GPS systems will help keep track of buses, students

By NICK SLOAN, Kansan Staff Writer

The Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools District will have an easier time monitoring the activities of each individual school bus and students who travel those buses.

Global Positioning Systems were installed on the district’s school buses earlier this year, and a report was given to the board of education at its meeting Tuesday evening.

The GPS will allow monitoring the speed and location of each bus, while the tracker will refresh itself every 30 seconds.

“I can identify if the bus was doing 37, 40 or 45 miles per hour,” said George Taylor, the district’s director of transportation. “I can know about the time and be pro-active, and say (to a driver), ‘You shouldn’t be in that location.’ I can use that as a disciplinary tool.”

Tracking of the buses can be viewed with computer software, in which the screen refreshes every half-minute.


“We will be able to know where all our buses are,” said Cynthia Lane, assistant superintendent for business and instructional support services.

Additionally, the GPS will function as time cards for the bus drivers.

The district is also undergoing a pilot program regarding using ID cards for students. The ID card would function as a tool to help track the time and location of each student as he or she exits the bus.

“This would let us know when each student gets off the bus,” said Taylor.

If a student forgets an ID card, the student could enter their number into a keypad before entering the bus.

The district believes the cards, and the buses’ GPS system, will be most useful during the evening hours, when activity buses are traveling to athletic events.