A couple of days ago Network World had a story on the latest generation of GPS technologies used to track schoolbuses. The Everyday Wireless system that was profiled also has the ability to record when and where students board and disembark the bus.
Is GPS tracking of school buses a rational use of technology to optimize bus routes? Another example of overblown fear? A call for parental action like chipping kids?
Actually, this is a very real concern internationally, where expat students ride school buses through cities on their way to schools very much associated with "western" ways. While schools improve security, the buses remain the weak link.
These systems are automated to use the GPS to be able to communicate to parents via SMS when the bus is close to the house. This allows the parent to know when to come out and pick them up on the street. Keeping in mind that traffic in a lot of these cities is something to be seen to be believed (gridlock like you've never seen), GPS may often also help alleviate fears.
I am the first to say that much of the fear of overseas travel and the "dangers" away from home are completely misrepresentative of how it is out here in most places. As we know, the media loves to foster that fear. But at the same time, these are real issues that school administrators deal with at international schools around the world and not that far of a stretch to be needed.
Posted by: Dennis Harter | January 15, 2007 at 10:04 AM
Dennis, thanks for sharing your perspective. I can see how the concerns you raise also would be relevant to a number of types of communities here in the U.S. Even if GPS bus tracking wasn't a big issue from a safety/security standpoint, the convenience aspect of knowing exactly when the bus was near is something to think about too.
Posted by: Scott McLeod | January 15, 2007 at 11:52 AM