In Queen Creek, when the wheels on a school bus go round-and-round, students’ parents can see them in real time.
Maybe not the wheels themselves, but they can see the location of their child’s school bus and check whether it’s on schedule. Those are just a few of the things the Here Comes the Bus app can do.
“There were a lot of concerns about timely communication to parents whenever there would be hiccups on routes, service interruptions, delays and whatnot,” said Peggie Overton, director of transportation for the Queen Creek Unified School District. “I thought it would just be awesome if parents could track their kids, see the bus approaching their stop, leaving their stop, knowing the children are actually getting to school, getting on and off the bus. I think that's vital, especially for working parents.”
The Here Comes the Bus is the culmination of a GPS system developed by Synovia. QCUSD installed the GPS system first and this fall launched Synovia’s Here Comes the Bus app. The free app is available for iPhones, iPads, Androids and other tablets.
It’s a massive undertaking considering 10,000 students ride QCUSD buses. QCUSD isn’t alone in Arizona in using Synovia’s GPS system and app. Ms. Overton said there are more than 1,800 Synovia vehicles across the state. Across the country, more than 300 school districts use the HCTB app, serving 800,000 students.
For one parent, the app has gone a long way toward easing her mind as her young son Logan, who is in the first grade, rides the bus to and from school.
“I don't consider myself a helicopter parent, but I definitely have always had a fear of that bus process and not having that availability to drop off and pick up my kid,” Amanda Hereim said. “You're depending on an adult that you don't know to be a safe driver. You're depending on them to watch your children while they're on the bus. Now you have that feeling of safety because you can literally see when your kid gets on a bus and off a bus and you know they're at school or home.
“I think it’s amazing for parents that even have older kids. For example, maybe the kids have to be at home for a few hours by themselves. A parent could be at work and they get that notification on their phone that tells them their kid has now gotten to school and also that they've gotten off the bus and are back home. I think it is reassuring for all parents of kids of all ages.”
How the system works for parents and students is simple from the user point of view. The district puts in what school bus route a child is on and then gives them a card that they scan on a tablet when getting on and off a school bus. If a parent downloads the app, they will also get that same information in real time.
If parents are divorced and a child spends part of the week at one home and the other part in another home, a call to the district will allow that information to be inputted and the child will be able to get off at a different stop or even ride a different bus without raising alarms.
The system also takes care of the youngest students. Their cards are a different color than that of older kids, allowing the bus driver to recognize the little ones and make sure they get off at the right stop and are released to an adult that a parent has authorized to the district. If the child has older siblings, a parent simply calls the district and the smaller child is allowed to get off the bus with those older siblings.
“The children have to be in our system as an assigned bus route rider in our routing software. That routing software talks to the GPS system so if you have a child that's assigned to route 12, that student is already in the system and the GPS already recognizes that child. We give them a bus pass that kind of looks like an identification card and it has a barcode on it,” Ms. Overton said.
District policy states children in kindergarten through second grade must be met at the bus by an adult or be with an older sibling.
“We do have a release of responsibility form that parents fill out and send over to us and we keep a log of those kids that are authorized to get off the bus in that age group with an older sibling or with other children in their community," Ms. Overton said. "Our kinders through second grade have red bus passes and our third grade through 12th grade have blue bus passes, so that helps the drivers recognize very quickly the age group of the student. The drivers know if they see a red bus pass that's a child that has to have an adult at their stop or have permission to get off the bus alone before the driver releases them.”
As a working parent, Ms. Hereim is thrilled that Here Come the Bus is in Queen Creek schools so she can always make sure her child is safe.
“I think they're always looking at the safety of our kids and I think it's just one other way of them helping parents out with that. I do think it speaks volumes of the school district.”
Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley @AzNewsmedia
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
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