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Now that the school year has started, parents, older siblings and schoolchildren are once again dealing with school bus frustration.
In the morning you may be told to be at the stop by 8:00 AM.
As any parent knows, that can mean the bus comes at 7:57, 8:15, or (depending on traffic, weather, mechanical issues, etc.) even later.
In the evening you may be told to be at the stop by 4:45 PM.
As any parent knows, that can mean 4:40, 4:55, or (once again) even later.
In addition to being time-consuming, the wait can be uncomfortable on hot, cold or rainy days.
Technology exists to make this better.
The NYC transit authority is already implementing a similar system by which subway travelers are informed when the next train will be arriving.
Thoughts, anyone (both pro and/or con) re: this idea?
thats a great idea!
Its an idea whos time is long overdue, I’m all for it. It can be implemented without major expense as long as the same bus is used everyday.
ICOT; It’s a brilliant idea (To have GPS enhancement for bus transportation) whose time has come. The technology exists and is used on a limited basis. In order for it to be used widely, it needs to be implemented by the Yeshivas and bus companies. As a school bus driver, I can tell you that the situation (without GPS) is not as dire as you describe it. Usually, when there is a delay due to the traffic situation, it is not more than Five Minutes. If we experience more heavy delays we notify the office of the Yeshiva/School. Besides, most parents have the cell phone number of the driver and the bus monitor and are welcome to inquire about the anticipated time of arrival. As for arriving early. The bus driver takes extreme care not to arrive at a stop earlier than agreed. Both, on pickup and drop off. BTW. The traffic situation could be much improved (And arrival times more predictable) if children would be ready at their designated time and the bus didn’t have to wait for them.
ICOT – Your idea is great indeed and my company is about to release such a system at no cost to the schools.
The parents pay a minimal fee to receive an advance notification of the bus arrival, morning and afternoon. The information is based on real-time GPS location of the bus and live traffic.
We are now actively seeking schools that own their own buses to pilot the system this coming winter. If you or anyone else knows of good prospects please refer them to us.
Simply Google “Lakewood NJ GPS Tracking” and we’ll be the first ones to come up.
i think this is great for safety as well. no one can just go off with the kids on his bus, he is being monitored.
adorable – Did you ever hear of such a problem?
you have no clue what the drivers are doing to the kids on the bus. no i have never heard about it yet but I wont be shocked if I did now. I have been nervous about that for years already. I know a school in monsey who bought buses (govt funded partially) and they have frum guys driving the kids to school not some strangers off the street. no I dont think frum guys are 100% safe but I think its safer.
adorable – All the chasidesha schools have frum drivers, probaly for different reasons though.
adorable – Also pretty much all school busses are equiped with CCTV monitoring.
ICOT; Thank you for acknowledging the points I made in my original post. From your post, it is obvious that you are not getting the most out of your bus service. IMHO. There is a difference, qualitatively between the service provided by the major bus companies and that where the buses and crew are provided by the Yeshiva/School. In the case of the outside bus companies, there is less direct access to the driver/monitor for the purpose of checking ETA or other information than in the buses operated by the Yeshivas and girls’ schools. Additionally. In the privately (Yeshiva) owned buses, the crew know each child and their parents on a personal basis. As a result, if a problem or last minute change develops, it’s easier to solve than with the major-company run buses. For example. If a child gets on the wrong bus by mistake, it can fairly easily be corrected. Because all the drivers are in radio contact with each other and the office.
adorable; Your fears (about the physical safety of your children on the bus.) are substantially unfounded. As per your quote: “Not some Strangers off the Street”. Because every person who works on a bus whether a monitor or driver goes through a background check, with fingerprints sent to both, the State and Federal law-enforcement authorities before they’re hired.
Considering the traffic in BP because of the frequent stops school busses make and parents not having their kids out in time, this would be a great idea. After 30 seconds, my impatience kicks in and I start leaning on the horn. Yeah, that’s me.
Zen3344; I would lean back (On the horn) just to say hello. Trouble is, you’re not the only one. BTW. I try to avoid having to wait extra time for a child to get ready. If it happens occasionally, I rather go around the block, out of consideration for other people who share the road.
There are a few schools most of them in monsey that have already such a gps installed on the bus and the parents receive text messages a few minutes before the bus arrive the idea is an old one and will in the near future be implemented to a lot of other schools.
oh_yeah – Would you mind providing me with names of schools who have already implemented the system?
Thanks.
Ramchas – I have this info from a friend that works in a software company that is developing it, I have to ask him for the names – if he is willing to give them out
oh_yeah – Do they have it already, or are they still developing it?
Wish they would have this on my kids busses. On Friday I waited for them to be dropped off for an hour, and when they got home they told me that the bus only came to school to pick them up after 45 minutes of waiting. It was a long time to wait on Friday.
And Metro I have never had a phone number of a bus driver, though I do try to get the cell number of the parent from the stop before mine.
Understand; As I noted in my previous post that the bus crew (Drivers and monitors) on the company-run buses are dedicated to providing quality service. But if a problem arises, (Like traffic delays or a child getting on the wrong bus.) it’s much more difficult to resolve, primarily because the consumers (parents) can not communicate directly with the bus crew. But I’m sure that the school office has the phone number of the driver in case there is a need for it. Having the phone number of the prior stop to yours is an excellent idea.
i am always by the bus stop 10 minutes before the stop so that no one should have to wait and so that i shouldnt miss the bus. sometimes i have to wait over 40 minutes and this system would really help. I feel that for those of us that actually take others into consideration, this would save us alot of time. And for those parents who are not always on time or feel that everyone has to wait for them to finish their conversation with whomever, this wont help much…
they wont give that out so fast. the drivers dont want every passenger’s mother to have their number and call them to make them nuts!
some kid in the five towns invented this for special need children
search it!
Ok I got 2 names out of the others that have it _ Munkatch Monsey and Moshelo Boro Park note that not all parents there get the SMS only the ones who pay for the service
Metrodriver, THAT is greatly appreciated – that you’ll go around the block.
I can understand parents not wanting their kids waiting outside in the cold and rain; I was in that place at one point. But, the school bus didn’t stop right in front of our building. It stopped a block away, so I always made sure we were on time.
Zen3344; Thank you for acknowledging. (going around the block.) I can assure you that 99% of the bus drivers are considerate of someone else waiting behind their bus. But (for that 1%), sometimes a bus driver is in a dilemma. When a mother opens the door and gives you a sob story (They’re too many to enumerate. I’ve heard most of them.) which might, or might not be true, you feel guilty and don’t want (or dare) to move on.
oh-yeah – Thank you very much for that info!
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