School Bus Cameras Approved In Hatboro-Horsham

HATBORO / HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —School bus cameras are coming to Hatboro and Horsham Township.

The Hatboro-Horsham School Board unanimously approved a contract to install video cameras on bus stop-arms to record violators passing buses when they are stopped to pick up or drop off students.

The proposal was discussed at the board’s Jan. 13 work session.

Abington and Cheltenham townships are among the eastern Montgomery County school districts to outfit their buses with cameras. Several school districts in nearby Bucks County, such as Bensalem, also have cameras on school buses.

Arming all 46 buses would cost $138,000, but school officials said the installation costs would be picked up by Bus Patrol, which outfits school bus fleets with the latest stop-arm safety technology, including stop-arm cameras, DVR, and storage devices, interior cameras, GPS, telemetry, and LTE connectivity.

The cameras are activated when the stop arm of the bus is extended as children get on and off the bus. They capture video of vehicles illegally passing the bus and endangering those children.

The videos of vehicles disregarding the stop arm and flashing red lights would be forwarded to the Hatboro and Horsham Township police departments. The district would need agreements with both before installing the cameras.

When a vehicle is captured on camera, police could then issue violations where warranted.

Bus Patrol would get its money back in two ways: from a technology fee of $250 a month for each bus and from a $65 fee for each violation issued.

The $300 fine would be split between the district ($250), the police department ($25) and a state sponsored school board safety grant ($25).

Bus Patrol’s $65 violation fee would come out of the district’ portion.

The district will also need inter-agency agreements with the two police departments to proceed with the installation.

If the number of violations is not enough to reimburse Bus Patrol for the cost of the camera installation, any shortfall would be borne by the company.