Long Island officials, law enforcement officers, and school districts today celebrated the inauguration of the New York School Bus Safety Center, opened by BusPatrol, a safety technology company with a mission to make the journey to and from school safer.
Located in Hauppauge, the New York School Bus Safety Center will serve as a collaborative space for community members to come together to build a safer world for future generations. BusPatrol has hired an additional 40 team members to work from the center and support school bus safety programs across the state.
In addition, the new safety hub will feature a wellness room, a conference room, a BusPatrol technology evolution wall, and an outdoor terrace. The Safety Center is located in a newly constructed building boasting restaurants and EV chargers, making it a perfect community meeting space for BusPatrol partners.
“Each school day, 50,000 cars illegally pass New York school buses, putting our kids at risk. This has to stop,” said Jean Souliere, CEO & Founder of BusPatrol. “We are working with communities across the nation to curb this illegal motorist behavior. Our new Safety Center will be the hub for all our safety programs in the state of New York and marks the next step in our journey to making roads safer.”
The opening of the New York School Bus Safety Center follows the success of BusPatrol’s programs in New York State, including Albany County, Dutchess County, Suffolk County, the Town of Hempstead, and the City of Niagara Falls. BusPatrol also recently announced the launch of school bus stop-arm photo enforcement programs in partnership with Monroe County and Rockland County last week.
“Whether it’s our back-to-school safe driving initiatives, enforcement of school speed zones, or the school bus stop arm camera program, the Suffolk County Police Department and our partners are doing everything we can to keep our children safe,” said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison. “Bus Patrol has been a great partner in our ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of local school children throughout Suffolk County and we are proud to welcome their new bus safety center to Hauppauge.”
The inauguration of the New York School Bus Safety Center today also marked the start of this year’s National School Bus Safety Week (Oct 17 – 21). Held during the third week of October each year, School Bus Safety Week is a public education program during which parents, educators, and student transportation professionals work together to address the importance of school bus safety.