Advanced monitoring system for Abu Dhabi school buses

School Transport Committee announces plan to install GPS, video and other systems to ensure school transport is as safe as possible.

ABU DHABI // The emirate has launched an advanced monitoring system to track buses as they carry pupils to and from school.

The launch of the smart school buses by the School Transport Committee Abu Dhabi is one the initiatives unveiled by the Ministry of Interior at the Gitex Technology Week in Dubai that began on Sunday.

The specifications and requirements were developed by the Abu Dhabi Police, Department of Transport and the Abu Dhabi Education Council, which are members of the committee.

The first phase of the programme covers a fleet of 100 school buses in co-operation with Emirates Transport, which provides more than 4,000 buses to public schools in the UAE. Other school buses will be covered in future phases, said Brig Hussain Al Harthi, director of Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols Directorate.

Brig Al Harthi, who is also the chairman of the School Transport Committee, said they were keen to implement the directives of Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, to promote safety and security, especially that of pupils.

In May, Sheikh Saif announced at the Federal National Council the launch of an initiative to promote child safety across the school transport sector with a number of local and federal organisations.

The initiative aims to guarantee child safety on school buses by monitoring the location, route and stops of every school bus, including an audio and video recording surveillance system. Instant and regular reports will be sent directly to police operations rooms. Regulations will be in place in four components of the transport system: vehicles; drivers; infrastructure; and education and awareness.

Brig Al Harthi said school buses should conform with the specifications approved by the DoT, including the use of safety belts.

School traffic safety is a shared responsibility among families, schools, bus operators and drivers, he said.

The smart school bus initiative is in line with Abu Dhabi Vision 2030, to become one of the top five governments in the electronic world.

It aims to integrate smart school transport security systems, GPS technology, audio and video live monitoring with smart services that monitor drop-off and pick-up. The Hemayati mobile application promotes child safety and will be linked to the operations room, Brig Al Harthi said.

“The children are our future so we have to safeguard them as well as we can,” said Thomas Edelmann, founder of the website Road Safety UAE.

“This initiative by Abu Dhabi Police is important to enhancing road safety. Technology can play a vital role to safeguard our kids while they are on the roads. We are looking forward to seeing cutting-edge technology applied in all UAE school buses as soon as possible.”

The new system, Brig Al Harthi said, will ensure that specifications and requirements are met and buses are equipped with GPS devices that track bus locations and indicate speed. The systems will enable officials to monitor and evaluate the performance of drivers every six months.

This week the Ministry of Interior will display various services it provides to the public, such as technical smart solutions and services, security and other surveillance systems.

The exhibition of its latest technology-based innovations and solutions in the field of smart systems are designed to enhance road safety, raise public awareness of the importance of adhering to traffic laws and improve its operations in line with international standards, Brig Al Harthi said.