Every morning, millions of children across the country climb onto school buses with confidence that they’ll get to school safely. That confidence is built by the people who protect them: bus drivers who watch every mirror, parents who teach safe habits, educators and officers who reinforce the rules of the road.
At BusPatrol, we’re proud to strengthen that safety net. We equip districts with AI-powered safety technology that detects when drivers illegally pass a stopped school bus, partnering with local law enforcement to hold those drivers accountable. Our mission is simple — make the ride to and from school safer for every child.
As we look back on 2025, we can see how much progress can happen when communities commit to this shared mission — new partnerships, growing public awareness, and the strongest signs yet that driver behavior is changing. It was a big year, and every milestone reminded us that safety is something we build together.
More Communities Across the Country Put Automated Enforcement in Motion This Year
Over the past year, we’ve heard from transportation directors and district leaders that responding to illegal school bus passings has become more challenging, especially when budgets are tight and visibility into what’s happening on the road is limited. For many, launching an automated enforcement program offered a clearer way to understand the problem and respond more effectively.
In 2025, more than 30 new BusPatrol programs went live nationwide, including launches in Austin, Texas; Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan; Brevard County and Lee County, Florida; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Red Clay, Delaware.
This wave of new programs reflects a broader shift in how communities are responding to the risks students face every day. Today, BusPatrol supports communities in 24 states, partners with more than 400 school districts, and is contracted on more than 40,000 school buses, helping protect over 2 million students nationwide. With the largest and most experienced deployment in the country, BusPatrol’s growing footprint creates a powerful opportunity for communities to learn from one another and continue raising the standard for school bus safety.
A Notable Shift in Illegal School Bus Passings
For years, the data around illegal school bus passings has pointed in one direction. This year, there’s an indication that the trend may be starting to shift.
Each year, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services conducts a survey to better understand how often drivers illegally pass stopped school buses. In the most recent survey, bus drivers reported more than 67,000 violations in a single day. Projected across an 180-day school year, that amounts to more than 39 million illegal passings during the 2024 – 2025 academic year.
Although the overall volume is unacceptably high, the survey indicates an estimated 10% year-over-year decrease in reported violations. Notably, this marks the first decline reported since the survey began in 2018. While it’s too early to draw firm conclusions from a single year of data, the decrease offers a cautious sign of progress and a reason for continued focus.
Illegal passings remain a serious and persistent safety issue. Even a single close call is one too many. Still, this data suggests that sustained education, clearer laws, and increased accountability may be starting to influence driver behavior in some communities. Whether this becomes a lasting trend will depend on continued commitment across policymakers, school districts, law enforcement, families, and drivers to keep school bus safety a priority.
Bringing Communities Together for National School Bus Safety Week
Every year, we look forward to School Bus Safety Week because it brings more people into the student safety conversation, and this year that conversation reached farther than ever. We spent the week on the ground in the communities we serve, showing up in classrooms and neighborhoods to spotlight the everyday choices and shared responsibility that help keep children safe on their way to and from school.
Along the way, we organized more than 40 local events across 30+ school districts nationwide. In total, we reached over 15,000 students and celebrated more than 500 bus drivers who play a critical role in protecting them every day.
Those moments took different shapes in each community. In Hillsborough County, FL, we joined classroom sessions and taught over 500 elementary schoolers how to stay safe around the bus. In Austin, TX, we helped families and school staff recognize the bus drivers who show up every morning to protect the students they transport.
On Long Island, NY, we participated in school assemblies focused on making smart choices near the bus, and in Prince George’s County, MD, we spent time with high schoolers and community leaders talking about real experiences on the road and how small changes can make a big difference.
At every stop, the conversations varied, but the purpose stayed the same: bring communities together, build awareness, and keep school bus safety top of mind year-round.
BusPatrol Recognized for Safety Innovation by Deloitte Fast 500 and Inc. 5000
This year, we earned a spot on both the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and the Inc. 5000. It’s our second year in a row on the Deloitte list and a meaningful milestone for our team and partners. These recognitions reflect strong growth and the continued adoption of safety technology that makes a real difference for students.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our team,” our CEO Karoon Monfared reflects, “We’ve earned the trust of school districts, municipalities, and families by being more than a vendor. We are a safety partner, a purpose-driven innovator, and a committed member of the communities we serve. Thank you to the school districts, municipalities, and leaders who continue to place their confidence in us. Looking forward, our commitment remains steadfast: to deliver technology that protects children and strengthens community safety.”
