March 25, 2022
Dear parents/guardians,
Maranacook Area Schools is introducing new technology to its school bus fleet to increase the safety of your students and improve communication about their location with a solution called Tyler Drive. This solution helps drivers focus on the road, manages students loading and unloading information, and provides oversight of this important part of your child’s day.
Tyler Drive is a system that includes software and a tablet that is mounted near the school bus driver. It provides the drivers with turn-by-turn directions to each stop on their route and manages student ridership, which reports in real-time back to our transportation office. All RSU 38 buses are currently equipped with Tyler Drive.
Tyler Drive guides bus drivers with audio directions leading them to their scheduled stops. This eliminates traditional paper route sheets, and the dangerous distracted driving they cause when drivers try to read the directions to their next stop. Tyler Drive can also provide visual directions. This system makes it easier for bus drivers to keep both eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel.
To enhance this, we are introducing Student Scan Cards. At each stop, Tyler Drive displays the names and photos (if available) of students who should be boarding or disembarking at that location. Maranacook Area Schools students will be issued a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) scan card, which will act as their ID when boarding and leaving the school bus. There is no student information stored on the card. This card system helps to ensure the security of every child. Knowledge of where and when a student boarded or left a bus allows us to proactively manage their safety, address concerns, and prevent errors such as students boarding the wrong bus.
Additionally, as we continue the rollout of our Tyler Drive system, we will soon be sharing a free app, “Ride 360”. Ride 360 app allows RSU 38 parents, guardians, and students to view bus information concerning when your students load and leave the bus and at what location. Students will scan their ID cards each time they enter/exit their bus and if they forget or misplace their ID badge, the driver can register them manually on a mobile data terminal.
Below is a schedule of the planned distribution for Tyler Drive ID cards. If you have any questions in the meantime, do not hesitate to contact Kelly Thompson, Transportation Manager at 685-3621 ext 1 or Kelly_thompson@maranacook.com.
Wayne Elementary School March 31st
Mt. Vernon Elementary School April 4th
Manchester Elementary School April 5th
Maranacook Middle School April 6th
Readfield Elementary School April 7th
Maranacook High School week April 11th
Sincerely,
Kelly Thompson
Transportation Manager