Anne Arundel County is testing a new technology to for students boarding and departing public school buses.
Starting November 8, Anne Arudent County Public Schools (AACPS) is piloting a new “bus badge” technology program in ten schools to help track student commutes and improve safety. The program will place electronic chips in new student-issued identification cards, which kids will then use when they board and get off county school buses.
The badges are expected to help AACPS increase transportation efficiency and be used to locate students in the event of an emergency. Notably, no student will be denied boarding if they happen to forget their bus badge.
AACPS officials say that the pilot is just that, and depending on data collection and how it goes, the program might expand to more schools in the future.
Anne Arundel’s “Bus Badge” program is just the latest example of counties using technology to enhance student commutes, improve safety, and modernize an otherwise traditional service. For example:
- Baltimore County recently piloted an app at three elementary schools in the school district so that parents could track where their children’s buses were and their estimated arrivals.
- Montgomery County grew its electric school bus fleet to the largest in the country.
- Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, and Carroll Counties partnered with tech company BusPatrol to launch a school bus safety program to equip school buses with advanced stop-arm enforcement technology.
