January 16, 2024

New York Becomes First City in U.S. to Bring Intelligent Speed Assistance to School Buses

Builds on Successful Pilot of Intelligent Speed Assistance Technology in City Fleet and
Adams Administration’s Successful Redesigns of More Than 1,000 Intersections

NEW YORK - New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Dawn M. Pinnock and New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) Chancellor David C. Banks today unveiled a first-in-the-nation “School Bus Safe Fleet Transition Plan,” prepared in coordination with the U.S Department of Transportation’s Volpe Center.

The plan features key initiatives to keep the city’s students safe by improving school bus and road safety including additional bus driver training and safety risk reporting, piloting of new safety cameras and pedestrian alerts on the buses, and introducing school buses into DCAS’ successful intelligent speed assistance (ISA) pilot to limit speeding, making New York City the first city in the nation to use ISA technology on its school buses. DCAS is expanding its nation leading ISA initiative to 300 city fleet vehicles with 50 school buses among those 300 vehicles. On December 19, 2023, Mayor Adams announced that the City had received a federal DOT grant to expand the ISA program to 2,000 City fleet vehicles.

“As New York City continues to utilize innovative technology to make our city smarter and safer, putting these tools to work for our students is a no-brainer,” said Mayor Adams. “The School Bus Safe Fleet Transition Plan focuses on keeping kids safe by making buses safer with cameras, audible turn alerts, and updated driver safety training — all with the goal of eliminating traffic deaths and injuries. Thank you to the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Chancellor Banks, and Commissioner Pinnock for collaborating to bring this plan to fruition. Together, we are making New Yorkers safer on our streets.”

“The expanded school bus safety pilot plan is an example of federal and local government collaborating and using every tool in our toolbox to keep our streets safe,” said First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright. “These buses equipped with intelligent safety technology demonstrate this administration’s steadfast commitment to implementing both scalable and innovative solutions across city government. Our first-in-the country initiative serves as a national model for deploying cutting-edge technology with the power of government to create safer streets."

“Today’s announcement demonstrates New York City’s commitment to making our streets and our school buses safer,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “In partnership with USDOT, New York City has implemented the first program in the nation that utilizes Intelligent Speed Assistance on school buses, ensuring that operators are adhering to local speed limits and students are transported safely. I look forward to seeing this program advance the work of Vision Zero and continue to make our streets and roadways safer.”

“By issuing the first ever School Bus Safety Fleet Transition Plan we are reimagining and reassessing safety for some of our city’s most vulnerable passengers – students,” said DCAS Commissioner Dawn M. Pinnock. “Everyday parents and families entrust our city to transport their children to and from school safely, and by enacting these new initiatives we are reaffirming our commitment to make this a reality. We are excited for the new prospects and for the expansion of intelligent speed assistance. Our agency is fully invested in making all fleet vehicles greener, safer, and better for all New Yorkers. We value our partners at New York City Public Schools and the U.S. DOT Volpe Center for support issuing this plan.”

“Our primary responsibility as a community and a school system is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our youngest New Yorkers, not only when they are in class but also as they are transitioning to and from their schools,” said Schools Chancellor David C. Banks. “The rollout of these safety strategies designed to protect our school bus riders will give our families peace of mind that their babies are safe. I commend the hard work performed by our NYCPS transportation staff in partnership with DCAS to make this a reality.”

“This plan represents a holistic approach at keeping our children safe on their way to school and a pioneering new use for speed governing technology. We are proud to support these efforts with the implementation of street redesigns across the city, which have proven to dramatically reduce deaths and serious injuries," said New York City DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. "Thank you to Mayor Adams, DCAS Commissioner Dawn M. Pinnock, and our sister agencies for putting forth such a thoughtful approach to traffic safety.”

Since the ISA pilot launched in roughly 50 city vehicles in August 2022, hard braking events — often an indicator of unsafe driving — are down 33 percent. Most notably, DCAS found that thanks at least, in part, to ISA, fleet operators traveled within the speed limit parameters 99 percent of the time. The active ISA program, part of the city fleet, prevents a vehicle from further accelerating once the vehicle reaches the speed limit and adapts through live telematics tracking to the local speed limit where the vehicle is operating. This technology will be added to 50 school buses that transport public school students to school every day to ensure operators adhere to local speed limits and protect all road users.

