By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis – The St. Louis public school district is adding new security measures to its bussing program.
Each of the more than 420 buses the district contracts with Laidlaw Transit will be equipped with digital video cameras to monitor student behavior.
Also, more than a quarter of the bus fleet will have global positioning systems and two-way digital radios to better track bus locations and pickup times.
Transportation director Deanna Anderson says that should help reduce calls from anxious parents.
"And we can now verify who was late: the bus or the child?" Anderson said. "We have more verification of that. We want to reduce the missed children to the point of every child is picked up on time."
The district is also using a computerized maintenance program, and will inspect each bus stop before school starts.
The first day of school for city children is September 7.