, there should be a facility to report it.

The bus is generally divided in to three parts;

  • The front is calm but there can be noise from the engine
  • Middle is half noisy and half silent
  • The back is bumpy, without any noise of the engine

Step 1

The allotted seats should be carefully noted by the children. Make sure that you be seated in the right seat. No exchanging of seats should be allowed. If there is any uncomfortable situation, it can be reported to the bus supervisor.

Step 2

After finding the most comfortable seat for each student, make sure that no other student is reserved for that seat. Seat number can be allotted to children in order to eliminate confusion.

Step 3

If there happens a collision of seat, there should be a second option. A bus supervisor can help with the seating arrangement of the children.

Step 4

Divide between children who want to sit by the left windows or the right windows. Bags and other parcels must be kept in the lap of the students. Throwing anything out of the bus is dangerous, children must never do that.

Step 5

After picking the most convenient seat, enjoy peaceful ride. Do not move away from the seat or exchange seats, while the bus is moving. Children should not eat or drink anything in the bus. After entering the bus, children must be seated properly, facing forward. Avoid putting hands and head outside the bus.

Step 6

Never allow annoying people to sit next to you. It is better to make sure that a known person sits next to you. Making noise and fighting inside the bus is strictly prohibited. Always remember children misbehaving inside the bus can loose the privilege of travelling in the school bus

Safety message about the “danger zone”;

  • If you can touch the school bus, you are standing too close
  • Step out of the danger zone with 10 giant steps
  • Make sure, you can see the driver and the driver can see as well
  • Never stop to pick up anything dropped in the danger zone, ask an adult or driver for help

Ironically, assigning a particular seat for each school bus student is the best means to handle mischievous children. Also, appropriate seating for students can simplify your task by saving your valuable time.

Should Parents Pay for School Buses?

Posted on by TSB Super Admin

 

Most modern day working parents depend a lot on school buses to transport their children safely to and from schools. More often than not, they are also happy to pay a reasonable amount for their children’s safety. But, at a time when a parent pay various fee to schools, is it necessary for them to pay separately for school buses, or should schools take up the responsibility?

The cost of living of various cities and districts across the globe is registering a constant rise. Trickling down to the costs that need to be incurred by parents to educate their wards, the caregiver fraternity is also experiencing a pinch to their pockets. Typically coming in the form of paying for school bus transportation, this would be an additional burden on parents when they are troubled with unreasonable school bus fees. 

And if you are a parent, you will have to allocate an additional amount every month just to transport your child to and from school. Imagine a situation when you as the head of a family of four members have to pay for the school bus charges of two kids. Wouldn’t this be an additional drain to your monthly income? Surely! This is definitely a matter of financial concern to parents with kids who are still pursuing their kindergarten, primary and secondary education. 

The concept behind “free education”

Let’s take the example of public schools in the United States. They are governed by the rule of providing free education to students. This advantage to parents comes through taxation funds that are used completely or partially by educational institutions which come under the umbrella of state or local governments. 

Till such time their wards pass out with a post-secondary education certificate, parents who opt for public school education are spared of the tuition fees. In this scenario, paying the school bus fees can be a matter of debate between schools and parents.

The Story Behind the “Pay to Ride School Bus” Motto 

Falling short of taxation funds that the government gets through taxes from the common man, schools in many districts are extracting funds under the head of “school busing costs”. Troubled by insufficient budgets schools are currently facing, cost-cutting comes as the last resort to school authorities to fill the deficit. 

And the segment which took the beating is the school bus transportation department. Drifting away from the service of free transportation to students who lived far away from school or those that could not walk down to their school, school buses became a paid service; much to the dissatisfaction of parents and students as well. 

All in an attempt to compensate for the free services of books and public school education, schools are contemplating to fix a price tag to transportation as part of the school bus cost per student. With an increase in the class room strength coupled with the salaries of teachers, a township school was reported to offer a transportation discount to the sibling of a student already studying in the same school. While the elder child was asked to pay an annual school bus fee of $475, his/her younger sibling would be offered a discount of about $70, with $405 as the transportation cost that will be included in the school fees collection format in excel.

Another scenario that was unveiled by schools was to opt for a monthly payment of school bus fees in contrast to the annual payment schedule. Roping in students who can benefit from the “free and subsidized lunch program”, a school in Texas came up with a discounted school bus fee for the second child. But this benefit comes with a caveat. It is only when students produced their identification cards which have the details of their timely fee payments that they will be allowed to avail the school bus ride services. 

