MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) -- Thousands of Cobb County students who take the bus to 113 schools each day soon will be rocking with a new kind of radio. The programming called Bus Radio Network is produced out of Boston for students nationwide. It allows bus drivers to flip the station for pop-rock music and ads aimed at elementary, middle or high school students. Drivers who have tested it say it's a hit -- especially with younger riders. Cobb County Schools Transportation Director Carroll Pitts yanked commercial radio broadcasting from school buses two years go. He says he was fed up with what he considered inappropriate listening for children and tired of complaints from parents. Pitts says he jumped at the chance to try Bus Radio, which he says "gets rid of the nasty talk by morning deejays here in Atlanta." The school board approved the idea, and Bus Radio is equipping Cobb County buses with radios and antennas to receive the broadcast. The equipment should be in place by mid September.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
