Here Comes The Bus

Here Comes The Bus



In This Section Section Home Student Address Update Athletic Trips Busing Guidelines Bus Safety Customer Survey Field Trips Frequently Asked Questions Go-To Pass Here Comes The Bus Improvement Plan Request / Waiver Form	Here Comes The Bus Transportation > Here Comes The Bus Here Comes The Bus Here Comes The Bus (HCTB) allows parents to view real-time location of their child's school bus on a computer, tablet or smartphone. Here Comes The Bus is an easy-to-use website and mobile device app that is powered by Synovia Bus Tracker, the GPS-enabled vehicle tracking system. Parents and caregivers are able to view the real-time location of their child’s school bus, in addition to receiving email alerts and push notifications that help parents send their students to the bus stop at just the right time. Transportation Services and IT Services have been working to fully implement Synovia and the subsequent Here Comes The Bus. Implementing this new system requires both MPS and our contractors to install and monitor GPS units, train all drivers in proper use and procedures, and integrate with our scheduling software system. Once the tracking system has been implemented, we plan to field test Here Comes the Bus at a few schools. More information and resources will be shared in this space as the project moves forward. Prior to the field test, Transportation and the selected schools will host parent informational sessions as well as provide a dedicated email address and customer survey to exchange information on how the field test is working for families. Here Comes The Bus Field Test Here Comes The Bus has begun field testing at two schools: Loring Elementary and Armatage Elementary. During the field test parents will be able to create an account with Here Comes The Bus to track their child's bus. Using the Here Comes The Bus app, parents will be able to: Locate their child’s bus before and after school Receive a notification when the bus is near their stop Confirm their child’s bus has arrived at school and at bus stop The field test will focus on the primary to and from school buses for regular education students. During the field test, there are certain limitations which will impact full usage of the website and app. These limitations are: Mid-day routes Special education routes Alternate stops- defined as a student going to different stops on different days (such as daycare) Afterschool program buses- defined as a student staying for an afterschool program and taking a later bus to the same primary stop This means during the field test, families who have children who ride mid-day, afterschool program or special education buses will not be able to accurately track their children’s bus. Children with alternate stops will also not be accurately tracked using Here Comes The Bus. Work is being done to resolve some limitations, however, it is not expected to be resolved during this field test. At no point in the project will Here Comes The Bus be used to track field trip or athletic buses.		Project Timeline Summer/Fall 2018: Synovia Bus Tracker fully implemented and operational Late Fall 2018: Here Comes The Bus available to field test sites Winter/Spring 2018-19: Identify additional work needed from field test outcomes Spring 2019: Determine next steps for Here Comes The Bus Pending: Here Comes The Bus available districtwide (timeline subject to change depending on project status) HCTB Feedback Using Here Comes The Bus? We'd love to hear what you think! Click here to give us your feedback on the app. HCTB Resources Click the links below to be directed to the specific training topic. Creating an Account Tracking Your Student's Bus Changing Your Notification Radius Resetting Your Password Click here to access all training materials. For non-technical assistance, email Katee Brown.