School Transport Services LLC (STS) has always prioritised its passengers and employees’ health and safety. Being a responsible transport operator, STS actively supported and encouraged all of its 3,000 employees to be proactive about their personal safety and hygiene, keeping in mind the large part of the educational environment that most STS employees work within.
The UAE’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign has and remains world-leading, which has helped STS ensure that its employees have access to a positive vaccination programme. STS has continually focused on the welfare of its employees, promoted the vaccine programme, and worked closely with the health authorities to ensure that the employees are provided with the available levels of protection.
“The safety and well-being of students, employees, and everyone we engage with will always be our priority,” said Steve Burnell, Managing Director of STS. “Our proactive approach to employee health and everyone we engage with, combined with our vaccine programme, means that 100% of eligible employees will have received the vaccine by the time the schools reopen for the new term in April,” he said.
At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, STS worked tirelessly with the education community and regulatory bodies by introducing the Back-to-the-Bus Safety Protocol. This ensured that the highest safety and protection standards were in place to assure parents that the school bus is the safest form of getting to and from school every day. Whilst the number of students returning to school post lockdown was low, the number of students returning to the school bus has increased month on month.
Combined with the successful vaccination drive at STS and in schools, these safety efforts have shown tremendous confidence amongst parents and now choosing the bus for their child’s attendance at school. Whilst each bus is currently restricted to 50% seating capacity, the returning students using STS transport are continually rising and are three times what they were late last year.
“The steady rise in bus ridership is an incredible achievement for all of us. Students returning to the school bus will have a positive impact on the environment and will reduce traffic congestion around school zones in the long run.” said Thomas Edelmann, Managing Director of Road Safety UAE.
Another factor contributing to the steady rise in students choosing STS is their bus fleet, which is equipped with state-of-the-art technologies designed to keep students safe. One of the latest features onboard is the Driver Fatigue Camera, which consists of a driver-facing live camera mounted on the dashboard. This system utilises pupil identification technology and analyses the driver’s facial features to detect fatigue indicators and behaviour such as eye blink rate, mobile phone use and oral intake.
“STS’s superior fatigue detection system is not affected by the presence of personal protective equipment such as face masks and face shields. STS has continued investing in these systems over the past 12 months through the COVID period,” said Chidambaram Gunaseelan, Head of IT at STS.
Other smart technologies in the bus include RFID Student Tracking, Motion Sensors, STS App, Route Optimisation, Child Check Monitors, Alert Button, CCTV Surveillance Systems and GPS Tracking.
All safety measures introduced over the past year are part of STS’s holistic approach towards student safety and reflect their core values of Safe, Timely, Smart. The increase in the school bus ridership and transport registration for the new school term is a positive step towards normalisation, a proud moment for STS, with its people taking the initiative and inspiring a safety-driven community mindset.