What Do School Bus GPS Systems Track?

School buses are under pressure to not only provide a safe, reliable service to school children and their parents, but also to run efficiently and provide a profitable return to the fleet companies contracted to run the bus service for the school district.

How can fleet managers achieve all the objectives of a professionally-run school bus fleet? Like any job, the answer lies in using the right tools.

• Safety — Track all buses in real-time so parents can be notified of the actual arrival time of the buses, minimizing the time children have to wait, exposed to bad weather or other dangers. Alerts can also be set up so that fleet managers receive a message the instant buses enter a no-go zone, or drivers engage in unsafe driving.
• Cost-savings — Monitor bus driving patterns to make sure drivers operate their vehicles efficiently, eliminating unnecessary idling, observing speed limits and not taking detours. And because GPS tracking is considered an anti-theft device by most insurance companies, you can save on insurance premiums, too.
• Time — Avoid time-consuming manual collection of fleet activity needed for state reports and compliance with CSA 2010. With GPS tracking this information is automatically collected and reported, which saves time and minimizes errors for both drivers and fleet managers.
• Better maintenance — Improve the regularity and timeliness of preventative maintenance with automatic GPS tracking on vehicles. Know in advance when bus servicing is due to minimize downtime and unwanted breakdowns, as well as allowing sufficient time to schedule substitute buses. Accurate mileage tracking also means better warranty recovery — another cost saving.
• Environmental accountability — Optimize routing and track engine idling to minimize your impact on the environment, trim pollutant emissions, and reduce your fleet's carbon footprint. Proudly report on your 'green fleet' metrics to shareholders, parents, the DOE or OPT (Office of Pupil Transportation), making your school bus fleet more likely to be the vendor of choice.
• Tender successfully — GPS tracking doesn't just make a school bus fleet more profitable; students, parents and government agencies also benefit. By highlighting the benefits of real-time GPS tracking, school bus companies can tender for service contracts more successfully, with a greater chance of winning valuable routes.

Solve school bus company problems with GPS tracking

GPS tracking can solve problems faced by modern school bus companies, as well as improving the service they offer. If you're involved with managing a school bus fleet, then it's vital to look into how GPS fleet tracking can revolutionize how you manage and market your business. Don't think of it as an expense — it's an investment. In fact a lot of fleets find they have recovered the cost of installing GPS tracking within 120 days!