Parents in Mendham Township will know the exact location of their elementary students during the entire ride to school thanks to a new app.
The Morris County public school district has adopted technology that logs in children as they get on and off their school buses. It also helps the driver assign students seats, and provides a live audio and video feed to the district of what’s happening on the bus.
While the level of monitoring may be unusual in a low-crime area, the safety features of the system, called Transportant, and its Bus Compass app convinced district superintendent Sal Constantino to install the new technology.
As he waited with about 10 families on the first day of school Thursday, Constantino said one bus driver had reported that in one year alone, more than 60 cars had illegally driven around the flashing red lights and protective gate while the driver stopped to take on or let off children.
“Now, we’ll have video to give as evidence to law enforcement,” Constantino said, referring to the video system now installed in the buses.
The system includes tablets and cameras on buses, along with a mobile and web-based app for families.
It was designed to address children left on the bus, shooters, traffic accidents, abductions, “and other situations that can be prevented through real-time communication between parent/guardians, students, drivers, and schools,” said Martin Staples, chief executive officer of Transportant, based in Lenexa, Kansas.
“With Bus Compass, there is no more waiting for school buses in the rain, snow, or cold and no more guessing if kids have gotten safely on and off the bus, at the correct locations,” he said.
Students in four additional school districts — Chester School District, Mendham Borough School District, West Morris Mendham High School and the Educational Services Commission of Morris County — use Mendham Township’s buses and will use the new system. Students in the private Gill St. Bernards School in Peapack-Gladstone also use the township buses and the new technology.
Drivers using the new tablets will be less distracted because they will have clearer navigation instructions and can timestamp any incident on the video recording that needs to be reported, the superintendent said. The technology also allows staff at the school district office to speak directly to the driver and passengers in case of misbehavior or to relay messages.
Constantino said about three-quarters of the township’s public school students take buses. The rest walk, are driven, or drive to school.
The technology costs about $4,000 per bus, varying per size of the bus, Constantino said. The district runs 37 full-size buses and about a dozen smaller ones.
The company approached the district, wanting to expand their presence in the state, the superintendent said. Transportant works with 85 other districts nationwide, including one other in New Jersey — Roselle Park in Union County.
Constantino was confident that bus drivers would adjust to logging each student in with their ID cards, or checking them in manually if they forgot or lost the cards.
“Making a change can be one of the worst things, but we have such an amazing group of people,” he said. “Maybe some at first didn’t welcome it with open arms,” but they appreciated the safety features and would likely see it helps them work more efficiently.
At the intersection of Devonshire Lane and Walsingham Road, families waited at the bus stop Thursday, surrounded by sequin-encrusted unicorn backpacks and Amazon Prime bags full of supplies for the first days of school. Seven deer ran across a lawn down the block.
“I have to say there seems to be a new reason to worry about our children every day,” said Lauren Spirig, who waited with her fourth grader, Luke. “I’m grateful that the school district is always just trying to help us maintain our peace of mind.”
Christine Lubitz, who held a large mug of coffee as she waited with her children, Abigail, 6, and Andrew, 8, looked at the app on her phone, which showed the location of the bus.
“It’s in the neighborhood, guys,” she announced.
At around 8:50 a.m. — when the Mendham Township Elementary School, about four minutes away, is supposed to start — the bus pulled up. It’s usually late the first day, Constantino explained.
The parents were ecstatic to see their former bus driver, Margitt Trochey, at the wheel, as they thought she had retired.
After all but one child was onboard, it was time for some very low-tech kindness.
“C’mon sweetie, what grade are you in?” Trochey asked a girl who had been crying at the bus stop. “Are you getting old on me? You’re getting bigger and prettier.”
After everyone was buckled in, Trochey pulled away. And parents can now spend the rest of the school year using their phones to track them on their way.
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