Bus 54, where are you? - NotiCom notifies parents and children when school is arriving - Brief Article

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, April, 1999 by Melynda Dovel Wilcox

Of all the many gee-whiz spinoffs of global positioning satellite technology, here's one that hits home in more ways than one: a service that notifies parents and kids when the school bus is coming.

NotiCom, a Florida-based technology company, is targeting safety- and convenience-minded households with BusCall. Choose how many minutes in advance you want to be notified and you get an automated telephone message telling you the bus is on the way. You can even get a distinctive ring so that if you're running late you don't have to take time to pick up the phone.

Tested successfully in Minnesota and Florida, BusCall will be available this spring in parts of Maine and Minnesota. Local telephone companies will offer it as an extra service costing a few dollars a month or as part of a package of add-ons. NotiCom's research indicates parents would be willing to pay $10 a month for BusCall, says president David Hall.

Kids, of course, aren't the only ones who appreciate arriving at their destination warm, dry and safe. NotiCom expects that the service will be expanded to workers commuting to their jobs via bus, and to elderly and handicapped people who need special transportation.