Salem Public Schools Launches Transportation Enhancements, Security Measures
Stopfinder, Wayfinder and Bus Patrol make debut with 2024-25 school year
SALEM (Sept. 10, 2024) – In an effort to make certain students arrive safely to and from school, Salem Public Schools has launched three safety initiatives with the start of the 2024-25 academic year.
The SPS Department of Transportation has initiated Stopfinder, an app which allows parents and caregivers to track their child’s bus; Wayfinder, a navigation app and student ridership pass to confirm boarding and departing the bus; and Bus Patrol, a camera adhered to the driver’s side of a school bus to record oncoming, errant drivers ignoring the bus stop arm, thus endangering students and surrounding drivers.
Stopfinder
Stopfinder is a GPS tracking app that allows parents and caregivers to follow their child’s bus in real-time. The app has several features including the ability to set ETA alerts and geoalerts, for which families set up alerts based on when a bus passes a certain location.
Additionally, families can communicate directly with SPS Transportation staff through the Stopfinder app.
Wayfinder
Wayfinder is an in-vehicle navigation app with tracking cards – powered by radio frequency identification (RFID) technology – which students scan when boarding and exiting their bus. The Wayfinder pass enables SPS Transportation to account for when students board and exit their buses, the time and location, and stores the data.
Additionally, Wayfinder also records the exact number of riders on each bus which will aid the efforts of the SPS Transportation Department.
“This information helps us to enhance safety and accountability and know where students are at all times,” said Vanessa Fagundes, Transportation Coordinator at SPS. “This has been something which we’ve been trying to tackle for years. We’re very excited about it. We hope all of our families will download these apps so they can see their child’s record as well.”
Bus Patrol
With traffic congestion in the city of Salem, particularly in the morning, Bus Patrol cameras will record drivers illegally passing buses during the pick-up and drop-off of students. The data logged from instances of illegal passing will help SPS Transportation and the Salem Police Department identify which parts of the City are seeing the most violations.
“Students are at risk every day,” said Ms. Fagundes. “Our bus drivers do the best they can, honking, waving, but some motorists continue to ignore the stop arm.”
Salem and Peabody are the first two cities in Massachusetts to launch Bus Patrol in a pilot program. While Peabody buses have equipped 10 buses with cameras, Salem has equipped its entire fleet.
Not only will the aforementioned security measures protect the students of Salem, they will also enhance the district-wide effort to improve absenteeism rates, consistent with the District’s 2023-26 Strategic Plan.
About Salem Public Schools
Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Our leaders and our teachers are all passionate about education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement with equity and social-emotional needs as the lens we view all of our work through. We respect and value the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of our students and their families, and have a strong commitment to the Salem community. Salem Public Schools staff serve all of our students, regardless of ability or language. Salem Public Schools enrolls approximately 4,000 students across its eleven schools.
