GPS Tracking Systems Get an Education
Sacramento Area schools are now implementing GPS tracking systems fleet telematics in school buses. These GPS trackers are small, lightweight units which use assisted GPS technology to precisely and reliably determine the location of the school buses. On-demand location requests can be made from the internet on a traditional PC or on a mobile phone or tablet.
If a school district has a GPS tracking system in its school buses, all parents have to do is log in to the school’s GPS locator site and the real time location of their child’s school bus will be displayed on a map. Most GPS tracking sites even have street view and other features, such as the ability to zoom in and out on the map.
In Rockford Public School District, a GPS system now checks in students as they enter the bus. “As the student enters the bus, they swipe their card past the unit, it identifies the time they checked on the bus and when they’re back home at night, it checks the time they get off at night,” says Transportation Director Gregg Wilson.
The newest version of the global positioning system and time tracking service features a school bus management application. The app helps parents to easily track the location of the school bus and their children.
The app features automated dispatch, wireless text alerts, route scheduling, and team and group management for a large number of users. Time tracking software generally features an internet-based location consultation service as well as a mobile application for smartphones. Some GPS tracking services are even complemented by location data collected by GPS-enabled smart phones for increased accuracy.
Parents are much more at ease knowing that they can locate their children during their bus ride home. As students’ backpacks contain the GPS tracking tag, the tag is automatically registered as students enter and exit the school bus, giving parents peace of mind as they know when their child gets off at the bug stop
Before, the most common hardware-based GPS tracker is a “plug’n play” portable, or in-dash car GPS. With the rise of smart phone technology, the preferred GPS tracker has become a smartphone. Millions of people use their smartphones daily in replacement of the traditional, and often inconvenient, hand-held map and/or traditional hardware GPS tracker. GPS devices are no longer just a great way to find directions, but can also be used to keep kids safe on their way home from school.