Gatekeeper Systems Inc., a provider of video and data solutions for transportation providers, announced earlier this month that the company supports Transport Canada’s new regulation mandating perimeter visibility systems be installed on all new school buses to improve school bus safety.

The Transport Canada regulation came into effect December 18, 2024, and all new school buses will be equipped with perimeter visibility systems as of November 1, 2027. 

The regulation also introduced requirements for the installation of infraction cameras for manufacturers who wish to voluntarily install them on buses.

Transport Canada estimates the cost of the regulation to be $196 million in present value between 2024 and 2036, and estimates 65,105 school buses will be affected by 2036. 

These measures follow a 2020 report from the Task Force on School Bus Safety, which recommended new measures to protect children outside the school bus, where they face the greatest risk.

With this regulation, Canada becomes the first country in the world to require new school buses to be fitted with this technology, according to a governmental news release.

“The biggest safety risk for children riding a school bus isn’t inside the vehicle, it’s actually around the bus," said The Honourable Anita Anand, minister of transport and internal trade. "With this new regulation, the government of Canada is taking meaningful action to improve school bus technologies and to keep our children safe."

Gatekeeper was selected as a pilot project supplier for testing this initiative in April 2021 and installed 360 Surround Vision and Student Protector systems on pilot project school buses in British Columbia and Ontario.

Gatekeeper’s Student Protector is an infraction camera solution specifically designed to record and target vehicles that illegally pass a school bus when the stop arm is deployed and captures license plate information day or night up to four lanes from a school bus.

“Gatekeeper applauds this new Transport Canada regulation to improve school bus safety,” said Doug Dyment, Gatekeeper’s president and CEO. “We have supported the Task Force on School Bus Safety from its early beginnings as a pilot project provider showcasing our innovative 360 Surround Vision and Student Protector solutions, and we look forward to working with Canadian school districts and school bus manufacturers on the implementation of this important regulation.”

An estimated 2.2 million Canadian children travel to and from school every day in over 50,000 school buses.