Wake County students riding the bus would need to scan an ID to get on the bus, under a plan proposed by the school system Tuesday,
The proposal would go into effect next school year, first on yellow general education buses, officials told the school board’s facilities and operations committee Tuesday.
The ID would have a barcode on it, rather than a name or photo. The student would scan the card onto a reader on the bus, telling the school system that they’ve boarded and which bus they boarded. Then, the student would scan off the bus, showing the school system when and where they got off.
System officials hope to integrate that data with the Here Comes the Bus app, where parents and guardians can track the progress of their student’s bus. But that’s not finalized yet, said Bob Snidemiller, system senior director of transportation.
It wasn’t clear Tuesday what steps still need to be taken for the proposal to become policy. “We see it as a safety feature,” Snidemiller said.
The scanning system would help the system communicate more quickly with parents who may be wondering where their children are. Snidemiller cited the example of a father worried his daughter didn’t get off the bus. It took officials an hour to reach her regular bus driver, only to find out she’d boarded a different bus with a friend.
The scanning system would cost $140,000 per year to print the cards that children would use, expecting that 20% will have to be replaced because they were lost. That’s on top of the one-time scanner purchase cost.
Board members were skeptical about how easy it would be for some students to remember or keep track of their cards.
“They forget everything,” Board Member Toshiba Rice said. “They’re going to forget their card.”
Rice said parents may not always be able to help, because parents are busy and sometimes forget to return their weekly folders.
Snidemiller said the student could still board the bus without a card, and school administration would ensure the student is recorded and card is re-printed. He also said students with a smartphone can take a photo of their barcode and scan the photo to board, if they forget their card.
“They don’t lose their phone, but they lose their cards,” Committee Chairman Sam Hershey said.
