The Bus is Back

Some in Congress are trying to force the FCC to allow WiFi on buses.  When I blogged about WiFi on buses five years ago, I was not sanguine on the idea.  Now, I'm OK with it.

But in order to meet the expectations of long-time readers, I'll start with my complaints about the idea.

First, is the Digital Divide (or Homework Gap or whatever) a big problem?  In a 2017 survey, only 13% of students said they sometimes they cannot do homework because they lack Internet access outside of school.  OK, it was an online survey, but still....

Second, we can't solve the Digital Divide (or Homework Gap or whatever) during the bus ride home. 

1. Only about half of kids take the bus. 
2. Bus rides aren't long for most kids.  How long?  Well...
1. One vendor says 40 minutes a day.
2. North Carolina's DOE says 24 minutes/ride, 48 minutes a day.
3. Arkansas says 49 minutes each way, 98 minutes a day.
4. In West Virginia, it's 40.7 minutes in the morning, 81.4 minutes a day.
5. The largest research study I found (covering rural schools in 5 states) showed that even in rural areas, 15% of kids rode less than 30 minutes, 75% less than 60 minutes.
3. Bus WiFi is only useful if connected to the Internet.  How stable is the Internet connection on those long rural routes?  I predict a new excuse: "The bus WiFi ate my homework."

Third, connectivity is half the problem.  The other half is a device.  Students can only work on the bus if their district allows them to take laptops or netbooks home.  A 2017 survey found that 14% of schools give students a computer to take home [skip to slide 19 of the presentation].


On to the things I like.

First, we have the money.  The program is nowhere near cap, so an additional $250 million per year won't break the bank. (484,000 school buses x $44.97/month x $12 months)

Second, some school districts are using school buses as neighborhood access points.  Just park the bus near the end of its route, leave the WiFi on overnight, and boom! you've lit up that neighborhood.  Assuming, of course, that the neighborhood has good cell phone reception.

Third, it gives the kids something productive to do on the ride home.  Assuming that you can lock down the Internet access to prevent the kids from having any fun.

I said I was OK with it.  I didn't say I loved it.