School bus driver and trainer Bill Bowen has been inspecting school buses for years, but he's never had to do it quite like he's doing now.

On Friday, Bowen became acquainted with the latest in school bus technology called Zonar, an automated system that acts like a cellphone and GPS unit all in one.

"What we're trying to do with this new equipment that we have on board now is to make everybody ready to go Monday morning, because that's very important," said Bowen, a driver for Durham School Services.

The technology is available to a lot of companies. Drivers use the machine to scan in checkpoints all around the bus while they inspect it.

In an instant, information about how well the bus is running automatically shows up in the company's computer system.

That's not all.

An antenna on the top of the bus acts as a GPS tracker. It allows the company to know exactly where the bus is at all times. The company can view the bus' location on a map.

The company will know how fast drivers are going and if they're speeding, how long they stay at each bus stop and if they're missing bus stops altogether.

The system also makes drivers check to see if any children have been left on the bus.

Bowen said this is the first year Durham School Services is using the technology, but he said all drivers have been trained and will be ready for the first day of school.

"Everybody comes in at a certain time, and they have to be at their first stop at a certain time," Bowen said. "So we're trying to prepare them as much."