Investing in the People Behind the Mission
This year, BusPatrol grew not just in reach, but as an organization. More than 250 new colleagues joined the team, bringing backgrounds in public safety, transportation, education, technology, public service, and local government. That diversity is a strength. It equips us to understand the real-world challenges communities face and to thoughtfully implement and scale automated enforcement programs across different legal, operational, and cultural environments.
As the team grew, so did our focus on supporting the people behind the work. Over the past year, we’ve made meaningful updates to our benefits and workplace policies to better support balance, flexibility, and long-term sustainability. These changes reinforce a core belief: supporting our people enables them to do their best work and show up for our partners with consistency and care.
If this work speaks to you, we’re always looking for talented people who want to help move our mission forward. View our open roles to learn more.
National Media Helps Amplify Our School Bus Safety Mission
You can’t solve a problem most people don’t know exists. Millions of drivers don’t realize how often drivers pass stopped school buses or how dangerous that moment is for students. That is why national conversations matter.
This year, we were grateful to see school bus safety receive attention across multiple national news outlets, including Good Morning America and USA Today, helping bring this often-overlooked risk into a broader public conversation. These stories highlight the daily risk students face on their way to school and how communities are responding with education, technology, and enforcement to help protect them.
“There are a lot of [drivers] who are distracted out there, on their phones, heads in the clouds,” our Chief Growth Officer Steve Randazzo told USA Today. “Look, we know kids are going to be kids. They are going to be silly and they trust the bus to keep them safe. The onus is on us as adults to be careful. It’s just not worth it if you cannot sit still for 30 seconds or a minute while kids get on or off a bus.”
BusPatrol’s Inaugural National School Bus Safety Summit
In December, BusPatrol convened the first National School Bus Safety Summit in Washington, D.C., bringing together leaders who rarely share the same room, but all share responsibility for keeping students safe. The forum was held with support from Governors Highway Safety Association and Safe Kids Worldwide, two organizations at the forefront of traffic safety, injury prevention, and evidence-based policy.
This summit united voices from government agencies, national safety organizations, law enforcement, education, advocacy groups, and the private sector. Rather than focusing on a single solution, the summit created space for an honest, cross-disciplinary conversation about enforcement, behavior change, education, prevention, and the role technology can play in supporting all four.
Opening the summit, our President and Chief Innovation Officer, Justin Meyers, underscored the urgency of the issue. With more connected school buses on the road than ever, communities are finally able to see the full scope of the risk students face.
“This is really the first time in history that there’s ever been enough sensors deployed in this country to really see how big a problem this is,” Meyers told USA Today ahead of the event. “The number of close calls our cameras capture is literally unfathomable. It’s the prevailing reason why we called this summit. It’s a cry for help.”
BusPatrol’s President and Chief Innovation Officer Justin Meyers in discussion with Mike Hanson (Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety), Kate Huffman (American Bar Association), Adam Youssi (Howard County Police), and Erin Inman (National Traffic Law Center).
The summit also elevated the critical role of education and prevention. Marisa Jones, Managing Director of the Safe Routes to School Partnership, emphasized that safer roads start with adults taking responsibility for how children move through their communities.
“We have to teach kids, and they have to learn the safe behaviors,” Jones said, noting that the onus is on adults to make children’s journeys to school safer — whether they’re riding the bus, walking, or biking.
We’re proud to have convened these partners and perspectives on a national stage. School bus safety is not a challenge any single district, agency, or company can solve alone. The summit showed what’s possible when the people shaping policy, enforcement, education, technology, and community trust work side by side to address a shared public safety challenge.
The conversation sparked in Washington is only the beginning, but it marked a significant step forward in building a more coordinated, national approach to protecting students on the bus and beyond.
Our CEO, Karoon Monfared, opens the inaugural National School Bus Safety Summit in Washington, D.C.
Progress Worth Protecting
As we look back on 2025, we see real momentum in how communities are addressing school bus safety. That momentum gives us even more focus for the work ahead. Our mission stays the same: support communities and make the journey to and from school safer for every child. Thank you to every district, partner, bus driver, officer, parent, educator, and teammate who helped move this mission forward. Here’s to another year of progress, collaboration, and meaningful change.