b'SPECIAL REPORTPHOTO CREDIT: DURHAM SCHOOL SERVICES School districts and bus companies alike are increasingly turning to parent-facing apps to provide real-time updates on the whereabouts of students and their school buses. Show-Me State of TechnologySchool bus apps help students, parents and administrators know exactly where the bus is and when it will arriveWritten By David VolzS chool security is more important now thanportation for the Santee District. If a mom calls and says ever before. Parents want to know where theirmy kid is not home, we dont have to call the sheriff. We children are, even when they are in the processcan see where the child got off the bus, its location, and of traveling to and from school. New technologywhat time he or she got off the bus. This is good for us.is now making this possible. Where available, apps letStudents wear red ID badges and swipe them against a parents know if their child is on or off the school bus andreader when boarding or deboarding the bus. If they lose where the vehicle is located. the card, they receive the first replacement free of charge The Santee School District near San Diego, Califor- but must pay $10 for each replacement.nia, uses Zonar Z Plus to track its school buses. ThisWhen they swipe the pass upon exiting the bus, that app allows school dispatch personnel to see if a studentmeans they are home, said Myers.is actually on a bus, and where and when the studentEventually the district may provide technology that boarded or exited via scannable RFID badges. will allow parents to know where their child and the bus We use the Zonar app for tracking buses. We can seeare physically located in real-time.where the bus is and how long it will take for the bus toIt is a wonderful thing, but it is expensive, said Myers. get to its location, said Charles Myers, director of trans- It works with GPS.26School Transportation NewsSEPTEMBER 2019'