Lobby MCPS for GPS bus tracking app?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lordy people. How did you all survive childhood? In the 80's kids as young as 7 were going home to a house alone with a house key and doing their homework and making a snack. Many had a list of chores and had to start dinner. Maybe called their mom once they got home, but more than likely not.

Now we have parents wanted to track their kids every step and piss. If the bus is late all the mommies driving their minivans 7 houses to the bus stop are standing around are all worried. LOL. Some even leave to or call the school. Where is my poor baby 5th grader? I must know right now!!!

These kids literally can be on their own. They are more than capable of having a game plan set without a cell phone. Do your kids a favor and make them earn a little bit of autonomy or street smarts, so when they are in 9th grade, they aren't the wuss texting you for help because they are clueless how to decide anything on their own or CREATE a game plan. Be a parent, not a coddler.

Lots of kids didn’t survive unscathed. One of my brothers was 8 when he was walking home and was beaten bloody by a homeless man outside the SuperFresh. A priest driving past intervened.

A friend cut her hand preparing a snack and got sepsis. Her life was saved, but her hand atrophied.

Homeless boy attacks 8yr old for no reason. No one to save them but a priest?
Friend cuts their hand and immediately gets sepsis and hand atrophied within hours?

Got it.

Where we grew up, the neighborhood SuperFresh had one side that faced the Main Street and one that faced a residential street. A priest returning from making a house call on the residential street spotted my brother being struck and pulled over. My brother was in shock and frozen still. He didn’t scream, try to run, or fight back. I don’t know why the man attacked my brother. Maybe he wanted money. Maybe he was mentally ill.

I never said my friend immediately got sepsis. She cut her hand and after she ate her snack, she went outside to play. Something she touched infected the cut. She did not mention it until the hand was hot and puffy a day or so later. If an adult had been home, they might have put Bacitracin and a bandaid on the cut and re-examined it after outdoor play. The atrophy came much later after she was hospitalized.

I know these aren’t pretty free range kid stories.

[Anonymous]

People stick to the topic at hand!!

Yes, GPS is needed as well as an app. It helps to know if the bus is arriving late, stuck in traffic, broke down etc. Not all of us want our kid with a cellphone so yes GPS on county busses is a nice upgrade.

Is there a petition for this? I’d be more than willing to sign it.

[Anonymous]

This is so so far down the list. Its like redoing your kitchen when your toilet is broken. I'd sell my soul for some decent language teachers. I'd sell my soul for adequate guidance counselors. I could go on and on and you bozos want to know if the bus is 5 minutes late. Honestly - as the kids say, I can't even with you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also think it would be helpful. I have multiple kids getting off different buses. There have been a couple times just this year when the bus is running very late and it wasn’t clear whether I should continue to wait or go get my other kid....
I don’t want to give my ES kids phones to track their buses.

They don't need to have phones to have trackers but if there is a wait issue or not, a phone is helpful.

Why is it helpful? Don't the schools have phones. Don't you have a phone in your house. A neighbor's phone? The bus driver's phone? I mean your kid is not out in the woods all alone. There is no need for a phone except that kids want them.

A lot of people don't have home phones and you cannot rely on getting to a neighbor or a neighbor being home to make a call for you. Its not ok to demand a bus driver allow your kid to use their phone either. When we grew up there were payphone and other places where phones were easy access. Now most things are cell phones.

I don't get the drama. At least get your kid a Gizmo - $5 a month on verizon or $15 a month not on verizon. No big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People stick to the topic at hand!!

Yes, GPS is needed as well as an app. It helps to know if the bus is arriving late, stuck in traffic, broke down etc. Not all of us want our kid with a cellphone so yes GPS on county busses is a nice upgrade.

Is there a petition for this? I’d be more than willing to sign it.

For safety reasons is it really best to have an app that tracks our kids/buses. Anyone could use it in the wrong way. Think logically. What is the big deal with a cell phone - the phone is not the issue, its how you use it. If you are so against it, why do you have one? Its really no different from letting your kid use a tablet or computer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People stick to the topic at hand!!

Yes, GPS is needed as well as an app. It helps to know if the bus is arriving late, stuck in traffic, broke down etc. Not all of us want our kid with a cellphone so yes GPS on county busses is a nice upgrade.

Is there a petition for this? I’d be more than willing to sign it.

That's ok, they can use a friend's phone.

[Anonymous]

I’m very curious how much this would actually cost. Seeing as how they have these GPS trackers in every uber, wmafa bus and rideon bus, it doesnt seem like it would be a huge outlay, but maybe I’m wrong.
I agree with a Pp that stuff like additional counselors in schools is a higher priority—but that’s obviously a big expenditure so probably in a different category altogether.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People stick to the topic at hand!!

Yes, GPS is needed as well as an app. It helps to know if the bus is arriving late, stuck in traffic, broke down etc. Not all of us want our kid with a cellphone so yes GPS on county busses is a nice upgrade.

Is there a petition for this? I’d be more than willing to sign it.

That's ok, they can use a friend's phone.

If its not ok for them to have or use a phone, they shouldn't have to borrow a phone. I don't want your kid on my kid's phone. If you know your kid will need to make a call, get them a phone, even a basic easy pay as you go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People stick to the topic at hand!!

