Student Alert Featured
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette Business Matters section featured Student Alert Systems in its September 2006, Sunday Edition.
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A Local Invention Promotes Safety
This article was published on Wednesday, October 4, 2006 10:26 PM CDT in Business
By Kim Souza
The Morning News
Radio frequency transmitters and receivers are nothing new, but a new application has the attention of school bus managers.
More than 30 Arkansas school transportation officials met in Springdale on Wednesday to learn more about the Student Alert System -- a radio frequency transmission between local school buses and the homes they serve.
The patent-pending device was designed by Loy Hoskins, owner of Complete Inc., a manufacturing company in Springdale, with almost $2 million in sales for 2006.
"I rode the school bus as a kid and remember how inconvenient it was trying to figure out when the bus would arrive," said Hoskins.
As an engineer in the circuit board business, Hoskins said he had the idea several years before putting the design on paper in 2003. After getting clearance from the Federal Communication Commission, Hoskins put the finished concept into practice in 2004 with the Pottsville School District, located roughly six miles from Russellville.
"We used the system in one bus and had very good results. The families who had the opportunity to get the receivers did not want to give them back when the test trial was completed," said Ray Cynova, transportation supervisor for Pottsville Schools.
Hoskins recently began marketing the device to school districts nationwide. The 900-MHz system works well in rural and urban areas and provides advantages to both the bus drivers and its riders, he said.
The receiving system is set by pressing a button the first time the bus arrives. Thereafter, the home receiver sounds an alarm and flashes a red light when the approaching bus is within a mile of the receiver.
"This lets the family know the bus is within a mile or less of the home and helps the students know when to start heading for the bus stop," Hoskins said.
The safety aspect the device provides families has caught the attention of parent teacher groups. In rural areas, young children often must wait several minutes outside for the bus to arrive making bus stops target areas for some child predators, said Kechia Bentley, marketing representative for Complete Inc.
In Cleveland, Okla., the Parent Teacher Association has adopted the project for their local school. The school bought the bus transmitters and the PTA has raised the money for the home units. They are making sure families get the system either by leasing a receiver from the PTA or purchasing it, said Tim Stout, sales manager for Complete Inc.
The transmitter is mounted on a bus dashboard and plugs into a power source. The transmitter unit retails for $140, company officials said. The home receivers cost $120 each and can be programed to identify up to eight different buses.
Another application for the system is its use in handicap buses. Cynova said Pottsville schools would be using the system in its special education buses and hopefully be able to add it to the rest of the fleet in the future.
Hoskins said Springdale and Fayetteville schools are interested in the technology for its special education buses.
Advantages for school districts who use the new technology include reduced idling time for buses waiting on children, said Stout. According to the Environmental Protection Agency Web site, a bus fleet of 20 able to reduce idling by 30 minutes per day will save $2,250 in annual fuel costs, based on a price of $2.50 per gallon.
The basic technology was originally developed for use in high security military radios but the Student Alert System requires no programing, Hoskins said.
Web Watch
www.studentalert.com
www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/antiidling.htm
For Leasing or Warranty Information: Complete, Inc. |
For Purchasing Information: Student Alert Systems, Inc. |
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