The Aboard tag: a white disc with a black centre and a yellow dot, hanging from a black strap.

She's on
the bus.She's off
the bus.

A tag on the backpack and a small box above the bus door. You get a message when the bus leaves with your child on it, and another when it leaves without them. Nothing to tap. Nothing to scan.

Ask about a pilot Watch a bus run

An example school day, as Maya's parent sees it.

  1. Maya is on Bus 12Left Birch Cres.
  2. Maya got off at schoolLakeview Public School.
  3. Maya is on Bus 12Left Lakeview Public School.
  4. Maya got off at Birch CresHer own stop.

A bus hears everyone nearby. So it waits until it drives away.

Bluetooth reaches about 25 metres. That covers the children on board, the ones still standing at the stop, and the ones on the bus parked alongside. Signal strength can't tell them apart, so Aboard doesn't try.

0 m ridden with the bus COUNTED
Maya
At the stop
Noah
At the stop
Kai
At the stop, waiting for Bus 7

Got on

The bus left a stop and the tag rode with it for 150 metres. Nobody standing at the stop can do that. Your message goes about 20 seconds after the bus pulls out.

Got off

The bus left a stop and a tag that was on board stayed behind. Your message goes about half a minute later, with the name of the stop.

In 900 simulated bus runs with two scanners per bus, Aboard got all 12,750 boardings and exits right.

Built for the bad days.

Most days are two quiet messages. These are the days it earns its place on the bus. The driver gets a light and a buzzer, not a screen.

One thing it can't do: tell a bag from a child. A bag left on a seat looks like a rider, so drivers still walk the bus at the end of every run.

The tag from the front: a smooth white disc with a strap ring at the top and a black centre with a yellow dot.
42 mm

Nothing for a four-year-old to remember.

Sealed for life
No battery door, so there is no coin cell for small hands to get at.
Three school years
Designed to last that long on one cell. It sleeps whenever the bag is still.
No name on it
No name, no number, nothing to read off it at the bus stop.
One tap, once
Tap it with your phone to pair it with your child. That is the only time anyone taps anything.
On the outside of the bag
Like the coloured tags kindergarten riders already wear. 42 mm across, 9 mm thick, soft to the touch.
Five tags in a row: red, yellow, green, blue and black.

Your route colours.Red route, blue route, whatever your school already uses. A child who can't read yet can still find the right bus.

Three lights. No screen.

The bus unit sits above the front door. It listens for tags, knows where the bus is, and tells the driver only what they need to know, at a glance.

The bus unit, a white box with a black light bar. The green light is on. The bus unit with the amber light on. The bus unit with the red light on.

All goodEveryone on board is on the right bus.

Works with no signal

It makes its decisions on the bus and sends them when the signal comes back.

Two wires

Power from the fuse panel. A full-size bus gets a second small scanner at the back.

Checks every run

When the bus is parked and switched off, it looks for any tag still on board and tells the driver.

It knows two moments. Not where she is.

  • A number that keeps changingThe tag never sends a name or a fixed number. Someone with a phone at the bus stop can't follow it from one day to the next.
  • Rides, not a trailThe record is "left Birch Cres at 3:41 with the tag on board". There is nothing in between rides.
  • A found tag gives nothing awayTap a lost tag and it says one thing: hand this to the school office.
  • You choose who gets the messagesA grandparent, a sitter, the other parent. A text message works, so nobody needs an app.

Put it on one route first.

A pilot is one route for one term. We fit the bus, tag the riders, and you see every ride. Aboard is for schools, daycares, camps and bus operators.

  • A message to parents when a child gets on and gets off
  • A check for anyone still on board at the end of every run
  • A real count of who rode, by stop, every day

Ask about a pilot

Run school buses, a daycare or a camp? Tell us about the route you'd start with.

Email info@alloic.com

We reply to every message ourselves.