A pilot project in New York City will feature a school bus outfitted with surround cameras, near-miss AI analysis, and in-cab alerts to improve safety around the school bus.

The School Bus of the Future is inspired by last year’s Together for Safer Roads (TSR) Truck of the Future program but adapted and specialized for school buses operating in urban scenarios. TSR is a coalition of companies, city governments, and community stakeholders and partners on the pilot with contractor New York School Bus Umbrella Service (NYCSBUS) and telematics provider VisionTrack.

According to a press release, “TSR’s original Truck of the Future program sought to address the issue of blind zones in commercial trucks by installing Vulnerable Road User (VRU) Detection Systems on fleet vehicles, providing drivers with enhanced visibility and real-time feedback on potential near misses.”

The VRU technology, developed by VisionTrack, utilizes 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.

“We saw that the [Truck of the Future] was able to successfully reduce safety risks for commercial vehicles,” said Karunya Sabapathy, head of communications for NYCSBUS, adding that the goal for the pilot school bus project is to improve pedestrian safety and increase visibility for drivers.

The School Bus of the Future pilot program 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 managers and driver surveys to assess their view of the technology, any additional distractions created, and how best to roll out these systems in a high pedestrian and micromobility urban environments,” the press release adds.

Sabapathy said that because many city school buses transport students as required by their Individualized Education Program (IEP), utilizing these technologies on the school bus can greatly improve the safety of schoolchildren.

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For the current project, three school buses will be outfitted with the technology. Sabapathy noted that NYCBUS prides itself on being data-centric and using data to inform a lot of operating decisions.

“One of the unique features of the School Bus of the Future program is that it provides real-time data to drivers as well, so they’re able to use that data to inform their decisions,” she explained, adding that an intent is to identify trends and behaviors using the camera technology. “…We really want to closely analyze and see just how effective this technology is in cityscape programs.”

She said that the technology will be configured and modified to meet the needs of New York City. For instance, she said pedestrians are prevalent across all five boroughs, sometimes walking closely on the sidewalk or in the street itself.

“We have to uniquely configure the parameters of the AI detection to make sure that the bus is not constantly beeping,” she said, noting that the most useful use cases of the technology need to be considered. “We’re trying to figure out how to make this application useful and viable for this [urban] environment.”

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This year has started off with a flurry of activity. We have new leadership at Blue Bird, IC Bus and Thomas Built Buses. Last month, President Donald Trump was sworn into office. A new political trifecta has been created with the House of Representatives and Senate maintaining a Republican majority. Amid the leadership changes, federal legislators have been targeting improved school bus safety especially in the Danger Zone. Enter the Enhancing Necessary Data (END) Illegal Passing Act and the School Bus Safety Act.

As Illegal passing of school buses continues to occur across the country at alarming rates, the Jackie Walorski END Illegal Passing Act was reintroduced by Reps. Julia Brownley and Rudy Yakym. These two congressional members continued the mission of Walorski, who tragically died in a vehicle collision in August 2022. The bill represents a vital component in the quest to curb this safety epidemic.

The School Bus Safety Act aims to improve the safety of students when traveling to and from school on buses. There have been multiple attempts at the federal level to pass this law, but these efforts have been met with mixed results.

It would primarily address the issue of drivers illegally passing school buses when their red lights are flashing, indicating that children are either boarding or exiting. Key components of the act include increased penalties for passing a stopped school bus, enhanced enforcement and monitoring, awareness campaigns, and stronger laws for school bus safety. The overall goal is to reduce accidents and fatalities involving school children, making it safer for students when they are boarding or exiting school buses. States may adopt different versions of the law, but the core aim remains to keep students safe as they travel to and from school.

There is certainly a need for both laws. According to a study conducted by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation (NASDPTS), an estimated 45.2 million illegal passing violations occurred during the 2023-2024 school year. NHSTA is also developing a campaign similar to “Click it or Ticket” that targeted increased seat belt usage in 1993. This time, NHTSA wants to increase awareness of illegal passing of school buses. A Super Bowl commercial would be the ultimate awareness platform, if funding would be authorized.

A recent national study by NHTSA of 3,500 respondents found that over 30 percent of people said “They didn’t care” when passing a school bus illegally. That kind of disrespect for the yellow school bus can’t be ignored. A quarter of motorists said they were in a hurry and nearly the same amount said they didn’t know the law. Another 12 percent said they were distracted.

Illegal passing was a hot-button issue last month at the National School Transportation Association (NSTA) Midwinter Meeting. So was the topic of alternative transportation. I sat in a presentation by NASDPTS Executive Director Ronna Weber and President Mike Stier, as they shared a new position paper that calls out the safety of school buses compared to vans and other vehicles. NASDPTS issued 17 recommendations to address the safety of these alternative vehicles as well as their drivers.

I have seen the growth and demand increase exponentially for this type of alternative transportation service, but providers lack clear industry safety standards and guidelines. This has been an ongoing point of concern among industry stakeholders as more school districts utilize this type of home to school transportation service for students with disabilities and students served by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. It will also be a major topic of conversation at the upcoming National Congress on School Transportation (NCST) meeting held in Des Moines, Iowa, May 3-7.

Also, during the NSTA meeting last month, I listened to discussions about the future of the EPA Clean School Bus Program, fuel tax exemption, safety fitness determination, national employer notification of driving violations, federal minimum limits for financial responsibility (insurance), and protection against unfair competition by public transit in provision of home to school bus transportation. New safety technology and device mandates were discussed, too.

