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Elba City Schools adds GPS tracking to school buses

By Special to the Ledger
Published: March 02, 2010

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The Elba City Board of Education has purchased GPS devices that will allow school officials continuously monitor the location of its fleet of school buses.
Information from the devices, which communicate with a management server through GPS satellites or cellular phone towers, can be accessed through a Web-based interface, said Technology Coordinator Jeff Ellis.
“The school system believes that this information will be of great benefit in optimizing its school bus routes and providing an additional safety feature for its students,” Ellis said.
Wesley Devane, transportation supervisor for the school system, said the new technology will be a great asset for students and bus drivers.
“The GPS devices will help us save time and money by making our bus routes more efficient,” Devane said. “Our bus drivers will also have an added sense of security in the knowledge that should they break down or experience some type of emergency, their location can be precisely pinpointed.”
The devices were installed in the system’s school bus fleet in early February and are meeting school official’s expectations.
“The GPS units are installed and working like they should, and I expect that we will be able to trim some travel time off of our routes,” said Devane.