families knew what was coming, they were prepared for it and when time came to download the app they did it quickly. We have 19,000 students in this district and that advanced communication was critical to making this a seamless transition. We have about 14,000 students that ride the bus every day.” Wright said concerns were raised about whether stu-
dents would be tracked all day every day, but the district assured parents that it was only in play while students were on the bus. “I think they were really grateful for it even before the incident with the child,” Wright said. “I’m not sure they knew this existed, but when we told them we were looking at this technology the reception was overwhelmingly positive.” Wright said that before Bus Compass, student tracking was performed with pen and paper, which took a lot of time. “We tracked buses though the use of radios, but this is more efficient,” she said. “What’s nice for the driv- ers is this has done away with paper maps. They now plan their routes entirely online.” Wright said some of the driver training was provided
by Transportant. Communication was also key for Mansfield, Russell
said. “We sent an email to all of our families and we also sent home flyers,” Russell explained. “We highlighted it at school board meetings, let the PTA know and posted it on our website along with a video instructing people how to sign up for the app and how it works. “I think it’s a good app, people like it, I think it’s
reliable,” Russell continued. “It’s pretty easy to set up, however we do have staff to give families more individ- ual instruction we make ourselves available for that. But most families learned from the video.” Tim Harrison, assistant transportation director for the
Higley Unified School District near Phoenix, Arizona, said parents did not push back when Cal/Amps’ Here Comes the Bus (HCTB) app launched because of the approach taken. “We started with a pilot program with a few parents to see if they were happy with it, and overwhelmingly they loved it,” Harrison said. “We had people calling us to see if they could get on the pilot program.” Harrison said Cal/Amp pitched the app as best for
working parents. “They have an app where they can see the bus on the route so they can see when the bus is arriving, so they can keep their kid in the home a little
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STNEXPO.COM/WEST 40 School Transportation News • MARCH 2023 RENO Presented by SUMMIT July 14–19, 2023
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