The New York City Council has approved a plan to install GPS systems on all city school buses and provide parents a mobile application to track their children.
WABC-TV reports that the action comes after a snowstorm in November left buses stranded in traffic for hours, and parents couldn't reach their kids.
The legislation was named STOP—Student Transportation Oversight Package. Along with the installation of two-way radio devices and GPS systems on school buses, the city will be required to report bus times, delays and complaints.
All 10,000 city school buses are to have systems installed by September. As of now, 6,000 are equipped with this technology.
The school system, the nation's largest, had fielded numerous complaints about its beleaguered school bus operations. Students have been stuck on buses for hours or dropped off at incorrect locations.
The portion of legislation involving the GPS will cost about $3.6 million in the first year. In subsequent years, the cost is an estimated $1.8 million per year.
Eliyanna Kaiser, a New York City mother, says she is ready to celebrate over this new legislative package.
"(The buses) were arriving at least an hour late almost every day for the first month of school," she says.
