Almost all schools provide transport facility for their students these days. The school buses are the main mode of transport provided in this facility.
In the not-so-distant past, school buses served only one purpose: that of transporting the children. They’d come to pick the students up and drop them off at the end of the day.
There were various problems with this basic idea of school transport. Many parents used to say:
We were waiting for the bus in the morning but it didn’t turn up at all!
We got to the pick up point late because the bus comes late anyway!
We’re worried about sending children to any excursions because we’re scared about the driver’s speed of driving.
Or there were complaints like:
There was no traffic at all. It’s a Saturday afternoon. How did the bus take so long?
Or situations in which something untoward happened and neither the school nor the parents know who’s at fault.
These problems were genuine issues arising out of the nature of transport.
However, that need not continue to be the case. Schools can take advantage of better, faster, more advanced technology that’s available now.
Technology has changed this simple way of commuting to school. Today, travelling to and from the school is no longer the same. The GPS system has made every kind of transport better and safer.
School buses now can have a GPS tracking system so that the school and the parents know the precise location of the bus. The new tracking facility has various dimensions.
With offering real-time data, GPS tracking:
- Makes for smart travel.
- Ensures greater safety for the students
- Keeps parents better-informed and empowered
- Helps parents keep their children ready in advance
- Eliminates all possibilities of the bus getting missed
- Offers better service – after transport is not just about shifting from one place to another
- Monitors the staff well – because the driver does not get careless or begins to speed
- Reduces parental worry in case of traffic
- Helps parents plan when to be there to receive their children
- Communicates to the parents the details in times of picnics and excursions
If schools are not taking enhancing their infrastructure, they’re letting go of interesting opportunities to get the best out of the technology. They’re also plainly cheating the parents and the students.
Parents have always been concerned about the safety and security of their children. But we live in times that can offer better solutions to handle these concerns.
GPS technology is raising the bar in terms of solving many problems at the same time. It is helping parents and schools stay in touch with each other even when the students are neither at home nor in school.
Find out if the schools around you are helping parents. If not, your thoughts and conversations can increase the awareness levels in your community.