Dallas ISD Buses Introduce Safety Technology Upgrades

More than 900 Dallas ISD buses are now equipped with a tablet using an app called Edulog, which allows drivers to input pre-trip safety check information and receive messages from their service center.

Parents and guardians will also be able to see their students’ bus routes and live locations when they download Edulog. Other features include receiving push notifications with information about delays, route changes, and arrival times.

“If parents can use the app, they can see in real-time exactly where the bus is, and the principals can, too,” said Jaime Sandoval, executive director of Student Transportation Services in Dallas ISD. “The cool thing is that I can look it up on the system, text the live location, and immediately it will pop up and show exactly where the bus is.”

Edulog incorporates a telematics system that tracks mileage, speed, fuel efficiency, and more. GPS routing abilities also reveal smart map overlays that monitor traffic, weather, aerial views, and geofencing.

“I think the best part of this is overall analytics,” Sandoval said. “We’re going to have more data than we’ve ever really had the ability to analyze. Fuel consumption is one of the data points. We want to see how much fuel we’re using. This is also telling us how efficient our buses are as far as miles per gallon.”

This change was introduced at the start of the 2023-2024 school year to enhance the safety of students and drivers.

Drivers must do a pre-trip inspection of the vehicle before hitting the road. Sandoval said this is common for commercial driver’s license holders, whether they’re driving a truck or bus.

“The tablet allows the driver to take pictures of each section and checkmark as they’re going through,” Sandoval said. “If the service center needs to send a message, they can send a message to the tablet. If it’s a new driver or a substitute driver, they have the ability to receive turn-by-turn directions.”

For information about how to install Edulog, visit this infographic.

Transportation Services will also be rolling out scanner cards for students by January. This will allow for boarding and disembarking records to be kept digitally rather than by hand, which is the current system.