School Bus Radio Program Plays Its Last Tune
Reader Comments
bus radio
we need bus radio it help keep the students busy by singing along. And helps controll most problems if any on a bus to and from school.If this is the case then the FCC needs to band most all commercials on tv.If bus radio is harming the students that bad.
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Bus Radio
I love bus radio i dont know why you would want to shut it down its an awsome station!!
busradio
ive won contests from busradio and had an acount on their website i think it was cool, im sad its shutting down
Yipee!
As a student , I here Bus Radio everyday... Bus radio is not good at all every morning you here the same music over and over again. It's not even over the week you here repeats it's over the ride to school you here the same five songs twice and the ride from school you here the same five songs twice. So I for one is not happy with bus radio and is ok and partically excited that it's is over.
Bus Radio
As a student I personally like bus radio with the exeption for the repeating of songs over the course of a week, that sometimes occures. I know that my bus driver is annoyed by that as well.
If i had to choose Bus radio in or out? I would choose out. I have read some bad things about how it is not all that save for us.
Curious
Hey is there anyway to see which school district were actually using BusRadio? or who would i call to see if my child's district was using it? I know their no longer in business, but just curious i guess :)
Great post
Great article as for me. It would be great to read more about that matter.
Bus Radio
I am a school bus driver that used to drive for a district that used BusRadio. While I liked the concept of the service and its "kid-friendly" programming, I saw inherent safety risks with the service. As long as I have been driving a bus, it has been in buses that had an AM/FM Radio installed. As long as I followed district policy as to what stations could be played, I liked that I could hear National Weather Service Weather Alerts/EAS/EBS (Emergency Broadcast System) Alerts. Those alerts helped me keep my kids safe because of the sometimes volatile Northern IL weather (severe T-Storms, tornadoes, etc.)
January 7th 2008 was an example of one such day which BusRadio would have possibly caused death and destruction. 30 of the district's 280 buses had BusRadio installed the previous night and had the included AM/FM tuners disabled. A Tornado-warned storm grew from a small thunderstorm and rapidly intensified as it tracked over the city. District policy stated that the Dispatch office would announce warnings over the communications radio to all buses. That policy was enacted on 01/07/08, but the announcement came 5 minutes after EAS activation (Dispatch continues to maintain that immediate announcement was performed). Some drivers in a Northeastern area shared with the district I drive for now called into dispatch asking what was going on before the announcement was made over the comm. radio as they were driving through severe hail. Those drivers were caught in the hail shaft that commonly occurs in the vicinity of areas of strong rotation in tornadic thunderstorms. Had the actual tornado dropped 20 minutes earlier, a good part of the city, smaller towns/suburbs NE of this city would have had severe damage and some buses would have gotten caught as well.
Being that the BusRadio unit was really a small computer running linux and had the capability of tuning radio frequencies, the software could have been coded to monitor NWS Radio for alert tones, with or without S.A.M.E. capability, to help the drivers protect their riders in the event of a disaster. District policies to announce weather warnings, terrorist attacks, chemical spills, etc. will not be able to be carried out if dispatch or central radio communications is taken down. AM/FM Radio is not just for entertainment on a school bus, it is just one of vital tools available to a driver to help protect the bus riders on his/her bus.
Bus Radio
Perhaps the good folks at Commercial Free Childhood and Obligation.org have an opinion on which tools the school bus driver should use to provide a great environment for our students to have while riding the school bus.
I understand their concern about targeted advertising, but, really, what is the alternative on AM or FM during those times of the day to listen to? What advertising will our kids hear and be influenced by.
Bus Radio's concept of controlled music titles, approved advertising, designated public service messages and limited alternative channels to use provided a great environment to the student riders. What a shame that such a fuss was made by a group of high minded folks.
Perhaps, as I said, they have an alternative to replace the Bus Radio concept on the school bus. My guess is that their organization is only in the business of complaining about the program. If they do have an alternative, they need to make it very well known in the same channels that are reporting the demise of Bus Radio and on all the school bus industry publications.
Bet they don't or won't.
