How Wi-Fi-Enabled School Buses Connect Students and Drivers to Learning

Elsewhere, Canyons School District in Sandy, Utah, recently equipped its buses with vehicle telematics technology, which includes GPS, video cameras and sensors, so school officials can better track, monitor and manage their buses and drivers.

With vehicle telematics, drivers can use GPS technology to get turn-by-turn directions, which ensures the safest, most efficient routes, resulting in improved on-time performance and gas savings. A district’s transportation department can also track the location of its bus fleet in real time, monitor vehicle health and measure driving behavior, such as bus speed.

With that information, district officials can ensure daily bus operations go smoothly, perform proactive vehicle maintenance and coach drivers on safe driving habits. Video cameras also provide evidence when accidents occur or if citizens complain about drivers.

“From a management standpoint, it’s an invaluable tool that we can’t live without,” says Jeremy Wardle, Canyons School District’s transportation director.

RELATED: Why securing school bus Wi-Fi should top the IT agenda.

School Bus Wi-Fi Increases Productivity for VVS Students

A 2023 Federal Communication Commission ruling now makes Wi-Fi on school buses eligible for E-Rate funding, which means more schools can realize the benefits of connected buses.

But back in 2021, during the pandemic, Vernon Verona Sherrill Central Schools used money from the government’s Emergency Connectivity Fund to buy Wi-Fi for its 33 school buses and additional Chromebooks for VVS students.

The district, which deploys Cisco Wi-Fi equipment in its five schools, chose Kajeet’s wireless routers for the project because they are specifically designed for school buses. During spring break in 2021, Kajeet installed and configured the equipment for the district, Wixson says.

Even though about 90% of students have internet access at home and the district provides Wi-Fi hotspots to the remaining 10%, Wixson says school bus Wi-Fi is another tool to bridge the digital divide.

Wireless internet access on buses serves two purposes: Students can be productive and continue their education while riding to and from school, and their behavior improves, Wixson says. Most students live close to the district’s five schools; the longest bus ride is about 30 minutes.

“By having devices and being able to access online educational content, even some educational videos and games, they have something that grabs their attention, so they’re better behaved on the bus,” he says.

Wixson says students are already taking advantage of bus Wi-Fi to use their Chromebooks, whether for homework, a school project or to otherwise further their education.

“It’s about time management. If they are coming home from a game, they don’t need to wait until they get home to do their homework,” he says.

The Kajeet devices provide internet connectivity through a 4G LTE cellular connection. The Wi-Fi password is displayed on a sign in the front of the bus. The district uses Lightspeed as its web content filtering system to ensure students access only appropriate content, Wixson says.

While VVS used Emergency Connectivity Funds to pay for equipment and services the first year, in subsequent years, the district has purchased the data plan through the Mohawk Regional Information Center. This allows the state to subsidize 78% of the cost, while the district pays the rest.

Overall, the 3-year-old bus Wi-Fi equipment has worked seamlessly, Wixson says. “We haven’t had any issues. It’s been reliable.”

DISCOVER: Schools are using E-Rate funds for bus Wi-Fi upgrades.

Wi-Fi Helps Farmington Schools Bring the Classroom to Buses

New Mexico’s Farmington Municipal Schools is also benefiting from having Wi-Fi in school buses. The district first deployed Kajeet wireless routers in nine buses in 2020. The project was so successful that the following year, it added Wi-Fi to its entire fleet of 90 buses.

The 19-school district covers 808 square miles. About 6,500 of the district’s 11,000 students use bus transportation every day. Many students have a 30- to 45-minute drive to their schools, but some live as far as two hours away. For after-school sports, it sometimes takes three hours to get to games, says Billy Huish, the district’s transportation supervisor.

That’s why it’s critical to provide students wireless internet access on school buses. The school equips middle and high school students with laptops, while elementary students get tablets. Farmington used Title 1 funds, then Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds and most recently E-Rate funds to pay for school bus Wi-Fi.

Parents have shared that they are happy when their children are home and have already completed their homework, Huish says.

“Our buses are now an extension of the classroom,” he explains. “Our students are not getting out of school and just riding home. They’re getting on the bus and continuing to learn and get their work done.”

How Smart Technology Makes Canyons School Buses Safer

School bus Wi-Fi also helps manage student transportation and improve safety. Canyons School District’s transportation team discovered that firsthand when they installed Samsara’s vehicle telematics technology in 190 buses in summer 2023. About half of the district’s 34,000 students ride the buses.

Previously, the district installed GPS for real-time fleet tracking, but after a dozen years the system had become unreliable, Wardle says. So, the district upgraded to the more feature-rich Samsara system.

A third-party contractor spent one week installing the Samsara technology, which includes a dual-facing dashboard camera and a Samsara gateway device that connects to the onboard diagnostics port for GPS tracking. The system also monitors engine diagnostics, vehicle speed and other driving metrics.

The artificial intelligence–powered front-facing camera records video and stores it on the Samsara Cloud, which safeguards evidence if accidents occur. Last year, the district saved between $80,000 and $100,000 from accident claims it didn’t have to pay because dash-cam footage showed that district drivers were not at fault, Wardle says.

RELATED: Schools are sustaining IT upgrades after ESSER.

The front-facing camera can detect when drivers make dangerous moves, such as tailgating or braking, turning or accelerating too harshly, while the rear-facing camera will send alerts when it spots bus drivers on their cellphones, he says.

The alerts are sent to district transportation leaders and the department’s risk management team. “We use alerts from the Samsara system to help our drivers become better by telling them where they can improve,” Wardle says.

Real-time GPS tracking enables more efficient operations. Drivers previously used paper maps. Now, the district has uploaded its bus routes — designed for safety and efficiency — to the Samsara system. A tablet mounted near the steering wheel provides both audible and visual turn-by-turn directions.

The gateway device, built with a 4G LTE cellular connection, transmits vehicle data to the Samsara Cloud and provides diagnostic information on each bus. If a check-engine light goes on, mechanics can look at the Samsara web app to identify the problem. If it’s something that can wait, they tell the driver to keep driving. But if it needs an immediate fix, they tell the driver to pull over and wait for a mechanic, Wardle says.

Overall, the district benefits from safer driving and improved operational efficiency, he says. “Samsara saves our organization so much time, and the added safety it gives us is invaluable.”