|
Jan. 10, 2025
SPS Parent or Guardian:
Over the next few weeks, all SPS students will begin participating in WheresTheBus, a new program that will allow you to know where your child’s bus is in real-time, all the time. As part of this program, your child will start scanning on and off the bus this month.
When your student will begin scanning:
-
High school students will begin scanning on Monday, Jan. 13
-
Middle school students will begin scanning on Tuesday, Jan. 21
-
Elementary and early childhood students will begin scanning on Monday, Jan. 27
What this means for your student:
- Your student will now scan on and off the bus. High school students will scan their current student ID. Middle school and elementary school students will be provided with a key tag that they will use to scan on and off the bus. Bus drivers and bus aides have been trained on WheresTheBus and will be ready to assist your child as they learn the system.
- Middle school and elementary school students will also receive a keychain for them to attach their key tag externally to their backpack. We suggest middle school and elementary school students clip their key tag to their backpack so it is located conveniently for scanning and to prevent it from being lost.
- If a badge is lost, there are other ways to scan on and off. Students can either type in their student ID number upon entering or exiting the bus, or the driver can manually add them or remove them from the roster.
- Scanning on and off the bus will not only allow parents to track their child’s trip as they travel to and from school, but it will increase bus safety and allow SPS to accurately know which students are on which bus in the event of an emergency.
- WheresTheBus tracks the location of the bus, not of your student. The GPS system will remain on the bus at all times. Having students scan on and off allows SPS to know who is on what bus at any given time and will provide parents with accurate arrival times.
What this means for parents:
- WheresTheBus provides information to parents in real-time about their child’s bus. You will be able to see if your child’s bus is delayed, you can track where the bus is at all times and you will receive personalized arrival and departure times based on your bus stop.
- The app will show your child’s bus in real-time as they travel from home to school and school to home. The app will not show tracking information for shuttles (OTC, Study, etc.) or for athletics or extracurricular activities.
-
Parents will be able to access this information on the WheresTheBus mobile app beginning Feb. 18. The app is currently not available to SPS parents and will not display transportation information until Feb. 18. To help students make the transition and to ensure tracking data is accurate, there will be a two-week window between when the final tier of students start scanning on Jan. 27 and when the app opens to parents on Feb. 18.
- You will receive an email the week of Feb. 17 with more information about the WheresTheBus app and how to login.
You can review these FAQs to learn more about WheresTheBus and how it will be implemented districtwide.
If you have any questions about WheresTheBus or the pilot program, please reach out to the Transportation Routing Department at transroute@spsmail.org or to your child’s school.
| 
