A bus tracking app is in the proposed budget

[Anonymous]

Glad to see this. Hope it gets funded and implemented before my kid graduates!

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2022/12/app-would-let-montgomery-county-parents-track-school-busses-in-real-time/

[Anonymous]

Fascinating. I requested this over 10 years ago and was told no, because it would compromise the school bus riders safety.

This was back when they were at what was then called a GT school, and spent over an hour on the bus in fourth grade. Made me crazy, because frequently the Bus would be over half an hour late and we had no way of knowing that. You could call the bus depot, if you could get through, and they would walkie the bus driver (if they had it turned on), and ask for ETA.

I am so glad this won't be an issue for parents going forward

[Anonymous]

That is great news.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a bad plan in terms of safety. Get your kid a tracker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a bad plan in terms of safety. Get your kid a tracker.

Why would it be unsafe? The bus routes and numbers are already public. And having a kid tracker isn't going to tell you when a late bus will be arriving at your stop in the morning.

[Anonymous]

We have the bus tracking app in FCPS. It's actually a huge waste of time and money. You can't actually follow the bus along its route. It sends you a notice that says "Your bus has entered the area." That can be very early if the bus parks and waits or if it has multiple stops. We've waited 30 minutes after we got the notification. Sometimes it comes straight away if the notification is late. It's no better than just keeping an alarm on your phone or watching the clock. I eventually deleted the App.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a bad plan in terms of safety. Get your kid a tracker.

Why would it be unsafe? The bus routes and numbers are already public. And having a kid tracker isn't going to tell you when a late bus will be arriving at your stop in the morning.

PGCPS has a bus tracker. The app only gives you access to information about your students so safety isn't an issue.

The biggest issue is that it can be glitchy so it is not always accurate. Also, if there is a sub bus, it doesn't track because it only provides information about the bus your student is assigned to ride. It's great when it is working.

[Anonymous]

One point five MILLION DOLLARS to tell you where the school bus is and our kids don't have books.
UNBELIEVABLE

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One point five MILLION DOLLARS to tell you where the school bus is and our kids don't have books.
UNBELIEVABLE

Both my kids have had BOOKS

[Anonymous]

I could buy an air tag for $30 what is the 1.5 mil for?

[Anonymous]

Tell them that Stopfinder stinks and to get Here Comes the Bus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One point five MILLION DOLLARS to tell you where the school bus is and our kids don't have books.
UNBELIEVABLE

Both my kids have had BOOKS

In mcps? We have no textbooks and kids read one really short book in English and it was the online version.

[Anonymous]

My kids have smartphones with location sharing. Also, AirTags in their school bags. I know where they are when they take the bus back from school.

Mostly, we drive them to school so that they can sleep in the car. Magnet kids with long bus commute. And in winter we drive them back home because it saves them from germs in the overcrowded bus and shaves a solid one hour from their long work day:

[Anonymous]

I'd be happy with enough buses and drivers... our middle school is always sending out messages that buses are 20-30 minutes late because another bus is covering them, or the buses are canceled altogether!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids have smartphones with location sharing. Also, AirTags in their school bags. I know where they are when they take the bus back from school.

Mostly, we drive them to school so that they can sleep in the car. Magnet kids with long bus commute. And in winter we drive them back home because it saves them from germs in the overcrowded bus and shaves a solid one hour from their long work day:

How precious your snowflake is.