App lets parents 'follow' school buses
Marie Donlon | February 07, 2019
School district transportation systems across the country are beginning to use a bus-tracking app to monitor their kids as they travel to and from school each day.
The app, called SafeStop, enables parents and school administrators alike to determine the location of specific buses as they travel along established bus routes based on a GPS tracking system and the LiveView School Bus Locator. The app sends real-time notifications, alerts and messages via smartphone, letting parents know the location of their child's bus, any service delays, maintenance issues and expected arrival times for each stop along a route. The app also allows school districts to communicate messages to specific families along certain routes. Parents and legal guardians are the only ones who can register a student for the app and will only have access to the whereabouts of their child’s bus and not other students’ buses in an effort to maintain privacy.
The SafeStop app is free to download and reportedly works with any GPS provider, routing software and transportation system. At the SafeStop website, parents and legal guardians can register students in just four steps that begin with a zip code search for participating school districts. The parent or guardian then enters personal details including name, email, password and their student's school-issued identification number.
According to the SafeStop website, the app gives administrators and transportation staff access to data and analytics about the on-time performance of specific buses. It also provides information about stops and routes that might be underused, with the goal of creating a safer, more reliable and more cost-efficient transportation system.
This will be a huge convenience to those parents who need or feel the need to meet their child at the bus stop.
Helicopter parents rejoice!
In reply to #1
Apparently, unbeknownst to me, I was a " free range child " , as were many of my friends and siblings. What's surprising is that those same people turned out to be " helicopter parents "
Could it be that one generation is taken in by a particular psychological discipline and a succeeding generation by another.
As the previous helicopter parents are now being replaced by lawnmower parents.
In reply to #2
As the youngest of six, I was definitely "free range". I just better be within hearing range when the dinner bell was rung. I quickly learned you don't hang around the house saying there's nothing to do.
By the age of eight, I was riding my bicycle with my friends a couple of miles downtown to go to Baker's Five and Dime to buy balsa planes and such. Or a mile or so the other way to the Cracker Barrel store to buy penny candy.
The explosion of information/news and the penchant of the merchants of dire & doom to sensationalize every tragedy has/had skewed the public's impression of 'safety'. That is what has created this generation of helicopter parents. There's a boogey man behind every bush and tree.
My wife and I let our kids roam reasonable distances and locations. I don't know how anyone has the time and energy to 'helicopter' their kids. We equipped our kids with knowledge and 'training' on how to stay safe. They pretty much knew it anyways from school, TV, etc. Kids are safer today than they've ever been. We just told them not go anywhere alone. Go with friends. Safety in numbers.
In reply to #3
Yes, it was small town downtown. The stores have changed, but not a whole lot else. I seemed to recall though that you would see a lot more children's bicycles along the sidewalk.