The school transportation industry is poised for significant advancements and change this year. Join us next month at STN EXPO East in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area, where you’ll have the opportunity to enhance your leadership, safety and operational expertise. Explore cutting-edge technology, innovative safety equipment and exciting new OEM product launches. We look forward to seeing you there.

Editor’s Note: As reprinted in the February 2025 issue of School Transportation News.

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As the 2025 year commences, students were hit — and one was killed — while walking to their bus stops in Florida communities.

On Jan. 10, a teenager later identified as Maslin Mooney was a victim of a hit and run while walking to his bus stop, St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook. The Sheriff’s office stated that Mooney was discovered by a passerby at approximately 6:45 a.m. Lifesaving efforts were immediately initiated, and he was transported to a trauma center by air ambulance.

The Sheriff’s Office added that the preliminary investigation revealed Mooney was walking to his bus stop — the scheduled pick up was at 6:08 a.m. — but never made it to the location. As of Jan. 12, the Sheriff’s Office stated investigators identified and interviewed the suspect and seized the vehicle.

First Baptist Church of Hastings stated via its Facebook page, that Mooney was on the ground unconscious until a citizen discovered him and called first responders. His injuries included two broken legs, the right tibia and left femur, that required surgery, a broken right wrist, extensive dental damage, and a brain bleed. He is expected to remain in the hospital for four to six weeks with a recovery window of four to six months.

As of Jan. 16, the church posted Facebook update that Mooney was making remarkable progress and is improving by “leaps and bounds.” He has since moved out of the ICU and was scheduled to be transferred to a rehabilitation facility.

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Meanwhile, about 32 miles North in Jacksonville, Florida, an Atlantic Coast High School student died on Jan. 17, after being struck by a vehicle while trying to get her school bus stop. A GoFundMe page created for the family of Alondra Martinez, 16, said the girl was crossing the street toward her school bus stop when a speeding car struck her. The motorist who hit Martinez reportedly stopped and took her to a nearby medical facility, then stayed there and called the police.

Martinez reportedly died in the hospital from her injuries.

No information had been posted on the Duval County Public Schools website or the Sheriff’s Office regarding the incident. However, local media reported that it was unknown if Martinez was walking in a marked crosswalk.

Jacksonville.com reported that the night before Martinez was killed, First Coast News spoke with Superintendent Christopher Bernier about a new safety campaign, “Be safe, be seen,” which was launched due to the number of motorists hitting students as they made their way to and from school.

“We’ve had three fatalities this year with young people being hit to and from school,” Bernier stated via the article.

Earlier this week in Tampa, Florida, an 11-year-old died after being hit by a car while getting off a school bus. A local news article states the girl had just exited the school bus and was walking alongside the road when she was hit. The unidentified student was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries and died Tuesday night.

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Three students were struck and killed by their own school bus and another three were similarly killed by illegal passing motorists during the 2023-2024 school year, according to a national survey of states.

The National School Bus Loading and Unloading Survey results were shared on Sunday by Keith Dreiling, the state director of the school bus safety unit at the Kansas State Department of Education, during the annual meeting of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services in Arlington, Virginia. The six fatalities are double the amount reported by states for the 2022-2023 school year.

Two of last year’s fatalities occurred in New York. Both students there were killed by their school bus. An 8-year-old boy was struck on Jan. 29 by his school bus and killed by the right rear wheel after he reportedly ran in front of the vehicle as it was pulling into its loading zone at school. A 5-year-old girl was killed nearly three weeks later on Feb. 16, after she unloaded from her school bus and crossed in front of it. The school bus driver reportedly did not see her and began to accelerate, striking the girl and knocking her to the pavement. The bus continued forward and the left rear wheels killed the girl.

The other fatality caused by the school bus occurred on Jan. 17 in Florida, where a boy exited the vehicle and then dropped a football. He crawled beneath the school bus to retrieve it and in the process was struck and killed by the right rear dual wheels.

The three illegal passing fatalities occurred in Alabama, Georgia and Texas. The Alabama and Texas incidents involved 15-year-old students, the former a subject of a high-profile investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. A 15-year-old girl was in her front yard on Oct. 23, 2023, and about to board her morning school bus, when a truck following the school bus failed to stop, swerved to the right, and continued into the girl’s path, striking her and then her house.

The Texas fatality occurred on Dec. 7 last year, when an 18-wheel, tractor-trailer truck struck a vehicle in front of it that was properly stopped for the school bus. The truck driver then swerved to the right and struck the 15-year-old boy after he exited his bus.

An 8-year-old Georgia girl died on Feb. 4, three days after being hit by an illegally passing oncoming motorist as she was attempting to board her school bus. The incident resulted in Addy’s Law, signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in April, to increase the fine for illegal school bus passers and add a prison term.

The school buses in the Alabama, Georgia and Texas incidents all had their red lights flashing and stop arms activated at the time of the collisions.

All U.S. states and the District of Columbia responded to the Kansas State Department of Education survey except New Jersey and Rhode Island, which refused to participate. The six recorded fatalities equal the amount reported for the 2021-2022 school year. The incidents all occurred in dry road conditions, with three occurring in daylight, two at dusk and one at dawn. Five of the fatalities occurred in clear weather conditions while one occurred in cloudy conditions.

The survey began in 1970 and has been conducted every year since. About 73 percent of the 1,273 total student fatalities recorded over the 54-year survey were students 9 years of age or younger. School buses have accounted for 717 of the total fatalities compared to 502 by illegally passing motorists and 54 categorized as “other information.” Sixty-four percent of all fatalities occurred during the morning commute to school.

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