August 2, 2022
LocalNewsOnly
Email sent by Manny Rubio, Dir. of Transportation and Fleet Svcs. GCISD
The GCISD Transportation Services Department is excited to announce that at the start of the 2022-2023 school year it will be launching a new safety measure for bus riding students. The name of the program is Secured Mobility Authorized Ridership Technology, also known as the SMART tag system. Implementation of SMART tag will improve student safety and security through accurate and real-time updates from students riding the bus and, more importantly, will alert bus drivers if a student is exiting at the wrong stop or attempting to board the wrong bus. When parents need to know where their students are, this system will provide the transportation staff with timely information.
Each of our GCISD buses is outfitted with a new tablet equipped with a Radio Frequency Identification reader, mobile connectivity, and Global Positioning System. Similar to systems used in public transportation, students place their district-issued SMART tag ID badge on the tablet’s sensor when boarding and departing the bus. Only the student’s name and associated barcode is printed on the ID badge. No information about the student is stored on the badge.
GCISD bus drivers will also benefit from improved safety and automation of tasks, better enabling them to focus on the safe transport of students. Specifically, the SMART tag system wirelessly transmits information to the Transportation Department to monitor the location of each bus, the names of the students on board each bus, notification of an approaching bus, and to view a student’s ridership activity.
Additionally, parents and guardians will soon benefit from a portal (available in phase two) that allows parents/guardians to view their student’s riding activity, current riding status (on bus, dropped off, or has not ridden), manage text notifications, and more. More information about how to register for the parent portal will be coming soon. The current mobile app, “Here Comes the Bus,” will continue to be available until the new parent portal transition is complete.
Students who are successfully enrolled as a bus rider will be provided with a SMART tag ID badge. These cards will be hand delivered to the students the first day they board the bus after August 17, 2022. Students must have their SMART tag ID badge each time they board and exit the bus, however, our drivers will not deny bus service to any student even if they do not have their badge present at boarding time. Please contact the Transportation Department at (817) 251-5592 for information on how to obtain a replacement badge as soon as possible.
Should you have any questions or concerns about the SMART tag system please contact the GCISD Transportation Department at (817) 251-5592 or transportation.services@gcisd.net.