Arguments of Parents Debating the Pricey School Bus Rides 

Given the free education that is imparted by public schools across the United States, an important question “Should parents pay for school buses?” comes to the fore. When parents are finding it difficult to match the rising costs, this transportation cost definitely pinches their pockets. As retaliation, there were arguments of concern against the move of paid school bus services. 

Here are some of them. 

  • Parents argued that they would have opted for a home closer to school rather than pay the hefty school bus fee. 
  • Children who walk to school are vulnerable when they cannot handle an exigency. Schools which do not employ crossing guards or those which are devoid of sidewalks pose serious risks to students. 
  • Traffic concerns will crop up when more and more families will opt for private vehicles rather than enroll for a school bus service. And with rising traffic comes the additional burden of hiring traffic administrators to control the same. Isn’t this a financial burden on the state authorities that will outweigh the cost of offering free transportation to students? Undoubtedly, it is! 
  • Time is money! When you as a parent will shy away from enrolling your kids to daily school bus rides, you will have to stay at the wheel for nothing less than 30 to 45 minutes. Losing out on your productive time, you will also have to incur fuel costs. While both these factors bring down your revenue, the state eventually will face the brunt with a weaker tax base. 
  • Low income families are the worst hit when a school fees card samplementions the amount of school bus fee as part of their monthly expenditure. Majorly impacting families which are bogged down by financial constraints, aren’t they at a loss when they have to think twice to get their wards educated? 
  • In what way is the public school concept of free education benefiting them? Is the state doing all that it can to meet the “Right to Education” objective? 
  • Tagged as a service, a school bus ride should come as a freebie to students. And when a price tag is attached to such a noble service, the state is defaulting in its long-term intention of creating a citizen-friendly form of governance. 
  • Families will begin to relocate themselves to different school districts governed by a parent-friendly administration. 

The Purse-Friendly Alternatives to Expensive School Bus Rides 

In keeping with the above mentioned concerns about school bus transportation costs, here is a list of budget-friendly options that can be employed by you to balance your income and expenditure. 

  • Patronizing metropolitan buses to transport your wards to and from school 
  • The use of commuter trains 
  • Choosing a school connected by subways 
  • Carpooling is another alternative to cut down on fuel expenses. You can also save time. 
  • Last but not the least, you can make the most of walking your kids to school or to get your ward a bicycle. These two come in as cheap and best alternatives to the rising school bus costs that will be included as part of your annual expenditure of tending to your family. 

Final Words

While the benefit of “free education” is an attraction to parents whose kids are enrolled into public schools, the rising daily school bus ride costs is an issue that needs to be addressed. Setting aside dollars to fend for school transportation costs will mean a sad yet true scenario when you as a parent are forced to decide between a healthy meal and a safe school bus ride for your kids. 

5 Common Questions on School Bus Security Cameras

Posted on by TSB Super Admin

 

It is common view that modern day technological innovations bring in better control, safety and a number of questions to end-users. So, when implementing something like school bus security cameras, it’s natural for users to have lots of questions.

We have shortlisted the 4 most common and relevant questions and answered them here. If you have more questions, you can let us know in the comment section.  

1. What can school bus cameras see? 

First and foremost, questioning the purpose of a school bus camera helps you spot the many uses of these advanced watchful devices. Cameras fitted inside the school bus help the driver in more ways than one. While concentrating on the road ahead, he can steer clear of accidents. Recordings of the activities inside the moving bus can be helpful in spotting errant students along with attaching documentary evidence to an unforeseen event. Providing the driver an additional “eye-behind-him”, he can be vigilant towards the bad behavior of students.

The ability to freeze images and report the same to the law-making authorities and parents brings in much-needed support to the claims of the school or the driver when an accident occurs. Information is strength. And this comes in the form of cameras keeping track of the time, speed of the vehicle, date and other information that can strengthen a particular case.

Stop arm cameras are high-definition cameras fitted outside the bus to help better control the passing traffic. It is through the stop arm out feature that cameras ensure safety of school children. Focusing on the vehicles which are driving past a stationary school bus, these cameras record whether school students boarded/landed safely or not. Providing students with the best protection while crossing the road to reach their home or the door of the school bus, these cameras support with the “Safety First” ideal. In the event of a rash driver zipping past the school bus, his captured number plate helps law enforcement officials take corrective actions.

2. How do the school bus cameras work? 

The next question is about the manner in which School Bus Security Cameras work. In addition to capturing images inside and outside a school bus, there are certain cameras that come with audio features as well. Audio monitoring comes as an important tool for a peaceful school bus ride.

