Yesterday, three companies announced the launch of an exciting new pilot. Together for Safer Roads (TSR), a road safety NGO, school bus operator NYCSBUS, and video telematics technology partner VisionTrack, debuted the School Bus of the Future pilot program.

Building on TSR’s 2024 Truck of the Future program, the pilot will outfit school buses with surround cameras, near-miss AI analysis, and in-cab-alerts that are adapted and specialized for school buses operating in urban scenarios. This expands the scope of types of tested vehicles and the environments that these technologies can be applied to. 

The pilot will evaluate speeding, harsh driving, VRU alerting, and video triggers to determine how these integrated systems are enhancing road safety. The program will also include manager and driver surveys to assess their view of the technology, any additional distractions created, and how best to roll out these systems in high-pedestrian and micromobility urban environments.

“Advanced technology and cross-sector collaboration can make roads safer for fleet drivers and vulnerable road users — the results from the Truck of the Future program have proven that,” said Peter Goldwasser, executive director of Together for Safer Roads. “The School Bus of the Future pilot will apply technology, training and lessons learned from previous program pilots to demonstrate that improved school bus safety is possible right now.”

TSR's original program sought to address the issue of blind zones in commercial trucks by installing Vulnerable Road User detection systems on vehicles, providing drivers with enhanced visibility and real-time feedback on potential near misses. The technology, developed by VisionTrack, utilized AI-powered cameras to detect pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists around the vehicle and was installed on trucks from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, NYC Parks, and an AB InBev’s subsidiary in Mexico City. 

“Pilots like this have profound implications for school bus safety. By addressing blind zones and enhancing driver visibility, these measures can reduce the risk of incidents involving school buses,” said Matt Berlin, CEO of NYCSBUS. “The School Bus of the Future’s success could pave the way for the further understanding and widespread adoption of these types of technologies, setting new standards and continual improvement and testing of technologies and vehicle design for school bus safety nationwide.”

“In 2024, NYC DCAS and New York City Public Schools published the first School Bus Safe Fleet Transition Plan, helping to keep our students safe, and making New York City the first city in the nation to use ISA technology on its school buses,” added Keith Kerman, NYC chief fleet officer and deputy commissioner, DCAS. “The School Bus of the Future pilot is an important next phase of this work, and we are pleased to see this pilot unfold.”

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