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Wi-fi school buses let parents keep an eye on kids
No more timetables?

By Natasha Lomas

Published: Tuesday 13 January 2009

Wi-fi-enabled school buses are letting parents keep an eye on their kids' whereabouts as they make their way to school.

The Green Bus company, which ferries more than 1,400 children to and from lessons each day in and around Birmingham, has deployed wi-fi internet access on 23 routes.

Bus pass holders get free web access at download speeds of up to around 2Mbps - which the company says has proved very popular with students since launching late last year.

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A quarter of kids have used the wi-fi service more than five times, and more than half of users have spent more than 20 minutes online on the buses, according to The Green Bus.

But the wi-fi service offers something for parents too. The ruggedised wi-fi access point on each bus - Icomera's Moovbox M Series mobile broadband gateway - incorporates GPS to enable real-time tracking of the vehicles.

The Green Bus MD Ian Mack said parents and school staff can securely log into the company's website to follow the progress of a bus during its journey using a Google Maps display.