What to know about bus tracking apps used by Kettle Moraine, Arrowhead
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The Kettle Moraine School District’s bus company, Dousman Transport, is offering a new app for parents to track their kids on the school bus called MyView.
Here’s what to know about the app, as well as other similar apps used by other bus companies for the Wisconsin school districts that they serve.
What does the school bus tracking app do?
The app allows parents to see their child’s school bus schedules and their child’s school bus location in real time, the Kettle Moraine School District said in a Facebook post Jan. 31.
Zonar, the company that made the MyView app, said the app helps reduce the issues that come with parents trying to juggle things like work, child-care and after-school activities and trying to plan those around the bus schedule. The app allows for parents to see if their child got on and off the bus and learn about bus substitutions or delays. The app also allows school transportation departments to communicate with parents about things like bus delays, substitutions, scheduling and route changes.
How do you access the school bus tracking app?
To sign up, parents or guardians download the app from Apple or Google Play, create an account with their full name, email and password.
Districts create an access code that must be input into the app upon signing up to ensure the user has a student enrolled in the respective district. The parent or guardian then enters the bus number or route number their child is assigned. The user then enters their student’s information, including full name and student ID number.
How many people use the MyView app?
Zonar Systems Manager of Public Relations and Media Larry Meyers said while the company does not disclose parent uptake, he said “the app is extraordinarily useful and popular with parents.”
“Word-of-mouth and district communications have proven to be successful in educating parents on the app’s utility and safety,” Meyers said in an email.
What other Milwaukee area school districts have parents using the MyView app?
Along with Kettle Moraine, parents in the Arrowhead Union High School, Mukwonago Area and the Randall School Districts also use the MyView app, according to Dousman Transport Company President Larry Kirkley.
Do other bus companies use MyView or any similar apps?
Yes, other Wisconsin bus companies use similar apps.
First Student, which is another company that serves numerous Wisconsin school districts, offers its in-house FirstView app for parents and the school districts it serves. The app has more than 475,000 registered users across North America and about 6,500 users in Wisconsin, according to an email from First Student marketing and communications manager Mary Beth Lisy.
The Wisconsin Heights School District, in the Madison area, uses an app called Skyward, according to Chris Noonan, an operations assistant for Go Riteway’s Mazomanie Terminal. Go Riteway is the bus company that the Wisconsin Heights School District uses for school bus services.
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.
