Natchitoches Parish School Board reviews four bus contract bids as EchoRide demonstrates AI camera system

The Natchitoches Parish School Board on Feb. 3 heard a report from Superintendent Eloy that the district received four bids to provide student transportation — EchoRide, Durham, First Student and DS South — and that staff will analyze daily-rate sheets for the district’s 75 regular routes across 168 school days to estimate an annual contract cost. Eloy said the district expects to present a staff recommendation at the next board meeting and reminded members they may accept, reject or table the recommendation.

During the transportation report, Rolled-out by Mister Baptiste, the board also heard from Glenn Krueger, identified in the meeting as chief operating officer for EchoRide, who described an AI-enabled camera system the company is installing on buses. Krueger said the system detects safety issues — including seat-belt use, cell-phone use, speeding and failure to stop at signs — and issues an in-vehicle prompt; supervisors review flagged events and the system only uploads video if drivers do not correct the behavior. "It recognizes if they're not wearing their seat belt, and it says 'put your seat belt on,'" Krueger said, adding that recorded video has also "exonerated a number of drivers" when outside reports or police accounts were incomplete.

Board members expressed support for student safety but raised concerns about oversensitivity. A board member questioned whether the AI would produce punitive alerts for events beyond a driver's control; Baptiste and Krueger said human supervisors review AI flags and that the system is intended as a safety measure rather than an automatic disciplinary tool. Baptiste said supervisors can review an alert and determine whether it was legitimate: "Everything has, is reviewed by a human." Krueger added that the system also captures positive driving behavior and could be used in a rewards program.

Baptiste reported the department has continued on-time performance despite the recent storm, has hired one driver and has three more in training; a long-term illness in the south parish has required a replacement. He noted that the installation of the camera system finished over winter break at some locations and will be rolled out across the fleet.

Next steps: Eloy said staff will provide the board with a side-by-side annual cost comparison of the four bids, including the district’s current costs, at the next meeting. The transcript shows no formal vote on a contract during the Feb. 3 meeting.