Parents who have ever wondered where their little’s school bus could be will soon need to wonder no more.
In addition to the updated messaging system Bradford Area School District adopted this summer, the bus garage is also improving its systems.
The My Ride K-12 app, available on computers or iPhone and Android devices, will provide information to parents, drivers and administrators in real time.
“This is a big deal for us, for a bunch of reasons,” said BASD Transportation Director Barry Bryan. “We’re revamping pretty much every aspect of busing and entering the 21st century.”
During approximately the second week of the district’s upcoming school year, which begins Aug. 28, students will receive swipe cards in their homerooms.
“Every student will swipe the card when they get on and off the bus,” Bryan said. “That’ll notify us – ‘Are they on the bus? When did they get on? When did they get off?’”
Parents will be able to look at their phones and see all busing information as well as, in real time, an estimated time of arrival for their child’s bus. Bryan explained the district has been testing the system on its summer school routes and have found it to be “pretty accurate.”
The app is part of the district’s new Tyler Technologies software covering all aspects of student transportation, including more efficient routing and enhanced maintenance procedures.
A tablet will be mounted on each bus to assist drivers.
“Prior to this, if they had to drive a different route, they had a typed out sheet with directions on it,” Bryan noted. “It was awkward and kind of dangerous to read this piece of paper and go on the route.
“Now, the tablet on the bus will walk them through the whole route and, on top of that, at every stop pictures of the students who get on and off will come up on that screen so the driver is able to see the kids and learn their names. That’s a big plus when becoming a bus driver, knowing your kids and being able to interact with them.”
If lost, the swipe cards can be replaced at the front desk of the child’s school building.
Bryan said, “Eventually these cards will be able to be used for lockers at the high school, library cards – a multi-use swipe card. That’s our goal.”
He said the district has been in contact with Allegany-Limestone (N.Y.) Central School District, which implemented the same system in January.
“They told us that it is laid out well enough that parents caught on and it all went really smoothly,” Bryan said.
The program will assist administrators in managing the district’s fleet, which now runs entirely on propane, of 30 vehicles and 21 daily routes.
Additionally, Bryan said, “We desperately need bus drivers and are paying up to $22.39 per hour with benefits on some runs.”
The My Ride K-12 app will be used in conjunction with the district’s new messaging system. On July 1, BASD archived its old communication methods — Remind, Band and Facebook pages — in favor of a free new mobile app.
To ensure parents and students continue to receive all the district updates, download the free mobile app available on the App Store for iPhones and the Play Store for Android devices. Just type “Bradford Area Schools” in the applicable store’s search bar.
The custom app offers news, events and live updates for the school community. There is also a link to transportation information via the app menu.
Parents and guardians should soon receive an email and/or text inviting them to join their child in Rooms, a secure two-way communication system integrated with the new district app that replaces the district’s longtime use of the Remind app. Guardians with multiple children will receive only one invite that will join them with all their children in Rooms.
In the My Ride K-12 app, all busing information should be available for the 2024-25 academic year by Wednesday.
