Photo by Denisse Leon on Unsplash

As we all know, technology is disrupting every industry, and education is no exception. Today, software is a crucial component of educational productivity. From disruptions in learning and school mobility to school management tools that aid in school administration. Today, we will concentrate on the latter, namely how technology has enhanced school transportation.

School mobility has changed dramatically as a result of new technologies like telematics and IoT. We’ll start by defining these technologies, namely telematics and the Internet of Things. Telematics, as described by Wikipedia, is the technology of sending, receiving, and storing data using telecommunications equipment to control distant things. The Internet of Things, or IoT, is a system of interconnected computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals, or people that are given unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without needing human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction, according to TechTarget.

Now that we are familiar with the two technologies, let’s examine how each has transformed Kenya’s school transportation sector. Telematics is being used by several schools to track assets and monitor driver behaviour. Through automatic warnings from equipment put on the bus, IoT is employed in school transportation to promote efficiency. Furthermore, these two technologies aid the school in maximizing asset use, safety, and productivity. We’ll take a close look at how these technologies are applied to school transportation.

The technologies are applied in Bunifu by putting a telematics tracker device inside the bus. This device will employ a wireless mobile connection using an IoT SIM card that is inserted into the tracker. The tracking device will interface with the vehicle’s CanBus and provide crucial data about the vehicle to a backend application, which will format the information for easy consumption. Three categories of data or actions can be gathered: driver behaviour, asset data, and remote asset operations. The specifics of the information gathered will now be examined in further depth:

Driver behaviour

The way drivers behave is essential for school bus safety. By observing driving behaviour, many traffic issues and conflicts with parents and other parties can be resolved. Telematics and the Internet of Things make it possible to identify unruly driving behaviour, including:

• Instant breaking
• Harsh acceleration
• Idling
• Speed and cornering

Asset data

Here, the school bus or van provides data that makes it possible to know its status at any given time thanks to IoT and telematics. The information gathered may include:

• Fuel monitoring
• Temperature monitoring
• Bus/vehicle trip replay
• Ignition status
• Asset location

Remote asset actions

These are remote actions carried out remotely via the internet that aid in monitoring and vehicle safety. They include:

• Remote device immobilization
• Trip replays

Communication

It is essential to keep all parties informed during school transport trips. At Bunifu, we have developed a way to keep all stakeholders updated according to their roles. The mobile app and telematic-IoT tracking device will deliver signals to particular stakeholders. For instance:

• Proximity alerts – Using the GPS location of the bus, parents get real-time alerts when the bus nears the child’s pick-up station via SMS or app
• Ignition alerts – The school or asset owner is notified via SMS or app
• Pick-up and drop-off notification whenever the child is dropped

Value Proposition for adopting a School Transportation System

These technologies have improved the effectiveness, accountability, and safety of school transportation. Accurate and timely reporting facilitates the work of school transport managers. Anxiety is decreased since parents are informed of what is happening as it happens. Calls and paperwork can be reduced significantly in price. The school finance department’s billing process is simplified, and efficiency is increased all around.

Painful legacy procedures

Therefore, it is crucial that schools get rid of outdated, ineffective practices like manual student registration, manual student sign-in and sign-off, too many phone calls throughout the transportation process, a lack of accountability, unpredictable bus arrival times, and so forth.

How can we assist you?

At Bunifu, we have made use of these technologies to benefit all parties involved in the school through Bunifu Go. It offers a quick way to tell parents through text messages and app notifications, as well as a back-office system to track every facet of school transportation. Please contact +254 758 59 29 49 or send an email to [email protected]  if you’re interested in getting in touch.