Ten days before the first bell rings, Davis School District bus drivers are running practice routes through Bountiful, Woods Cross, North Salt Lake and Farmington neighborhoods with new tablets mounted on their dashboards instead of paper route sheets clipped to a visor.
The district's Transportation Department is deploying Tyler Drive tablets across its school bus fleet ahead of the Thursday, Aug. 20, first day of school, according to a district announcement published Aug. 10. The district operates approximately 700 total vehicles, including buses, snowplows, maintenance trucks and driver's education cars. The tablet rollout targets bus routes specifically and started on special education and complex routes before expanding toward full bus fleet coverage.
What the tablets do
Each semi-rugged tablet connects over 4G LTE and gives drivers turn-by-turn navigation, real-time route updates, messaging with dispatch and student-specific information at each stop, including a photo, address, grade and school name. When a route changes at the transportation office, the update pushes to the tablet over the air.
According to the district, the technology is especially valuable for substitute and newer drivers who previously relied on handwritten directions from the regular driver. Early results show improved route consistency, easier substitute coverage and reduced dependence on paper materials.
Special education routes piloted first
The district transports more than 20,000 student riders each year. Nearly 1,300 of them are special education students whose routes often require specialized equipment and individualized support. The district invests more than one-third of its transportation resources in serving those students, and the tablet pilot began on their routes.
The tablets give substitute drivers the same turn-by-turn directions and student-support notes the regular driver uses. That means a student with an IEP who depends on district transportation sees the same route and the same stop sequence regardless of who is behind the wheel.
MyRide K-12 app available now
Parents can already download the MyRide K-12 app on iOS or Android to view bus stop locations, routes and pickup times. Users log in, search for Davis School District and link to their student using information the district provides.
A future integration with the Tyler Drive tablets will add real-time bus ETAs and notifications when a student boards or exits the bus. No timeline has been announced for those features in Davis County. For families of students with IEPs, the boarding and exit alerts would provide confirmation that their child reached school safely.
Fleet safety record
Thirteen mechanics maintain the full vehicle fleet, which logs roughly 2.5 million miles and 122,000 operating hours each year. The fleet has earned consistent Gold Awards in Utah Highway Patrol inspections and carries an out-of-service rate of just 0.05%.
The department employs 332 people.
Buses on the road now are practice runs
Families who spot yellow buses in their neighborhoods before Aug. 20 are seeing the district's "Back-to-School Boot Camp for Buses." Drivers are verifying stops and checking timing, not running regular routes. As we reported July 29, the first day of school is Thursday, Aug. 20, with an early-out schedule for elementary students.
