School buses to be equipped with GPS monitoring devices
By SCOTT POWELL Ledger Staff Writer spowell@gaffneyledger.com

Big Brother and radio could soon be watching over students on school buses.

The state Department of Education expects to award a bid within the next month to place global positioning systems (GPS) on all 5,700 school buses. The GPS systems will be outfitted with software so school districts can get "real time" information on the operation of school buses.

The GPS purchase was originally funded in the 2006 state budget. A contract was initially bid by the state Department of Education last fall to install the devices on buses at a cost of $290 per vehicle.

Continued technology advances in global positioning systems led state education officials to hold off on moving forward with the project, state Department of Education Transportation Director Don Tudor said.

"Every time we turn around the GPS systems become cheaper and do more," Tudor said. "We decided to wait because of the new technology."

The GPS devices will be standard on stateowned school buses. Computer software will allow information on school bus travel to be downloaded frequently for use by the state and school districts.

"The GPS watches everything a school bus driver does," Tudor said. "On any given day we will be able to see exactly how many stops a school bus driver made. We expect to recover the cost of installing the GPS devices just on fuel savings within a year's time."

School districts will make their own decision on whether to add another feature on school buses.

South Carolina joins 23 states in offering Bus Radio, an AM radio show delivered exclusively to school buses. Participating buses are installed with special radio systems that receive music, news and public service announcements.

Tudor estimated music accounts for 54 of the 60 minutes on the Bus Radio program. The remaining time is filled by public service announcements and advertising.

School districts would approve all content and music on the radio show. If desired, Tudor said districts could control the program content on each school bus.

Another option involves mounting a speaker for a public address system on the side of the school bus, Tudor said.

"The speaker would allow bus drivers to talk to students while they are outside the bus and tell them things like when it's not safe to cross the road," Tudor said. "I expect more school districts will take a look at it."