Arizona School Bus Offers Wi-Fi Service

VAIL, Ariz. - After years of struggling with ways to quell horseplay on school buses, one southern Arizona school district may have found the answer: wi-fi.

School bus 93 in Vail, Ariz. isn't your typical ride to school. Like generations past, kids do homework, read, and listen to music. But now, they also can go online.

The students have quit horseplay thanks to wi-fi internet.

"There's less moving around in the bus while it's moving. While some students may sit next to each other to see what they're doing on the computer -- they're not punching each other," says JJ Johnson, the bus driver.

What was once a rambunctious ride to Empire High in rural Vail, is now a traveling mobile hotspot.

"They're stuck on the bus 186 days, two hours a day and after a while anybody would go a little stir crazy," says Vail School District Director of Technology Matt Federoff.

Of course, the students like the extra time on the internet, but more importantly, it provides an option for them to complete homework during once-wasted time.

"It's actually made a really huge difference because last year I felt like a lot more rushed than I do this year like I have a lot more time knowing I can do stuff on the bus," says student Jerod Reyes.

It also benefits high school sports teams that leave school early for games -- now they can take the digital classroom with them.

Vail is the first school district in the country to try wi-fi on buses and other schools are taking notice.

Each one of these systems is only a couple hundred dollars and service is about $50 a month. Supporters say it's a small price to pay for more study time and silence.