Barnegat's Bus Fleet Updated With DVRs, Tracking Equipment

New technological upgrades to Barnegat's school buses are reducing discipline problems and allowing for important oversight of drivers and equipment, District Transportation Coordinator Bill Cox told the Barnegat Board of Education at its regular meeting Tuesday.

Cox said in a presentation before the board that as of October, more than half the district’s bus fleet has been outfitted with DVR recording systems, which give administrators the ability to replay recordings from on-bus cameras after behavioral incidents.

The first round of 10 DVRs were installed during the 2010-11 school year and since then, “the discipline problems we have previously had have been greatly decreased,” Cox said. “I’d say we’ve seen them go down by about a third.”

The success encouraged the purchase of 15 more of the devices, which Cox said are small, easy to use and work well with the district’s decade-old cameras. 

The first purchase of 10 DVRs cost the district $7,912, said Cox. The next 15 cost $11,400, and were fully funded by the sale of a dozen retired buses for $19,500, he said. 

Cox said the recording system has allowed administrators to pinpoint bad behavior and follow up with individual students and their parents. It also allows the district to monitor bus drivers’ interaction with students and the public, he said.

And once a student is disciplined as a result of behavior recorded while on the bus, Cox said, “that student goes back and says ‘Hey, guess what? The cameras work.’ ”

Cox also explained new Zonar GPS equipment and vehicle inspection systems were installed this year on 10 buses.

The Zonar system, which cost the district just less than $10,000, tracks the buses on their routes, recording direction, speed, total driving time and distance, which will allow the transportation department to keep close tabs on the bus fleet, ensure arrival and departure times are on schedule and respond to any complaints that may arise about speeding.

The inspection system requires drivers to check 11 preset inspection locations on their buses, using a pin number and card to “check in” at each spot and record whether or not there are problems. Drivers already fill out paper reports, he said; the electronic system will digitize the process and allow for more oversight, because the drivers can’t rush through the inspections.

Cox said the suite of technological upgrades should be installed on all district buses around January.