SMART tag™
SMART tag™ (by Secured Mobility LLC) is a SaaS technology service created in 2012 for the K-12 student transportation industry, equipping school buses with on-board tablets that enhance student safety and security while eliminating paper-based processes for improved efficiency and optimization of operations. SMART tag™’s technology also includes software for routing, RFID card management, and enhanced communications among the Transportation Department and their bus drivers, school campuses, and the students' parents.
Conceived by a school bus driver, SMART tag™ brought districts the first on-board tablet solution in the nation. We continue to partner with a growing number of K-12 school districts throughout the U.S. to provide student authorized ridership, pre/post-trip inspection reporting, live GPS and improved communications.
The “SMART” in the SMART tag™ name is an acronym that incorporates the company’s name with the core product: Secured Mobility Authorized Ridership Technology.
How SMART tag™ Started
A Bus Driver's Light Bulb Moment
In 2009, I was the pastor of a Texas church while also substitute teaching at two school districts. I received a call from an administrator at Belton ISD asking if I would fill in as a monitor on a special needs bus for the remaining three months of the year. I learned there had been an accident involving a special needs bus. Tragically, the driver was killed and the monitor was injured. As terrible and shocking as the accident was, thankfully there were no students on board the bus at the time.
For the next three months as a monitor, I had my eyes opened to the world of transporting students with special needs. During that period I was hounded to get my CDL and become a school bus driver! That was not my plan, yet that’s what I did so I had my CDL before the start of the next school year. As a result, I drove a regular ed route for the next several years and had my eyes opened to a different world of transporting students that had its own challenges!
With twenty-five years of risk management in my background, I quickly became aware of the fact that drivers are not only ill-equipped to perform many of their duties and responsibilities, but there are also areas of liability exposure for school districts. That’s when I thought there had to be a way to help increase the safety and security of students through equipping drivers with today’s technology so they can perform their jobs more efficiently. And that’s when the idea for SMART tag™ was conceived.
I presented my idea to a friend I knew through church, Noel Lopez, who was (and still is) the Director of Operations at a high-tech company - Secured Mobility, LLC. After the owner of the company agreed to take a chance on the vision, SMART tag™ soon became a reality. SMART tag™ is not only the first on-board tablet on school buses in the nation when it launched fleetwide in 2014, and also continues to be the industry leader with the most feature rich solution that is also the easiest to use. We will never be satisfied with where we’re at today, nor will we take on a corporate mindset that is only really concerned about the bottom line profit. We are all about continuing to build the very best, most comprehensive system in the K-12 transportation industry. At the same time, we are building relationships with the hard working, dedicated men and women at the school districts we are so fortunate to provide our service to.
Brett Taylor
Product Marketing Manager
SMART tag™ by Secured Mobility, LLC
Secured Mobility
Secured Mobility, LLC is a privately held technology company located in Georgetown, Texas with nearly two decades of experience in developing innovative software solutions, including e-commerce systems, vehicle security software, and deploying high-availability, highly scalable infrastructure.
The core team members for Secured Mobility, LLC are highly successful entrepreneurs with multiple start-up experiences and co-founder roles at VC-backed companies across a range of technology disciplines in software (local, cloud, embedded, security, etc.), electrical and hardware engineering. The team strives to apply these talents and experience toward developing solutions that meet real needs in the industry, are intuitive to use, and deliver value for its customer. Over the years, both of the company’s business units have been awarded multiple utility patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
