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Media, Online
Batelco

School buses are supposed to be joyful and safe rides for children. Every day thousands of children in Bahrain travel on buses to schools and back. But unfortunately, in many cases, school buses in the country have turned into carriers of tragic news. The situation has become a legitimate problem in the country. And it has even led to Bahrain’s Prime Minister demanding that safety standards in all school buses need to be enhanced. 

Batelco, Bahrain’s leading telecommunications brand and an innovative digital solutions provider, wanted to take on the responsibility to keep children safe in buses. And created The Smart Buses – a cutting edge IoT (Internet of Things) connected vehicle solution – making school buses safe environments for children. This smart vehicle solution marks a new era in the transportation sector, as it helps address security challenges like safety, mobility, monitoring and the weather (which is hot in a country like Bahrain for most months of the year). 

Powered by a solar power system, each bus has a 4G connector providing WiFi on the go, connecting the bus to schools and to parents. Driven by a smart monitoring system that registers number of students, each bus is equipped to count the number of children boarding and alighting from it. The system is also equipped with movement sensors and alarms and notifies the school and parents of missing children or of those children who are left behind. 

Additionally, the school and parents can monitor the location of their respective bus via GPS and know the arrival time at school and also, at home. And if any bus is delayed, the respective school and parents are updated. This allows the parents to stay in touch with their school on changes in schedules. 

With driver identification built into the system, the solution also ensures the drivers abide by traffic rules and regulations by allowing parents and the school to monitor the speed of their bus. Equipped with two-way audio systems, the solution enables the school and parents to speak with those in the bus and listening to what’s happening inside. A camera with network video recording (NVR) helps keep a record of all movements in the journey including monitoring each bus from the inside. And a sound sensor detects signs of distress among the children. 

Temperature control systems keep the children safe and protected, especially during hot summers, by raising an alarm via the internet if the temperature rises higher than the normal/safety limit for children. With this idea, Batelco has leveraged its advanced digital network combined with a wide portfolio of ICT products to design and deliver an effective solution for the safety of our future generations in the Kingdom of Bahrain. 

According to Batelco Bahrain CEO Muna Al Hashemi, this connected vehicle solution is in big demand from school authorities who are very eager to ensure the safety of their students travelling to school by school buses. From a brand that seeks to improve lives through innovation, this idea has also set the blueprint for other telecommunication brands to create similar solutions across the Middle East and the world to ensure school buses remain joyful and safe places – and don’t become the last rides for more children.

Advertising Agency:FP7/DXB, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Advertising Agency:FP7, Bahrain