MEMPHIS, Tenn. – For some, the first bell of a new school year is just days away.
Laura Rae Fischer in Collierville is getting her kids ready for class. Fischer said, “I have one that’s going to be an upcoming sophomore this year and then next year, we’ll have an upcoming kindergartener.”
Fischer’s son takes the bus to school. She said, “Sometimes there’s issues with the bus, but I think that when you get a big district, there’s always going to be issues.”
Overall, Fischer hasn’t had any major bus problems in Collierville.
Collierville Schools, like many of the suburban districts, contracts out their bus service with Durham School Services. An app allows parents to track their students’ bus.
Fischer appreciates that feature. She said, “It’s literally a dot and you follow the bus from point A to point B.” She continued, “You can track your child. If the bus gets delayed for any reason, you know where your kid is at all times.”
How accurate is it? Fischer said, “As far as when the bus pulls up, where the dot is, it’s very, very accurate.”
Just last year, Memphis-Shelby County Schools launched a bus tracking app with Edulog.
MSCS Assistant Superintendent of Operations Tito Langston said, “We wanted to provide more communication to our families.”
MSCS Officer of Business Operations Stephen Wherry told FOX13 the district would get calls daily from parents wanting information on their child’s bus. Wherry said, “When you have parents call in and can’t get anyone, sometimes they get anxiety. If they download the app, they can go right in, identify where their child is and know that their child is safe on the school bus.”
Langston added, “It provides ease of mind for families because they can track their student from door to door the moment they get on the bus to the moment they get into school.”
A bus tracking app is something parent Kimberly West wishes she had when her child was a bus rider. West said, “I know when my children were riding the buses, sometimes they would have to pull over. They would come home late and things like that.”
Wherry says there’s certain credentials a parent needs to access the app, for student safety reasons. Wherry said, “That’s why it requires the birthdate and the student ID. You would have to get that information from the school.”
Fischer feels the bus app she uses is secure as well. Fischer said, “You have to reach out to the school. The school gives you a login and that’s how you have to do it.”
As the new school year inches closer, Langston hopes more parents use the Edulog app instead of calling the district. Langston said, “We’re going into next year with it being a second year, that there are fewer calls because we’ve had better communications with our family.”
To download the Edulog app for MSCS buses: Click here for Android. Click here for Apple.
To download the Bus Zone app for Durham buses: Click here for Android. Click here for Apple.
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