The unsung heroes of our society are the drivers. Often portrayed as a negligible job, driving never gets the recognition it deserves. Especially with the school bus drivers, who are underpaid because the ones that opt for school bus driving jobs are either old people or stay-at-home parents and they only need some basic spending money for their expenses. But the main reason for a thin paycheck is the significantly low work hours. 

Nevertheless, driving a school bus is an honorable profession that requires unaltering focus. And maintaining that focus, when you have noisy children in the back is a feat worthy of applause.

To become a School bus driver, you have to attend an 18-hour training course before hitting the 90-day mark at the new job. And after every two-week as a school bus driver, you have to undergo another 6-hour education course as well.
 

Taking a deeper dive into the pain points of school bus drivers, we have;
 

1. Keeping track of the students
2. Mechanical Checkups
3. Violating the Stop sign
4. Route changing
5. More often than not, the school bus drivers find themselves having a hard time managing the whole bus by themselves. May it be finding out if anyone missed the bus or just getting their hands full with troublemakers, it is obvious they could use any help they can get.
6. Before every trip, it’s customary to do a thorough check-up of the vehicle to ensure everything is up to date. Not only is performing this action every day, taking a toll on the driver, it’s also time-consuming as well.
7. To this day, the most dangerous and serious issue that arises during a school bus transit is the complete disregard for the ‘Stop’ sign on the bus. The bus drivers are seen to be shouting at other drivers as they skim past through the gigantic stop sign, ignoring the blinking red and yellow lights and endangering the lives of children in the process.
8. Upon meeting an obstruction ahead, a driver who isn’t familiar with the place would be confused upon hearing they would deviate from their predetermined route.

Technology has come a long way from turning a stone into a wheel through craftsmanship. Technology has helped school drivers in the following ways.
 

Innovative solutions, such as Loqqat, ensure all students are accounted for and not one child is left behind. The app consists of an NFC reader where students scan their cards and the driver just has to crossmatch the student with their photograph in the roaster provided by the school administration. A microphone can be used to communicate with the students, while at the same time concentrate on driving as well. This handy piece of technology is still yet to be implemented on all school buses.
 

For mechanical assessment, AI has been introduced capable of predicting the possible failures or breakdowns of the bus. This device is a lifesaver for the drivers by assisting them to analyze the mechanical assessment accurately.
 

Around 70 thousand vehicles violate the stop sign on school buses. To catch these violators red-handedly, school buses have started installing cameras on the stop-hand sign side to record these perpetrators.
 

In an event of possible route changes due to unforeseen circumstances, such as a roadblock or obstructions, A Gps enabled school bus helps drivers navigate to the destination without any confusion or commotion.
 

Loqqat is a technical solution, where school bus drivers can ensure the safety of the kids with, at the same time concentrate on the road. The app comprises a real-time location of the bus and a complete list of all the students that will be boarding. 
 

Technology integration into school buses opens the doorway for easy-peasy transportation.
 

What are your thoughts on school bus drivers being undermined?