Can tracking buses with GPS keep your kids safer this year?

(image source: Alabama Farmers Federation Friends & Family)

…the Pike County School system in Troy, Alabama believes it can.

According to the local newspaper today, the Pike County School system has installed GPS phones on all of its buses this year. The Sprint Nextel phones run TeleNav Track and allow the transportation department to monitor where each bus is during the day as well as keep detailed mileage reports for each bus.

If needed, the school officials can notify parents of the whereabouts of each bus without having to call each driver to determine their location.

According to the Pike County transportation department, buses in other places have been hijacked so this system helps prevent similar incidents happening in their school district.

The Pike County School system is not alone in using GPS on school buses. The Anaheim Union High School District and the Napa Valley Unified School District (both in California) are also using GPS to improve safety, efficiency and communication with concerned parents.

What do you think? Does GPS on school buses improve safety for kids? Would you feel better knowing that your child’s bus had GPS?