T IMES
SOUTHERN
ULSTER
Vol. 15, No. 28
3
JULY 11 - 17, 2018
3
ONE DOLLAR
Loyd’s Junior
American League returns
Page 32
SERVING HIGHLAND, MARLBOROUGH AND PLATTEKILL
Marlboro Schools bus company has a new owner
By MARK REYNOLDS
[email protected]
In April, student transportation provider
National Express acquired Quality Bus
Service and will continue to supply bus
service to the Marlboro School District.
In a recent presentation to the Marlboro
School Board, previous owner and founder
Mike Martucci, introduced D. Brett Wester,
Regional Manager for the Illinois-based
National Express, to explain what will
remain the same and what will change for
the 2018-19 school year.
The name Quality Bus and its location
on Route 9W will not change, Martucci
will stay on as well as nearly all of the
staff and the maintenance crew. The bus
routes will continue as they have, however,
state of the art safety computer programs
and ongoing training will enhance the
company’s overall operation for next year.
National Express will honor the current
Red, White & Blue
Fireworks explode over the Highland town park on Friday night for the hamlet’s annual Independence Day celebration. More photos
on page 16.
contract that the district has had with
Quality, which had several more years to
run.
Wester said they will partner with Zonar
Systems for their GPS technology that will
incorporate near real time benefits into
the bus company’s daily procedures. Each
driver will have a tablet that will allow
them to complete pre and post inspections
and send alerts to the maintenance
department on any defects or issues they
feel need to be addressed. Additionally,
the electronic system ensures that drivers
conduct mandatory child check sweeps at
the end of each route.
This technology gives authorized
personnel the ability to locate and track
buses in emergency situations and provides
quick resolutions of any immediate
concerns in real time. The system also
monitors idling buses to save on the cost of
fuel. The system also can check and record
driver speeds and compare readings to the
posted speed limits along the bus routes.
Wester said in 2019 they will bring
in DriveCam, a video-based driver safety
program that can be used to reduce the
frequency and severity of accidents.
DriveCam is mounted on the windshields
and, “has a camera that looks out and
a camera that looks in,” that allows the
company to closely monitor the buses to
make sure there are no problems.
Wester said they will soon add Bus
Tracker to their system.
“This is a smart phone app that a
parent can actually look on the system,
pull up their child and see where a bus is
and how long until it gets to their stop,” he
said. “It provides parents and guardians
with a greater sense of comfort about their
child’s transportation.”
Wester said they have incorporated
ongoing employee training programs at
their company, pointing out that new
drivers must complete nearly 50 hours of
classroom and behind the wheel training.
Wester said the company is also
Continued on page 2
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