PITTSBURGH,None — A local bus company has added some high-tech devices to its school buses in an effort to keep students safe.
Many First Student Bus Company buses are equipped with GPS tracking devices and motion sensors, according to a company spokesperson.
The GPS units are linked to a computer which pinpoints the exact location of every bus, according to First Student spokesman Mike Bacco.
"You can tell right now that bus is not moving. 0.0 miles per hour, so it's parked somewhere," said Bacco. Bacco said the system also tracks every bus route and the time the bus reaches every stop.
"Many times if parents don't believe the bus came or maybe they felt the bus came early or late, we can go back and look at that," Bacco said.
Additionally, the GPS system tracks the school bus driver's speed said Bacco.
Bacco said many First Student Buses are equipped with motion sensors that are designed to make sure children aren't left behind. He said if a driver misses a sleeping student and the student suddenly wakes, the sensor will pick up the motion and sound an alert.
"With any technology there's human error. You can have the best and most up-to-date things, but it all falls back to the driver," Bacco said. "They have to diligently look in between those seats and make sure there are no kids sleeping, but it's a tool to help us out in case that driver does miss it and there's still a kid on that bus. Hopefully that motion detector will catch him and we can find that kid."
Bacco said all of First Student's 60,000 buses will have the new technology by next year.
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