A pilot programme that will allow parents to track the movement of their children while going to and from school onboard buses is being considered by the Ministry of Municipality’s Centre for Geographic Information Systems (CGIS), according to reports.
“Addressing the challenges in the movement of school buses, we launched a project gathering information from students and the movement of buses that drive them to schools,” Assistant Director of CGIS Amer Mohammed Al Humaidi told Qatar Radio.
“With the support of Geographic Information Systems, we redesigned the movement of buses and reached an excellent result,” Al Humaidi said, noting the move came after inspection of the data highlighted a need for change. The project has been transferred to the Ministry of Transport for further development.
“Qatar’s school system does not operate in isolation from other aspects of Qatari society, and thus changes made must mesh with Qatar’s other concerns and priorities,” a 2012 study by Rand Corporation on Qatar’s School Transportation System wrote.
As of 2012 surveys, it was found that 58 percent of students travel to school either by a parent or by a driver, while 38 percent of pupils are driven to school by school buses.
The survey notes some parents hesitate to allow their children to use school buses due to the length of travel time.
“Many parents surveyed for this study complained that the current school bus system takes an exorbitant amount of time to transport students relative to car travel.”
The new instalment of tracking systems for school buses, could allow parents to keep an eye on their children to ensure their safety even when the distance is long.
Source: Doha News