In conjunction with NYCPS’ Office of Pupil Transportation, DCAS will build on the expansion of intelligent speed assistance technology by adopting the following strategies:

Audible Turn Alerts: DCAS will begin testing audible turn alerts for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. According to the plan, approximately 28 percent of fatal collisions involving school-age pedestrians and school buses occur when the vehicle was turning. With the addition of audible turn alerts, pedestrians would hear and see flashing LED lights that indicate a bus is turning. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority utilizes a similar system, and DCAS is piloting similar technology with trucks from other city agencies. The pilot will include 50 units and will be initially rolled out on electric buses operated by the NYC School Bus Umbrella Services (.)

Telematics Reporting: Modeled after the city’s existing telematics program, DCAS will expand the use of telematics reporting, including real-time alerts, speed and collision alert monitoring, and monthly safety score cards to track risk for each school bus across all school bus companies serving New York City. The goal is to report zero buses operating at high or moderate risk, as determined by the telematics system.

Mitigating Blind Zones

Mandatory Driver Safety Training: School bus operators will be mandated to participate in urban safety and defensive driver training. This will mirror the training currently offered by DCAS for all city fleet operators. The training will review Vision Zero, telematics tracking, best practices, and urban driving similar to the city fleet initiative. These trainings will be developed in conjunction with the NYCPS’ Office of Pupil Transportation and school bus companies, with the goal of having all drivers complete it by the start of the 2025-2026 school year.

School Bus of the Future: DCAS will partner with NYCPS’ Office of Pupil Transportation, school bus companies, and school bus manufacturers on updated specifications for school buses. They will assess the success of the technology pilots being announced today and look to revise and enhance the long-term specifications for school buses. As the city moves towards electric school buses by 2035, DCAS and NYCPS will work with companies to ensure safety is a key factor in the new design.

“Today, DCAS announces new safety investments for fleet trucks and school buses,” said DCAS Deputy Commissioner for Fleet Management and New York City Chief Fleet Officer Keith Kerman. “We have expanded our nation-leading intelligent speed assistance initiative to 300 vehicles, including the first 50 school buses; added truck safety surround cameras to 2,000 fleet trucks; and introduced our first all-electric truck that will also provide high vision for safety. We thank all New York City fleet agencies for their investments in safety and support, as well as NYCPS and others at DCAS for pursuing this project.”

“Together for Safer Roads is proud to have been partnering with New York City for almost 7 years,” said Peter Goldwasser, Executive Director, Together for Safer Roads. “It is through partnership that we are able to test, iterate and ultimately develop new and scalable solutions for making our roads safer. Today’s exciting announcement is another example of New York’s leadership in reducing serious collisions on their streets. Children are among the most vulnerable road users, and we must use all tools available to ensure that we make school bus transportation the safest mode both for occupants of buses and for those boarding and exiting.  The pilot programs and new technologies in the Safe Fleet Transition Plan are important advances to protecting school age children and demonstrate the power and potential of creative partnerships and innovative technologies to save lives.”

“The U.S. DOT Volpe Center is proud to provide technical expertise to the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services and Department of Education,” said Alexander Epstein, PhD, general engineer, Energy Analysis and Sustainability Division, U.S DOT Volpe Center. “Our initial analysis has led to a number of best practices that can be implemented, and we look forward to continuing to partner on fleet safety for Vision Zero.”

“NYCSBUS is proud to have been a partner with DCAS and Volpe in developing the Safe Fleet Transition Plan for school buses” said Matt Berlin CEO of the New York City School Bus Umbrella Services (NYCSBUS).  “We are looking forward to working with DCAS in adding technology to our buses such as intelligent speed assistance, surround cameras, and expanding on the telematics program through additional reporting as well as piloting video telematics and near miss analysis with Together for Safer Roads.  NYCSBUS will soon be launching a new safety program for both managers and drivers in conjunction with DCAS and Together for Safer Roads and look forward to working with other school bus companies to ensure safety is not just a priority but a culture.”