Board renews 'Here Comes the Bus' contract after questions about startup reliability
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Summary
The board approved a multi-year renewal of the district’s bus‑GPS service, which covers roughly 1,300 buses and offers a 20% discount; members pressed staff for data on early‑year reliability and student‑ID pilot plans to confirm riders on buses.
The Broward County School Board approved a multi-year renewal Nov. 12 of the district’s bus‑GPS service platform commonly known as “Here Comes the Bus,” which provides real-time bus location information for parents and staff.
Staff told the board the renewal uses a 20% discount compared with prior pricing and covers about 1,300 buses including new units scheduled for deployment this year. The district expects to save roughly $120,000 a year on the renewal compared with the last contract and said the system is used by families and school staff for daily monitoring.
Several board members sought clarification about reliability during the first two weeks of the school year, when routes are being adjusted and drivers and students settle into new patterns. Staff said the app tracks buses from day one, but early-route changes and added relief vehicles can reduce predicted arrival-time accuracy; to address that, the district is piloting student badge scanning to confirm riders and improve real-time rider-level visibility.
Transportation officials said the district is also working to integrate school-side access so principals and administrative teams can see bus locations and, eventually, student scans. The board approved the contract renewal and asked staff to bring a plan that shows how student‑ID scanning pilots and school access will be implemented.
What’s next: Staff will proceed with the renewal. The transportation department will expand pilot programs for student‑ID scanning on buses and provide an update on pilot sites and timelines to the board ahead of December.