RENO, Nev. – Zonar CEO Charles Kriete promoted technology-driven solutions to the many challenges facing school transportation such as school bus driver deficits, illegal passings, onboard student bullying and budget squeezes.
“The path forward is a connected data system,” he declared during his CEO Tech Talk Sunday morning at STN EXPO West. He explained that elements, including AI-powered video leading to actionable insights, telematics, route optimization, and real-time parent connection, can be used to help inform school district personnel and vendor partners for a smoother overall operation.
He explained Zonar’s all-in-one solution with optimized routing, turn-by-turn driver directions, electronic vehicle inspection, electric school bus monitoring, GPS, stop arm cameras, real-time diagnostics, internal cameras, maintenance data, student ridership tracking, a parent app and more.
The company listened to what student transporters wanted and is leveraging AI to optimize operations, Kriete underscored.
“Not artificial intelligence, actionable intelligence,” he quipped. “Data is a very valuable thing but there’s a lot of time spent trying to convert that data into something useful.”
Safety and efficiency are paramount, he summed up. He encouraged attendees to remember that they are in the business of student access to education and must keep that as the priority.
