Dubai: Parents will have continuous access to the movement of their children on school buses run through the Roads and Transport Authority’s (RTA) new tracking system.

The tracking system will be part of the 50 state-of-the-art buses that the RTA is launching for the new academic year, starting from September.

Seeking to raise the bar of safety and security in school transport, the RTA is entering the sector with a range of safety features.

“We decided to enter this sector to enhance the level of safety on buses. We will be following the regulations that are already in place but will also introduce additional features to transport the students in the safest environment possible,” said Mansour Al Falasi, Acting Director of School Transport Department at Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC), which is a subsidiary of RTA that will run its school buses.

He said RTA has been approached by 35 schools for the service and the authority is currently in the middle of negotiations to sign the contracts.

The schools that manage to avail of the service will get the buses equipped with WiFi, GIS mapping, student attendance system and surveillance cameras as well as a continuous monitoring system. Each bus will also have four emergency exits.

“Those parents whose children are transported on RTA buses will have access to a mobile app through which they we be able to track the movement of the bus as well as receive the notification on embarking and disembarking the bus,” Al Falasi said.

He added that the bus conductor will also receive notifications if a students gets into a wrong bus.

Parents will also be able to use the app to notify the driver if their child is going to be absent, so that the driver can avoid an unnecessary trip.

Among the interesting features will be eight surveillance cameras on each bus that will be connected live with the RTA’s Operation Control Centre (OCC), even as the driver and conductor will also have access to the footage on their front monitor. School administrators will also have access to the footage through cloud servers.

RTA’s OCC will also be able to keep track of the buses through GPS.

The buses will also be equipped with the latest navigation system that will help the driver follow the route.

“The navigation system is compatible with Dubai Municipality’s Makani addressing system, which will help even new drivers follow the route easily,” said Abdullah Al Meer, Acting Director of Business Development at DTC.

The 40-seater buses will be part of around 4,000 school buses that transport around 151,000 students from private schools daily.

With Euro 5 engines that are run on clean diesel, the buses are eco-friendly. “Our buses emit at least 35 per cent less carbon dioxide compared to regular buses, and with hydraulic suspension system and low flooring they are special needs-friendly as well,” said Al Meer.

Helping children learn on the go, the buses are fitted with four LCD screens, which the schools can use to show whatever content they deem fit.

However, Al Falasi added that the WiFi service on offer is optional.

Around 151,000 students, which is 60 per cent of the total pupils, use school buses in Dubai and the RTA is seeking to raise this proportion to 70 per cent soon.

Following the launch of 50 buses on the school run RTA plans to increase the number gradually to 650 buses by 2024.