Helena Public Schools works with Edulog to integrate
the routing software with the company’s Parent Portal. Edulog provides a “Lite” version, which simply shows the bus location. Helena Public schools uses “Premium” to allow parents to view the bus on the map as well as view bus stops and arrival times, set geofields to create alerts when the bus is approaching, and track students on and off the bus. Similarly, Cedar Rapids’ Stopfinder app shows the
bus on the map and the location of the stop. Wing said parents or guardians can also set an alert for when the bus enters a certain geofield to trigger a notification that it will be arriving at the stop soon. Cedar Rapids also has the ability to track students through Zonar, but the capa- bility is not yet turned on. “Every [school] building operates as its own entity,”
Wing explained. “To get the RFID card to all 4,500 stu- dent riders, we need 31 buildings to print cards and to maintain them. It’s a logistical challenge.” Parents are also not shy about letting districts or bus
companies know when the app is not working like it should. That makes working out the bugs with app providers at the outset vitally important, Cohn advised. But after successful testing, he added that human error
is often the culprit, such as when a substitute bus driver forgets to login onto the tablet to turn on the GPS data that shows the bus traveling down the road. “We have to be vigilant every day to make sure soft-
ware is running to avoid parent phone calls, and also if the app is not functional, parents will stop using it. In the beginning, quite a bit of work needed to be done,” he said, adding that Edulog representatives worked side by side transportation staff to watch bus routes in real-time and rectify any issues. “When you’re integrating new technology like this,
you really need the developers there to help you get started. I really believe that” Cohn said. Wing shared that his app had its share of bugs that
also needed to be worked out. But the Transfinder team proved to be great partners. “They worked it out and got it running,” he added. From there, the success of school bus apps circles back
to frequent communication with and training for parents. “What we had to do is go through all the stuff with
parents, videos on the website to train on how to use the app, review with parents on the phone,” Cohn said. “If you don’t understand the technology, it’s frustrating and parents won’t use it.” ●
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