SPRING, Texas – Spring ISD is rolling out a new transportation system on their buses to track students.
“I have a passion for children,” said Shameka Holmes. “Bus driving, it was the job for me.”
Holmes has been a school bus driver for 14 years and calls the students on her route her “babies.”
“You just build that trust, that rapport with them every day. They see you every day, you see them, so you become like a family,” said Holmes.
If a child is ever lost, it can be scary.
“It’s like your own child going missing or you’re not able to find them, so it’s a frightening moment,” she said.
This year, Spring ISD is implementing a new transportation system called “ZPass.”
“It will help us communicate quicker to parents when they are looking for their child. We can identify where the child got on and off the bus each day,” said Jack Mann, Director of Transportation.
Each child has a card, and they scan it every time they get on and off the bus.
“If they’re trying to get on the wrong bus and they swipe their RF ID card, the driver gets an alert that this child is not assigned your route,” said Mann.
The information is sent to their parents through an app and they can even get notifications to their phones.
“For safety and security reasons, everybody’s all on board with it,” said Holmes. “It will just be an easier way to be accountable for all of our students.”