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Oklahoma school districts utilize real-time bus tracking apps
- Posted By: Robb Snyder
- Category Featured, Company News
From KTUL.com / by Rian Stockett, KTUL Staff / November 30, 2023
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Claremore Public Schools, OK uses Stopfinder, a location-tracking app that lets students and parents know when their bus arrives or when there are issues causing delays.
"We use it to track all the buses," said Brandon Olmstead, the transportation director for Claremore Public Schools.
'Stopfinder!' is an app that lets parents track their students' buses and identify their closest bus stop.
"It also within that app allows the parent to set like a geofencing. So when the bus pulls in, within that fence area, it would send them a notification, Hey, the bus is at your house, or within 10 minutes," said Olmstead.
Olmstead says that parents can set up the notifications they receive within the app.
"As an administrative side, I can see like the bus is idling or the bus is at the stop when the stop sign came out. And just got to see exact time when they were there when they left," said Olmstead.
Olmstead says this feature helps them communicate with parents so they know where their students are at.
"Parents can see on their 'Stopfinder!' app the route in which the bus is on. So they can kind of see in their area of where it's going, where it's turning," said Olmstead.
Olmstead says the app has security measures.
"Each parent has an individual invite to the 'Stopfinder!' app. So they only see their student information, and their students stop. So that we can keep it safe for our students and parents out there," said Olmstead.
Olmstead says that only parents and administrators can see where their bus is on the app.
NewsChannel 8 reached out to Catoosa Public Schools to talk about their new app, but have yet to hear back.
Broken Arrow, Bixby, and Tulsa Public Schools said they use similar bus apps.
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