By Barbara A. Preston | Posted February 6, 2025
Some older people like to retell stories of how they walked miles in a blizzard to get to school when they were child. Nowadays, all children in the Montgomery/Rocky Hill district have access to free bus service.
Someday, they may tell their grandchildren about how they stood in the dark on their curb in bone-chilling weather waiting for the school bus.
Shailesh Swaroop (left) and his son Aniketh asked the Montgomery Board of Education for a real-time school bus tracking system.
Montgomery seventh grader Aniketh Swaroop took to the podium at the Jan. 21 school board meeting to let leaders know that students sometimes have to wait in the bitter cold at the school bus stop for long periods of time. During the recent Arctic blast, the temperatures were as low as zero degrees Fahrenheit.
“My friends and I ... cannot stay out there for more than 11 or 12 minutes without being extremely cold and uncomfortable,” Aniketh said.
Many parents keep their kids in a warm car at the end of their driveways. “While it sounds like a good solution, it is not a permanent one because fossil fuels would be burned in the process and this hurts our environment.”
Advertisement
He and his father, Shailesh Swaroop, both offered a solution. “We think real-time bus tracking should be implemented at our school district,” Aniketh said.
School Board President Patrick Todd applauded the student’s public speaking skills, saying, “Young man, we appreciate your comments. Very well done.”
Real-time bus tracker apps include “Safe Fleet,” “Here Comes the Bus,” and “Real Time.” Acting School Business Administrator Andrew Italiano said he will look into it, and see how much they charge. The mobile apps enable parents to see when the bus is coming using GPS monitoring technology.
Comments