The Partner: Bethlehem Area School District
Each day, 8,000 students are transported to and from school in Bethlehem Area School District in eastern Pennsylvania. The district relies on over 130 school buses, many of which travel across crowded highways filled with out-of-state drivers, as the district is located within 10 miles of the New Jersey state border. As Transportation General Manager, Jenny Casebolt-Robinson is always looking for solutions that can improve efficiency and prioritize student safety.
The Challenge: Overwhelmed Bus Drivers Frustrated by Reckless Drivers
Before partnering with BusPatrol, Jenny’s team of bus drivers often felt frustrated and powerless as reckless drivers ignored their stop-arms, with no way to stop them or hold them accountable — a frustration shared nationwide, as school buses are illegally passed nearly 40 million times each year in the U.S. She explained:
“There have been times that I’ve seen drivers that were brought to tears [with] frustration because they felt like they didn’t have a way to help and just feeling powerless in a situation where you’re supposed to be the protector.”
Bus drivers juggle immense responsibilities, ensuring the safety of up to 50 children on board while staying focused on the road and navigating ever-changing traffic conditions. This makes it nearly impossible for them to also capture the details of vehicles that fail to stop for the extended stop-arm and red flashing lights:
“That information is very difficult to capture manually. Especially if you’ve got a bus driver who’s trying to monitor traffic, monitor students on board, monitor students getting on board, and then you expect that person to get the year, make, model, color and license plate of the vehicle that just blew right by them. It’s impossible.”
Jenny knew there had to be a better solution. However, with limited funding, the district needed a safety solution that was both effective and affordable.
The Solution: Reducing Stop-Arm Violations in Bethlehem with BusPatrol
Finding a trusted partner to help combat the critical issue of illegal passings and improve student transportation safety can be a huge decision for school districts like Bethlehem. For Jenny, choosing the right partner wasn’t just about the technology, it was also about the partnership. With BusPatrol, we ensure our partners receive exceptional service as we work diligently to keep students safe in their district. As she puts it:
“Every person that I’ve encountered within the organization has been incredibly helpful and knowledgeable (…) I got a response from people that were very genuine and great to work with and treated us like VIPs.”
When it comes to protecting students, timing is everything. That’s why BusPatrol prioritizes fast and seamless implementation. We’ve been known to install fleets of 100 buses in as little as two weeks. For Jenny, the process of modernizing Bethlehem’s entire fleet was impressively quick and efficient:
“The team of people and the program managers and the project managers had a very efficient system and came in and equipped our entire fleet in a matter of about a week and a half, maybe even a week.”
A Safety Net for Bus Drivers
Now, with the technology in place, bus drivers in Bethlehem no longer have to worry about documenting violations themselves. The school bus safety program allows them to focus fully on safely transporting students:
“It’s like a safety net for [bus drivers] knowing that they can use that system to do that piece of the job and allow them to focus on the actual human aspect of the job, which is getting the kids on board, getting them off the bus, getting them across the road safely.”
Since partnering with BusPatrol, Bethlehem School District has seen a sharp drop in complaints related to school bus safety. Bus drivers now have confidence knowing the system is in place to identify reckless drivers, while parents have peace of mind as they send their children to and from school each day.
Bringing Road Safety to the Community with the IronPigs
BusPatrol’s commitment to student safety doesn’t stop at the school bus. It extends into the communities it serves and the conversations that help make roads safer for everyone.
In partnership with Jenny and local advocate Amber Clark, BusPatrol brought that mission to life at a Lehigh Valley IronPigs game, turning a favorite community event into an opportunity to connect with families and raise awareness about school bus safety. With a real school bus on site, attendees had the chance to step aboard, see BusPatrol technology up close, and learn more about the dangers of illegally passing a stopped school bus. More importantly, they learned how small changes in driver behavior can help protect students every day.
By meeting people where they are and engaging directly with the community, BusPatrol and its partners helped spark important conversations about safety, accountability, and the role everyone plays in keeping students safe on their journey to and from school.