Yes, GPS is needed as well as an app. It helps to know if the bus is arriving late, stuck in traffic, broke down etc. Not all of us want our kid with a cellphone so yes GPS on county busses is a nice upgrade.

Is there a petition for this? I’d be more than willing to sign it.

That's ok, they can use a friend's phone.

If its not ok for them to have or use a phone, they shouldn't have to borrow a phone. I don't want your kid on my kid's phone. If you know your kid will need to make a call, get them a phone, even a basic easy pay as you go.

Then tell your kid that they're not allowed to let someone else use their phone to make a phone call.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m very curious how much this would actually cost. Seeing as how they have these GPS trackers in every uber, wmafa bus and rideon bus, it doesnt seem like it would be a huge outlay, but maybe I’m wrong.
I agree with a Pp that stuff like additional counselors in schools is a higher priority—but that’s obviously a big expenditure so probably in a different category altogether.

I’m guessing this isn’t a huge expenditure. I would like more guidance counselors and smaller class sizes. However, having a way to track when the bus is coming would be useful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m very curious how much this would actually cost. Seeing as how they have these GPS trackers in every uber, wmafa bus and rideon bus, it doesnt seem like it would be a huge outlay, but maybe I’m wrong.
I agree with a Pp that stuff like additional counselors in schools is a higher priority—but that’s obviously a big expenditure so probably in a different category altogether.

I’m guessing this isn’t a huge expenditure. I would like more guidance counselors and smaller class sizes. However, having a way to track when the bus is coming would be useful.

1:1 Chromebooks would also be useful.

Instrumental music programs in every ES would be useful.

Useful gets trumped by critical. Mold and lead remediation are critical. More counselors are critical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is so so far down the list. Its like redoing your kitchen when your toilet is broken. I'd sell my soul for some decent language teachers. I'd sell my soul for adequate guidance counselors. I could go on and on and you bozos want to know if the bus is 5 minutes late. Honestly - as the kids say, I can't even with you!

No one is stopping you. Start a petition for language teachers and guidance counselors.

You can repair a broken toilet at the same time your kitchen is being redone. We did that at our house. Oh, and we also got our walls painted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m very curious how much this would actually cost. Seeing as how they have these GPS trackers in every uber, wmafa bus and rideon bus, it doesnt seem like it would be a huge outlay, but maybe I’m wrong.
I agree with a Pp that stuff like additional counselors in schools is a higher priority—but that’s obviously a big expenditure so probably in a different category altogether.

I’m guessing this isn’t a huge expenditure. I would like more guidance counselors and smaller class sizes. However, having a way to track when the bus is coming would be useful.

1:1 Chromebooks would also be useful.

Instrumental music programs in every ES would be useful.

Useful gets trumped by critical. Mold and lead remediation are critical. More counselors are critical.

Putting a GPS on the bus is a very low cost upgrade in the free market. However, since MCPS uses vendors that charge a arm and a leg, I would suggest that the parents work with MCPS and get the GPS device installed at their own cost. It is a 5 minute upgrade and you can actually track the entire fleet.

https://www.verizonconnect.com/solutions/gps-fleet-tracking-software/

They have a dash cam component too
https://cdn.verizonconnect.com/videos/dash-cam/video-promo-banner-insert.mp4

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m very curious how much this would actually cost. Seeing as how they have these GPS trackers in every uber, wmafa bus and rideon bus, it doesnt seem like it would be a huge outlay, but maybe I’m wrong.
I agree with a Pp that stuff like additional counselors in schools is a higher priority—but that’s obviously a big expenditure so probably in a different category altogether.

I’m guessing this isn’t a huge expenditure. I would like more guidance counselors and smaller class sizes. However, having a way to track when the bus is coming would be useful.

You're "guessing this isn't a huge expenditure"??? OK, sure, let's do it then! Geez, you helicopter moms are so ridiculous. Here's a really inexpensive way to find out if the bus is late: wait at the bus stop. If the bus is late, it will show up... late. If you have questions or concerns all you have to do is use your own cell phone to call the school or the bus depot. Magic!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m very curious how much this would actually cost. Seeing as how they have these GPS trackers in every uber, wmafa bus and rideon bus, it doesnt seem like it would be a huge outlay, but maybe I’m wrong.
I agree with a Pp that stuff like additional counselors in schools is a higher priority—but that’s obviously a big expenditure so probably in a different category altogether.

I’m guessing this isn’t a huge expenditure. I would like more guidance counselors and smaller class sizes. However, having a way to track when the bus is coming would be useful.

1:1 Chromebooks would also be useful.

Instrumental music programs in every ES would be useful.

Useful gets trumped by critical. Mold and lead remediation are critical. More counselors are critical.

Putting a GPS on the bus is a very low cost upgrade in the free market. However, since MCPS uses vendors that charge a arm and a leg, I would suggest that the parents work with MCPS and get the GPS device installed at their own cost. It is a 5 minute upgrade and you can actually track the entire fleet.

https://www.verizonconnect.com/solutions/gps-fleet-tracking-software/

They have a dash cam component too
https://cdn.verizonconnect.com/videos/dash-cam/video-promo-banner-insert.mp4

Thanks for this, this does seem pretty low cost. Can someone start an online petition and insert these links for MCPS and the BOE to review? I’m not technologically competent in that area?