Saratoga Springs students get new bus passes
19 January, 2018
category: Card Issuance, Privilege Control, RFID
New York’s Saratoga Springs School District is issuing new bus cards to students that will help monitor arrivals and departures from bus stops and campuses.
According to the Times Union, the RFID cards will help enable parents to check in real-time if their child has boarded the correct bus and was dropped off at school premises. To log this information and register student arrival and departure statuses, students will tap their cards at readers installed on each bus when they board and depart. No personal information will be contained on the new bus credentials; only student names and photos will be printed on the cards.
Bus drivers, meanwhile will also be equipped with tablets that will provide directions for their route. At each bus stop, the tablet will display the names and photos of the students that are to be picked up at the next bus stop.
The school district implemented the Tyler Drive system, created by namesake company Tyler Technologies. According to the Sarasota Springs School District website, the solution aims to help drivers focused on the road, manage student location information, and provide oversight for the student commute.
One of the benefits of the new system is it prevents students from accidentally boarding the wrong bus by directly alerting driver. Parents can also check on VersaTrans e-link, a student portal, for their child’s transportation information and bus schedules.
To prevent students from losing their cards, each student will also be provided with a cardholder that can be clipped onto their backpack. In the event that a student does lose their card, however, the driver can manually enter the student information onto the tablet.
Two schools in Sarasota Springs are set to receive the new IDs later this month, with three more added in February. By April, students in all high schools and elementary schools in the district will receive the RFID cards. In total, more than 6,000 students in the school district will utilize the bus system on a daily basis.
