BusRadio commissioned industry leader Edison Media Research to find out what bus drivers with BusRadio programming installed on
their buses think of the service.
Survey Results
Thirty bus drivers in 7 districts were asked to rate the improvement of the following items on a 10-point scale:
The average daily bus ride was 40 minutes, with more than 50% of the drivers having rides of 30 minutes or less. On 85% of the buses, cell phones are allowed, and 87% allow MP3 players.
BusRadio has improved the ride for most bus drivers and they would like to continue to have the programming on their routes.
Overall Bus Ride: Most drivers (82%) felt their overall bus ride has at least "Somewhat Improved" since BusRadio began playing on their routes. Only a small percentage (4%), claim it is "Not At All Improved."
Bus Drivers noted that all areas tested showed improvement. The bus drivers used a 1 to 10 rating scale where "1" means "Not At All Improved" and a "10" means "Very Much Improved." Bus drivers noted that all areas tested did show improvement. The overall willingness of the students to follow the rules improved the most, followed by students remaining in their seats and then overall behavior.
The bus drivers used a 1 to 10 rating scale where "1" means "Not At All Quieter" and a "10" means it is "Much Quieter." The average rating of the improvement of the students' noise level among the 30 bus drivers was a 6.8.
When asked how BusRadio has helped their bus rides, drivers gave commentary like "kids like it" (7), "keeps the noise down" (5) and "students are better behaved" (4).
Continuation of BusRadio: 93% of drivers want to continue to have BusRadio on their bus.
Bus drivers have gotten a mostly positive reaction to BusRadio.
An emergency panic button might be a beneficial addition to the bus.
When asked, "Do you think it would be beneficial to have an emergency panic button on each bus that would connect to an emergency call center like 'Onstar' works for vehicles?" 20 out of the 30 drivers said "yes".
Reasons the panic button would be beneficial include, "In case of an emergency" (9), "Hijacking situation" (2), "To get a faster response" (2) and "To reach dispatch" (2).
- Student's behavior on the bus
- Willingness to follow bus rules
- Frequency of students remaining in their seats
- Noise level
The average daily bus ride was 40 minutes, with more than 50% of the drivers having rides of 30 minutes or less. On 85% of the buses, cell phones are allowed, and 87% allow MP3 players.
BusRadio has improved the ride for most bus drivers and they would like to continue to have the programming on their routes.
Overall Bus Ride: Most drivers (82%) felt their overall bus ride has at least "Somewhat Improved" since BusRadio began playing on their routes. Only a small percentage (4%), claim it is "Not At All Improved."
Bus Drivers noted that all areas tested showed improvement. The bus drivers used a 1 to 10 rating scale where "1" means "Not At All Improved" and a "10" means "Very Much Improved." Bus drivers noted that all areas tested did show improvement. The overall willingness of the students to follow the rules improved the most, followed by students remaining in their seats and then overall behavior.
The bus drivers used a 1 to 10 rating scale where "1" means "Not At All Quieter" and a "10" means it is "Much Quieter." The average rating of the improvement of the students' noise level among the 30 bus drivers was a 6.8.
When asked how BusRadio has helped their bus rides, drivers gave commentary like "kids like it" (7), "keeps the noise down" (5) and "students are better behaved" (4).
Continuation of BusRadio: 93% of drivers want to continue to have BusRadio on their bus.
Bus drivers have gotten a mostly positive reaction to BusRadio.
An emergency panic button might be a beneficial addition to the bus.
When asked, "Do you think it would be beneficial to have an emergency panic button on each bus that would connect to an emergency call center like 'Onstar' works for vehicles?" 20 out of the 30 drivers said "yes".
Reasons the panic button would be beneficial include, "In case of an emergency" (9), "Hijacking situation" (2), "To get a faster response" (2) and "To reach dispatch" (2).
Conclusions
- Bus drivers noticed improvement in student overall behavior, willingness of thestudents to follow the rules, students remaining in their seats and noise level.
- Bus drivers reported a mostly positive response from students and hoped the programming continues.
- Bus drivers would be receptive to the installation of a panic button on their buses
- Most buses do allow students to use cell phones and MP3 players
- The average bus driver's route is 40 minutes
