A popular new technology tracks school bus location and has been adopted by school departments across Virginia — parents, guardians, and caregivers can simply download an app to help schooldays run a little bit more smoothly!

A handy and popular new school bus tracking app called “Here Comes the Bus” is promising bus-related convenience and safety for school-age kids and their caregivers, and is likely to become an essential tool for many families as we enter the season of harried back-to-school mornings! The app enables users to do things like set up alerts for when the bus is in a certain proximity from the user’s home — for instance parents can request to be notified when the school bus is a mile away from their house, and to get a text when it is approaching their bus stop. The goal is to take some of the stress and guess-work out of all of those are-we-going-to-miss-the-bus mornings. It’s also a great way to be able to keep tabs on your child’s whereabouts if the school bus is ever delayed or rerouted on its way home from school.

The app has been adopted by a number of school districts nationwide, including here in Virginia in places like Fairfax County, Fauquier County, Virginia Beach, Newport News, Prince William County, and Williamsburg-James City County. The product, and others like it, have a marketing pitch focused on knowing where buses are, so children can avoid missed pickups, waiting in foul weather or darkness, or unexpectedly having to walk a distance. We’re hopeful that the GPS technology will also provide a new layer of accountability for drivers, whose speed and route are  being closely monitored by the app.

To learn more about the app and how to use it, check out the Here Comes the Bus website, and visit your local school’s website to see if the app has been implemented in your town. We think that any tool that helps make families’ busy mornings and afternoons run a little bit more smoothly is a winning idea!