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Wood County Schools improving bus fleet

Mike Fling, assistant superintendent of support services, talked to a bus operator Wednesday at the garage on 19th Street. All Wood County School buses will soon be getting a GPS software update. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

PARKERSBURG — Wood County Schools is preparing to make vast improvements to its transportation department with the ConnectED Bus Crosswalk K-12 program and will begin with software updates for all buses that will provide real-time GPS and mechanical information to personnel at the district garage on 19th Street.

“It’s a very widespread program,” Mike Fling, assistant superintendent of support services, said Wednesday. “It’s going to provide GPS information to us on location of buses while they’re traveling. It’s going to provide telematics to our bus mechanics here in the garage, and that would be the sharing of if there’s any engine lights on, if something’s overheating, and they can assess the bus as it’s traveling.”

Fling said this will allow mechanics in the garage to make assessments of the bus, advise the driver, and make decision on the next move without having to physically see the bus.

“It’s very much like people who have newer vehicles nowadays. Your car comes with an app, that goes on your phone, and that app will report to you if your car is having an issue,” Fling said. “It’s very similar to that except it’s on the industrial size portion.”

Fling said along with real-time information about the buses whereabouts and mechanical status it will also give bus operators turn by turn directions on their routes, and log when and where operators open the bus doors (which will mark that location as a stop), giving administrators better information to make sure the routes are as efficient as possible, and it will help assist the substitute operators.

“(The substitute operator) is gonna get on that bus, and we’re going to hand him a route sheet, and he’s got to try to read that route sheet, drive the bus, find the landmarks, do the locations, and pick up the kids. That’s scary. If you’ve never been on that route before that’s a big deal,” Fling said. “So having that turn by turn will help.”

Fling said the turn by turn directions will be audible to begin with because state policy dictates a driver can not have an active screen on while driving. He said he hopes once legislative leaders see the benefits of the program they can implement both audio and visual directions.

Fling said eventually there will be a QR code students will use to get on and off the bus giving information in real-time of where students are. He also said a parent app will follow allowing parents to see where the bus is at, if there are any delays, and notify them when the bus reaches a certain area.

“I’m so excited about the parent app when we get to the place that we can utilize it,” Fling said. “Parents get concerned if the bus is late. And they (the buses) can be held up by road construction, they can be held up by a car accident, and it’s no fault of the driver, they’re just stuck in traffic. … And I just think this is a great way for Wood County to give back to the public, and help with the communication piece.”

Fling said the kickoff meeting with Premier Wireless will take place today, and the first step in the process will be scheduling the 127 buses for the installation of the upgrades. He said bus operators, aides, and mechanics will need training after that, and that he hopes to have the parent app ready by the spring for testing. He said he doesn’t want to put things out before knowing they’re going to work. Fling asked for some patience as they make these upgrades.

“There’ll be some learning, some training, some change, and nobody likes change,” Fling said “So, we’re going to have to work through that, too. We’re just asking for a little grace as we get this into place and continue working forward to modernize our fleet.”

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