Our collaboration with a school transportation provider focused on addressing one of the most critical challenges in the education ecosystem: ensuring student safety during their daily commutes. With hundreds of buses transporting children every day, the client sought a solution that offered real-time visibility, route compliance, and advanced monitoring of driver behavior to instill trust among parents and optimize fleet performance
Challenges :
- Lack of visibility on whether buses were stopping at unauthorized or unintended locations
- Inability to validate if pickup and drop-offs were happening at designated student stops
- Concerns from parents around delays, driver behavior, and student safety during commutes
- Instances of drivers idling in the vehicle with the AC turned on, causing unnecessary fuel consumption
- Lack of real-time notifications to parents regarding the movement of the school bus
Solution:
To address these challenges, SIMHA Smart Fleet was integrated into the school’s transportation system with a combination of GPS tracking, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) sensors, and behavior analytics.
- Route Stop Validation: Using GPS data, the system tracks all bus stops made during a trip. These are mapped to pre-approved student pickup and drop-off points to ensure strict adherence to the assigned route.
- Door Open/Close Detection: BLE sensors installed at the bus doors detect every time the door is opened or closed. If a door is opened at a location not mapped to a designated stop, the system flags it for review.
- Driver Behavior Monitoring: SIMHA Smart Fleet detects incidents of harsh braking, sudden acceleration, and aggressive cornering—providing insights into the driving style and enabling coaching for safer driving habits.
- Idle Detection with AC On: BLE sensors also detect cabin temperature changes, identifying scenarios where drivers turn on the AC and idle without students onboard—helping to reduce fuel wastage.
- Parental Notifications: Parents receive real-time SMS alerts when the bus leaves or arrives at the school, offering peace of mind and enhancing communication.
Key Benefits:
- Assured safety through route validation and stop tracking
- Reduced unauthorized door openings, improving security
- Real-time parent communication for increased trust
- Insightful analytics into driving behavior for training and accountability
- Operational cost savings through better fuel management
