School buses to have next-level technology as road-accidents raise safety concerns in Bengaluru

Not only does India have the worst road accident record in the world, the fact that more and more school children are becoming victims in these accidents paints a scary picture. The rising number of accidents due to the irresponsibility of bus drivers has put schools and parents in a state of panic. Therefore, schools have decided not to risk with their children’s safety and install the best of technology in their school buses. Private school bus operators are providing different security installations plus monitoring and resolution mechanisms for schools and parents. Features like motion cameras with HD recordings, speed sensor alarms, two-way audio systems, GPS-based video recorders, fuel sensors and theft sensors are being inserted in school buses.

Several companies have come to the aid of these damaging calamities by providing safety solutions to schools and school bus manufacturers.

Magnasoft’s first product Northstar provides real-time tracking of almost 5 lakh school buses across 675 schools. “The system is well-equipped. In any case of route deviation, sudden stops, over-speeding or delays, an instant red-alert is sent to the school administration,” says Bobbie Karla, founder of Magnasoft. Parents have to pay Rs 80-100 each month in order to gain access to the app. Schools pay a retainer fee of Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 per year depending upon their requirements.

Holding more than 40 patents in the school bus safety sector, Agent Technologies has tied up with Royal Tourist, a bus-service provider, to cater to 700 buses across 34 schools. The double-cameras put inside and outside the bus cost approximately Rs. 28000. “We are aware that such expensive equipment is prone to theft, and we have installed theft sensors and safety gear for that. Because cheaper cameras give blurred images, we go for motion capture cameras but the next step is to install a live-streaming system,” says Deepak Rajgopal, owner, Royal Tourist.

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Mansoor Ali Khan, founder of the KKECT Trust running the DPS group of schools, has claimed that parents are reluctant towards the added cost. The government, under the RTE Act, has ordered to save CCTV data for six months, but for an organization like the KKECT trust which has almost 500 buses under its banner, this becomes a challenge. Mansoor adds, "The government expects us to shell out crores but public schools are not financially capable of installing such equipment and gear.  This is hypocrisy. The past two years have been a stressful time for school transport. Safety equipment like CCTV's should ideally be subsidized."

Image courtesy: The Hindu