What's new this year for West Ada students who ride the bus

Badges that scan when a student gets off and on the bus, a fleet of new vehicles with air conditioning, built in harnesses for riders under 50 lbs, and digital maps that load new bus routes automatically... all working to make the ride to and from school safer, in the West Ada School District.

“We really want to hone in on who’s riding and when,” said Miranda Carson, the Director of Transportation and Planning for the West Ada School District.

The West Ada School District transports roughly 10-thousand students to-and-from school each school day in Meridian, Eagle, Star, and surrounding communities.

Now, they're improving safety, with new systems and upgrades... as well as a new partnership with Durham School Services.

Allie Triepke, Idaho News 6

“The air conditioning on these new buses! These are brand new, every bus in the fleet! Every van in the fleet has air-conditioning and we think that’s gonna be huge when it comes to driver retention, [and improving] student behaviors,” said Carson.

Last year, Idaho News 6 introduced you to the software West Ada implemented on buses to help notify families of delays.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | West Ada makes digital additions to their busing system this year. What do you need to know?

Now, an extra layer of security… with every student scanning their way on board.

Allie Triepke, Idaho News 6

“So when ‘Joe’ loads the bus, he’ll scan on. The driver will get his name, it will have a picture of him, and let the driver know that that is where he is getting on. In the very rare case that a student gets off at the wrong stop, we immediately have an address that we can give to parents, and dispatch people out to get the kiddo,” explained Carson.

Also aiming to create a safer ride for the district’s youngest riders… with built-in harnesses in 4 rows for preschoolers and students under 50 pounds.

Allie Triepke, Idaho News 6

"Students who need a booster seat, the driver can just pull down their booster seat and buckle them into that three point or five point harness, so we’re really excited about these. Honestly, as a parent, I wish they put these in cars,” said Carson.

“So we have a huge geographic area that we serve even outside our boundaries and it really does make routing challenging, but this year we started our registration process early,” said Carson.