Upper Dublin School Buses Getting Cameras

UPPER DUBLIN TOWNSHIP, PA — The township will become the latest school district in Montgomery County to arm its buses with cameras.

The school district, Upper Dublin Township, and the Upper Dublin Township Police Department have partnered with BusPatrol to increase student safety on and around school buses.

Starting Oct. 20, stop-arm cameras will be used on all 30 district school buses to enforce Pennsylvania’s existing school bus laws, which require drivers to stop when children are boarding or exiting.

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.

School districts near Upper Dublin Township have cameras on buses as well.

The Hatboro-Horsham School District started using the technology at the start of the school year.

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.

Click here to learn more about the school bus program