The reduction in wasted fuel from using global positioning systems (GPS) in District #83 school buses will more than make up for the cost of paying for the service, according the man responsible for the bus fleet.

“I told the Ministry (of Education) these systems will pay for themselves within a year,” said District #83 manager of transportation Frank Marasco.

Marasco was responding to accusations from District #83 support staff union president Gerry Beauregard that the GPS feature is an unnecessary use of the transportation budget.

The savings, says Marasco, come from the reduction in vehicle idling. The GPS feature allows him to keep records of each vehicle’s fuel consumption and since drivers now know they’re being monitored, there is less wasted fuel.

“A lot of the fleet is parked off-lot and that leads to much idling,” said Marasco. “With the idling tool in place, we can bring it to drivers’ attention. They know it’s being watched.”

Marasco figures there will be a $49,000 saving in fuel costs per year and further savings from the streamlining of bus routes that will cut down on bus driver hours for a total cost reduction of $103,000.

An anti-idling campaign, introduced just over two years ago, was supposed to reduce unnecessary fuel use and Beauregard thinks that makes GPS unnecessary.

“The anti-idling campaign, yes, it’s in place and our bus drivers are doing it and they’re well aware of why they’re doing it. In my opinion, to spend that kind of money (on GPS)… doesn’t make any sense.”

Beauregard says GPS would take $12,000 per year out of the budget.

He based his findings on a fleet of 50 buses costing $20 per month which is what the District is paying for the service. That is separate from the capital cost of installing GPS which is $850 per bus.

The transportation budget for fuel has not increased since 2002 and the rise in gas prices since then has made it hard for Marasco to stay under budget. Beauregard thinks that’s all the more reason not to spend money on GPS.

“If the (provincial) government comes in one day and changes that (the budget), then we can revisit it. But at this point it’s foolish money spent.”

At the moment, 44 of the 54 District #83 buses have GPS. Marasco would also like maintenance vehicles to be equipped but Beauregard says this would cost a further $6,000 per year based on a fleet of 25 vehicles.

Marasco said the Ministry of Education would like GPS on all buses in B.C. and pointed out GPS comes with the added benefits of monitoring vehicle speed and stops so any conflicts about safety and pickups being made can be settled without question. He also noted there is less paper wasted because drivers no longer have to log their hours. The GPS keeps track of that information in a database.

District #83 is one of seven districts in B.C. with GPS on its buses.