If your district already utilizes tracking devices to plot your bus's location in real-time, it might be time to open up that service to more people in your community! Schools around the nation are beginning to offer smartphone apps to parents, allowing them to see the location of their child's bus while it's on route.

The value of this is obvious. Many parents are balancing tight schedules and can plan their days more efficiently if they know the bus is running on time. This can be great for parents - if you pick an app with the right features!

How much oversight do you have over your buses, while they're on the road? If one suddenly came to an unexpected stop or deviated from its route without warning, how long would it take you to know?

For too many districts, the answer would be "a long time." Without being able to directly track buses on their routes, they're left with little way of overseeing bus's progress aside from relying on radio reports. And if the bus driver is unable -or unwilling- to radio in, they're basically in the dark. 

 There’s a lot of new high-tech devices being used in schools, and it’s easy to get confused about what they do, particularly when they seem to be similar products. So it’s not surprising that we get a lot of questions about GPS trackers versus Bluetooth trackers and what sets them apart.

In fact, pretty much the only thing the two technologies have in common is that they’re radio-based tracking devices. Otherwise, they have very different purposes and goals. Let’s explain:

School bus tracking systems are gaining in popularity, but how effective are they? Over the last several years, transportation technology has developed by leaps and bounds, so it can be difficult for school districts to sift through the options and determine which programs can really make a difference. Budget constraints are the norm in most communities, so determining what the positive impact of school bus tracking software will be is usually a must.