Parents trust those who care for their children every day at school, including bus drivers.
Yet, most parents do not have up-to-date information about their child’s bus ride, such as when they arrive at school.
According to student transportation company Zum, “67% of parents believe they should be able to track the school bus just like a package being delivered to their home.” Zum surveyed over 3,500 American parents, raising the question: why can you track the arrival of an online package better than your own child’s commute?
At Bustrak, we believe that live location tracking of your child’s school bus can greatly enhance student safety.
Why does bus safety need to be enhanced?
Taking the school bus is generally considered safe, but hazards still exist. Let’s examine some common bus incidents that put student safety at risk.
Missed Stops
When the bus misses a student’s stop, the child who is waiting may become confused. Students at missed stops may become impatient and decide to walk home. Attempting to cross busy streets alone can be dangerous, especially for young children. Also, when students are distracted by the missing bus, they are less aware of their surroundings, increasing their risk of danger.
Bus Delays
Bus delays cause students to wait outside longer, often unprotected from the weather. A late bus can also cause students to worry and result in them walking home unattended, increasing the risk of other dangers.
How does Bustrak help keep students safe?
The Bustrak app enhances student safety by providing parents and school administrators with tools to monitor bus routes. Bustrak can increase parents’ confidence in their child’s transportation by providing transparency throughout the process.
Reduces Missed Stops
Bustrak uses two key features to help reduce missed stops along the bus route. First, parents can notify the bus driver through the app if their child will not be taking the bus. This provides clarity about who needs to be picked up, reducing the chance of missed stops.
Second, bus drivers are less likely to miss stops due to wrong turns when using the Bustrak app. Using the app, bus drivers can see their route stops and receive navigation with live traffic updates. If a parent selects in the app that their child will not be riding the bus, the route is automatically adjusted to skip their stop.
ETA Notifications
Using Bustrak, parents can see when their child’s bus will arrive at their stop and the estimated time of arrival (ETA) at school. Bus stop ETA notifications help parents better plan their child’s morning to ensure they make it to the bus stop on time. Arriving early at the bus stop prevents bus-related hazards since children will not have to run to catch the bus.
Bustrak’s notifications also alert parents about bus delays. With accurate notifications, children can spend less time outside waiting for the bus, minimizing their exposure to environmental and social hazards.
Other Bustrak Features Designed for Student Safety
Route History
Bustrak enables school administrators to confirm students’ school arrival times using the Route History feature. Additionally, with the Route Replay feature, school administrators can replay the bus progress on the map for a particular date to verify if stops were missed or skipped. Accurate arrival information helps schools complete attendance and ensure all students are accounted for.
Live Map View
Bustrak lets parents monitor their child’s bus to ensure it arrives safely at its destination. When the bus is running, Bustrak shows parents a Live Map view. Parents can see when the bus arrives at school or home, giving them peace of mind knowing their child is safe and on track for a timely arrival.
Want to Learn More About Bustrak?
Bustrak is ready to make your school’s bus transportation easier and provide parents with an easy-to-use app. If you have questions or would like to book a live demo, please contact us.
