Need to know if your child’s school bus is running behind or early so you can time walking your student home from the bus stop? Well, there’s an app for that.
Allapattah Flats K-8 was the first to be added to the app, near the end of last school year. This year, five others have joined, including Fort Pierce Magnet School of the Arts, Lawnwood Elementary, Mariposa Elementary, Savanna Ridge Elementary and West Gate K-8.
“Besides our office staff, a number of our parents have used this app and have been very pleased with it,” said Mariposa Elementary Principal Craig Logue.
Parent Michael Goyette is one such happy app user, according to Logue. Goyette, through Logue, told St. Lucie Voice, “I enjoy this service and it has been very helpful to my family. Knowing where the bus is at is great. I give it a five star rating! I wish that all schools could have this.”
Eventually, all schools in the district could be added to the Here Comes the Bus app, which is available in both the Apple App Store and the Google Play store. The free app allows parents – and caregivers – to create an account using their students’ ID numbers to access the bus transportation information.
While anyone can download the app, only those who know their students’ ID numbers can make use of the information, Transportation Director Don Carter said.
They can sign up for alerts based on a set distance from the bus stop where the bus is, as well as notifications of when the bus has reached the stop, arrived at school, and departed from school.
Carter said the department has had the technology to track buses for itself but felt a need to provide that information to students’ families.
Each school bus is equipped with GPS and the routes are tracked using software from Synovia Solutions.
Often, the transportation department fields calls from parents or guardians inquiring about the location of their students’ buses. With the app, they can get that information directly.
Carter couldn’t say if the department has noticed a dip in calls coming regarding bus locations; it’s not something they’ve tracked. “I know it will” decrease as more families use the app, he said.
The app also lets registered users know if a bus has a break-down or if some other incident has delayed the delivery of students to their prescribed locations. “You gotta stay on it all the time,” Carter said of keeping the data current for the app. “In our world, changes happen every minute.”
Parents with multiple children attending the participating schools can register each child’s identification number to receive notices for each – they don’t have to choose which child’s bus they’ll track.
Carter was quick to note that the app tracks the bus – not the student. If the student doesn’t get on the bus, the app won’t know.
“This is a step in the customer service direction,” schools spokeswoman Kerry Padrick said, noting that parents often want rapid access to information.
The app literally puts the information in the palm of their hands.
Carter said the district plans to expand the program to more and more schools over time and that there was no real rhyme or reason to the five that were recently selected. “We had to pick some,” he said, noting that they are spread throughout the county.
Before winter break, there were 600 registered users tracking 800 students.
“I would like to see more” registered, Carter said. “I see it getting bigger.”
The app is available in three languages – English, Spanish and French.
For those without an Apple or Android device, an Internet-connect computer will work as well. Parents can go to https://herecomesthebus.com and register there to get information online.
For more information, contact the Transportation Department by calling 772-340-7184 or email Kathy Owens at [email protected].
