K H A L E E J T I M E S | A DV ERT I S I N G SU P P L E M EN T
GateX Trading LLC
Together, let’s save a child’s life
Gear up for a safer journey
School buses in the UAE make the switch to secure student safety and comfort Farhana Chowdhury
U
nlike most countries across the world, transportation in the UAE is smooth, convenient, comfortable, and easily accessible. Roads, airspace and water bodies are all intricately networked to provide commuters with safe and reliable ways to reach preferred destinations. It also links business routes, contributing to its title of an ideal trade hub. Schools and universities are among those that make use of a range of transportation for their daily routine. The use of public transport to go to school is quite uncommon here and many par-
ents either take their kids to school themselves or expect the educational institution to take up the responsibility. Educational institutions usually have hundreds of students scattered all across the UAE. This naturally calls for buses or its mini counterparts to help gather them
while maintaining the school’s set timings. It is also necessary to have dependable rides that can take the students back to their accommodation. The size of transportation is selected depending on the number of people living in a certain area. Bus routes are equally distributed in such a way that students can easily board the bus from their doorsteps. Seatbelts, air-conditioners and of course, using the stop sign have gained high importance in every day life as road authorities have reported a number of accidents due to poor conduct, improper safety features, and one of the most evident but unno-
» turn to next page
Use the latest technology to provide fool-proof solutions to child safety in buses GateX Trading LLC recently announced its agreement for the exclusive distribution of Child Check-Mate System Inc. products in the UAE. The Child CheckMate System (CCMS) enhances children’s security by increasing safety in the school transportation industry. Although drivers are expected to check their vehicles for sleeping children, many sleeping children have been left behind, or exposed to extreme weather conditions. In many cases, this has resulted in injury or death. “CCMS forces the drivers to walk from the front to the rear of each vehicle after each route,” explains Arman Taghian, founder and CEO of GateX. “This actively reminds drivers to thoroughly search the vehicle for remaining passengers, packages or belongings.” GateX is a leader in innovation of advanced monitoring systems. At the RTA Conference and Exhibition, GateX showcased its RealTime Student Attendance System which reports the time and place of passenger pick-ups and dropoffs; a list of current students in each bus, as well as many other
unique reports and indices such as Instant Incident Investigator. GateX Attendance System is currently implemented on several school transportation providers’ fleets. “Naturally, CCMS is a great fit for our company,” said Arman Taghian, adding, “Our customers are constantly and proactively increasing the safety of their vehicles and passengers. We want to implement solutions like CCMS in a preventative manner, before incidents occur.” CCMS has sold around 250,000 systems in North America and is a standard in the industry. In many areas, the product is mandatory on all pupil transportation vehicles. Major school bus manufacturers in the US, which includes BlueBird, Thomas and IC, have even made the systems available on all new vehicles.
CCMS also monitors vehicles after school hours and can be integrated with existing GPS tracking systems to generate time-sensitive SMS or e-mail alerts. “This feature is very important in areas with extreme hot or cold climates because it allows fleet supervisors to react quickly when movement is detected after the vehicle has been turned off, and the driver has left,” said Gord Both, Co-founder and President of Child Check-Mate System Inc. “Hereby, I would like to sincerely thank RTA for this year’s School Transportation Conference and Exhibition,” said Taghian. “During the exhibition we have been able to meet industry leaders and clients and finalise the Child Check-Mate System’s order for the entire fleet of Fancy Transport LLC.”