New scheme will monitor Ruthin school bus children

Jun 17 2009 by Andrew Davies, Denbigh Visitor

New scheme will monitor school children on buses

THE launch of ground breaking new technology which lets parents check if their child has got on the school bus was launched in Ruthin last week.

Launch of the £481,000 scheme which involves a swipe card, took place last Wednesday at Ysgol Brynhyfryd. Brynhyfryd students will soon be using state-of-the-art bus pass technology similar to the Smart Card ‘tap and go’ system called ‘STAR’ (School Transport Automatic Register).

It will be trialled for one year on six school buses across Denbighshire, Anglesey, Wrexham, Conwy, Flintshire, and Gwynedd as a project funded by the Welsh Assembly.

The groundbreaking technology will provide Schools and County Transport departments with details of bus delays, breakdowns, alert drivers to student medical conditions and also helps to deal with issues of anti social behaviour, bullying and truancy.

Pupils will use a picture swipecard to clock on and off the bus. The scheme identifies each child travelling and assists drivers to report perpetrators of bullying and anti social behaviour straight to school at a touch of the screen.

Drivers can also identify students who are mistakenly on the wrong route or are about to get off at the wrong stop.

Parents will be able to check their child’s attendance via GPS technology and a website.

The software developer GEP Tec Ltd have agreed to partner with all six counties to use STAR to develop ways of monitoring bus punctuality and its whereabouts.

It also offers unparalleled support to drivers by providing a direct line of communication to schools, transport, parents and police if needed.

Peter Daniels of Denbighshire’s Passenger Transport said: “I expect STAR to increase operation efficiency from an authority point of view, but being a parent and knowing I can get instant information whether their bus is delayed before school is open, is very helpful in organising my working day.

“Take adverse winter weather in North Wales and imagine how difficult it is to get children to school and back; parents can check transport times, delays and even cancellations at any time of the day.”

Councillor Eryl Williams, Cabinet Lead Member for Environment, said: “The welfare of children travelling safely on school transport is paramount to DCC. STAR champions communication and gives schools, local authorities and drivers the ability to react instantly to bullying, vandalism and anti social behaviour.”