3,000 school buses to be equipped with enhanced safety measures by year end

Omantel launched the Darb al Salama project in 2018 to handle and track 450 public and private school buses in Oman. According to the organization, this quantity is set to improve substantially by the end of the year to three,000 buses.

Muna al Mamari, manager, press and media at Omantel, stated, “We anticipate Darb al Salama to gain momentum this year as the number of buses covered by the project will rise significantly.”

Upon obtaining on or off any of the school buses covered by Darb al Salama, every student will have to scan their designated card on the card reader. This will send a notification to the parents.

In total, 4 SMS are sent out each and every day – the very first a single just before the bus arrives to student’s residence for choose up, the second when it reaches school, the third to notify departure of bus from school and the final when the student gets off bus to go residence. Parents can also track bus route by means of the education portal. Some buses are equipped with monitoring cameras, and as a precautionary measure the engine button is set at the back of the bus, guaranteeing that the driver will have to stroll by means of all the seats just before ending his day.

The buses are equipped with a sensory detector that will send alerts upon any abnormal movement although the engine is off.
“Complete details of the school bus, student and parents are included in the system,” Muna added.

In a message to the school bus drivers, she stated, “New technologies do not mean ignoring the safety procedures. For instance, the bus driver should never neglect checking the bus thoroughly before getting off.”

Dr Ali Humaid al Jahwari, DG Directorate General of Education in Muscat and head of the Technical Team at Darb al Salama project, stated, “We urge all parents to avail this project by tracking their children while on school bus through the education portal or its mobile app.”

Dr Jahwari added, “Currently, we are working to include additional 1,900 buses, in the Governorate of Muscat. “We hope that we will eventually be able to cover all the school buses in Muscat, which will digitise the school transportation in the capital and offer schools a digital database to monitor students’ transportation at all times.”

Information Source: Muscat Daily