Helping the school management to spot aggressive students, it is through an audio recording that bad behavior can be identified for remedial measures to be taken. Also audio surveillance when teamed with video monitoring helping to resolve issues concerning disagreements between students, this holistically reforms the unruly behavior of students.

3. How many cameras are on a school bus? 

There are different types of cameras that a school bus can be fitted with. Different video cameras capture the inside activities along with what is happening outside when the bus is in motion.

The different types of cameras that can be fitted to school buses include:

school bus cameras

Image source: http://www.smartwitness.com/vehicle-camera-applications/school-bus.html

1)  A video data recorder which comes with a dash camera
2)  A camera facing the driver or student
3) A rear camera also called as a “school bus backup camera” offers a safe environment to students in addition to safeguarding the lives of people on the road. This camera which monitors the rear activity thus comes as a boon to students and pedestrians as well.
4) A camera that provides the left side view to the driver
5) A camera to the right of the school bus helps the driver to have a clear look at the approaching traffic from his right 

All these cameras do their bit in not only offering security to school students but also by providing support material to resolve conflicts effectively. The well-documented evidence when produced in the form of audio and video feeds of the activities concerning a school bus journey will offer clarity about how an incident actually took place, paving the way for an immediate corrective action. Helping to gauge the speed of the school bus, these cameras present the location and driving routes which can be useful in analyzing the faulty tendencies of drivers.

4. Are school bus cameras always on? 

When life throws at us many surprises and shocks, it always comes as a wise move to be prepared at all times by not losing grip over security issues. Neglect is the reason behind many accidents that can be avoided. It is with this backdrop that it is important to not only keep the school bus cameras in working condition but also to always turn them on. You never know when you will need a video footage of an unforeseen event. It is for this reason that a school operating a fleet of buses plying on different routes day in and day out should turn on the school bus security cameras.

5. Live school bus surveillance systems

Students are always under the observation of teachers and authorities in school premises. But it is not the case when they travel. Normally, one or two teachers are in charge of a bus full of students, but it is quite difficult to manage everything happening in the bus. Bullying or acts related to this can happen in the bus which can harm the child but gets unnoticed. Installing cameras in the school buses can help find these acts.

Live cameras are not only used for these but also to monitor driver’s performance such as rash driving, unwanted activities inside the bus. These cameras ensure student safety while travelling to and from schools. Installing these cameras will help the authorities to receive instant updates regarding school bus resulting in settling issues and disputes. And moreover, parents will get notified via messages about the location of their child’s school bus.

School Bus Safety Precautions a Bus Driver should Take

Posted on by TSB Super Admin

 

Safety is the motto of school bus transportation. Millions of children travel by school bus and to keep them all safe is the responsibility of school bus drivers. For keeping the children safe and at the same time stick to the schedule, drivers should take certain precautions.

Want to know some school bus safety precautions for school bus drivers? Here are some special safety precautions a bus driver should take:

  • Ensure that doors are safely closed before starting the school bus and are not in locked condition
  • Never allow any child to stand in a way that hinders your vision to the front, side, or rears
  • Do not permit an unauthorised person to sit in the driver's seat, or operate the school bus
  • Make sure that no child place their belongings in the aisles of the school bus
  • Check whether the vehicle engine of a school bus is in off condition, gear is in neutral, and the ignition key is removed, before leaving the bus
  • When a school bus gets damaged and require lights, make sure that flares or reflectors is placed 30 meters in front and behind the bus
  • While loading and unloading students, ensure that the bus is secure by checking around and underneath the school bus
  • Before moving the bus, make sure that students get down the bus in a safe location
  • Be cautious while approaching a railway crossing
  • Stay calm and act promptly
  • Be professional, loyal and sincere at all times
  • Carry out pre-trip inspection routinely
  • Provide guidance to students regarding emergency school bus evacuation procedures
  • Be stern about school bus discipline and at the same time show a pleasant attitude to the students

Distracted Driving: A Threat to School Bus Safety

School Bus Safety Precautions

Be positive

One of the most important things to remember is to be positive while driving a vehicle like a school bus. This positive attitude can help the driver to handle the emergency situations properly. When you are in an aggressive mood, you will naturally be unable to make swift and accurate decisions. And hence, it can be risky for occupants in the school bus. 

If you can't control your mood and temper, then it can lead to serious accidents. In addition to this, school bus drivers should have adequate knowledge of revised traffic rules and regulations.

Any driver can claim that they are transporting the most precious cargo to and from school. But a skilled and professional school bus driver takes adequate safety precautions, receive proper training, and have an awareness on renewed safety rules and regulations.