HAMPTON, Va. — The saying 'There's an app for that' now applies to keeping tabs on Hampton City Schools buses.
Chevaughn Hall is one of the roughly 2,000 people who, as of January 27, had signed up to use the Where’s My Bus app.
“I love the app. It’s very convenient," Hall said.
The app allows users to see their kids’ scheduled pick up and drop off times, see exactly where the bus is when it’s within two miles of your kids’ bus stop, get notifications when the bus is approaching, and get messages from the school’s transportation department.
As a mother of two Hampton City Schools students, including one who is autistic, Hall is glad the app is an option.
“It calms my nerves. Very much so," said Hall.
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Being able to track buses could help parents minimize how long their kids have to be out in the cold waiting for the bus and could help parents minimize the time they have to be out in the cold to pick up their kids.
“If there’s a delay, it notifies me," Hall explained.
The app is also beneficial for the school district.
“It’s more efficient for our dispatchers and others who use this particular program because everything is right there in what they work in each and every day," Hampton City Schools Transportation Director Darrin Willis said.
The app has been in use since January 12 and cost the district $49,880. It’s part of a bus routing software update the school district did about a year prior to rolling out the app, but the district had been waiting to roll it out.
“We wanted to work the kinks out with that make sure that that routing software was where we wanted it to be," said Willis.
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Parents can sign up through their Edulog Parent Portal account. The district plans to use the app for the foreseeable future.
At least two other Hampton Roads school district use similar apps. Virginia Beach City Public Schools uses an app called Zum. Newport News Public Schools use Here Comes the Bus and had 25,374 users according to the school district.
