Virginia School District to Roll Out Traffic Cameras to All Buses
Richmond Public Schools (RPS) in Virginia are on the defensive when it comes to student safety and transportation. RPS in April installed stop-arm cameras on a fleet of 50 school buses to monitor traffic, local news organization WRIC reported, and now the district revealed plans to install cameras on the remaining 200 buses by the start of the 2017-2018 school year.
Each one was outfitted with several stop-arm cameras on the outside as well as the inside of the bus. The district worked in partnership with Force Multiplier Solutions, a Dallas, TX-based company that specializes in student transit and public transit systems, to install the cameras at no upfront cost. Instead, the company earns a percentage of each ticket, which is a $250 fine, while the rest goes to a general fund for the district.
For the first month, RPS has been able to issue on average one ticket per bus each day to drivers that violate laws around school buses, according to WRIC.