District 204 using app for families to track school buses

Imagine tracking your school bus while waiting in the comfort of your home instead of a rainy or freezing bus stop.

Starting this week, Indian Prairie Unit District 204 students and parents can do just that with the Versatrans My Stop app that allows users to track buses while they're out on their routes.

Ronald Johnson, the district's director of support operations, said implementation of the app took three years because of software and server updates - not to mention the many months during the pandemic when no school buses were running.

But with GPS systems installed in district buses, it was just a matter of time before My Stop rolled out for families to utilize.

"There's been a lot of changes but the initiative and the path has kind of stayed the same," Johnson said.

Johnson said the app is free to use and already part of the Versatrans software the district owns. Bus drivers have an onboard system called Tyler Drive, and district transportation officials access Arrival Board to let them track buses.

After district parents participated in a pilot program to provide feedback on My Stop, families were provided with a guide to the system before it went live on Monday.

Johnson cautioned the app isn't perfect. Support only will be available through the submission of an online form. But while the loss of a cell or GPS signal could hamper the app, Johnson said My Stop remains a useful tool.

"(My Stop is) built into the suite that we already have, so this is just turning it on and then making sure that the data that was coming through was reliable," Johnson said. "It's pretty reliable. It's within a minute."

Johnson said the My Stop app should not replace standard bus procedures. Students still need to be at their stops five minutes before the scheduled pickup time instead of trying to time their arrival based on the app.

The app, he said, should be reserved for bad weather when delays are likely, or when a bus is unexpectedly behind schedule.

"We don't want to create unsafe situations where you're chasing a bus, missing a bus, asking for a bus to come back, which is creating other obstacles and other issues," Johnson said.

"I don't see this being used every day, all day, every morning," he said. "I see it being used in snowstorms or when it's raining outside."