New school bus safety technology geared toward monitoring student behavior is being installed on 50 school buses for the Litchfield Elementary School District (LESD79) in Arizona.

LESD79 is the first Arizona school district to use live-monitoring technology from Transportant. The buses will deploy the technology beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

Providing Safe Rides During the Route

Transportant's cameras will allow transportation supervisors and school administrators to instantly view student behavior while buses are on the go. The technology also allows for the precise retrieval of recorded interactions on the bus. 

“Having a real-time view enhances driver training and student safety,” said Jennifer Tassin, LESD79 director of transportation. “With the previous system, it could take more than a day to get video footage to help guide students and families with incident information. Now, we can manage student behavior on the bus as we do in the classroom. We are excited to provide the best bus riding experience for all LESD79 families.”

Integrated into a school’s existing transportation management system, the Transportant system shows where every school bus is, who is on the bus, and what is happening.

For districts that do not have bus monitors on every bus, systems like this can give drivers peace of mind. For districts that do have bus monitors, the systems can allow for additional eyes on student behavior remotely.

The solution includes a live camera and audio system for incident alerts and proactive resolution of problems on the bus. The system interfaces with a dashboard, school administrator app, and parent/guardian app.

Drivers are equipped with a digital student check-in-and-out system and turn-by-turn directions, replacing paper rider lists and maps.

The technology was installed by RWC Group, a Phoenix-based commercial truck and bus dealership. LESD79 is the first customer resulting from Transportant’s collaboration with RWC Group, which was announced in April.

Transportant technology is now used in more than 2,000 school buses across 14 states in 78 school districts. In select states, including Arizona, RWC Group installs and services the technology into new and existing buses. Transportant provides the training and support to school districts.

“We’ve seen great interest in Transportant technology in states that haven’t yet experienced it,” said Martin Staples, Transportant CEO. “Arizona is the latest community where our advanced system is eliminating the need for physical hard drive and SD cards, which must be removed from cameras and viewed after an incident has already happened. We’re excited to play our part in proactively safeguarding kids in Litchfield and soon other districts in the state.”