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New App Allows Parents To Track Their Child's School Bus In Real Time

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - As students headed back to the classroom, those familiar yellow buses have taken to the roadways again. But the days of long waits at the bus stop are over in one Texas school district.

9,000 students in the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) are expected to board a school bus each day this year on 145 bus routes. And now parents can follow along their child's journey to school before the bus even arrives on a new app called Stopfinder.

"It should really help with the elements and having the ability to know when that bus is about to show up and not having to be stuck at a corner stop waiting 20, 30 minutes just because you don't want to miss your bus," says Cesar Flores, SAISD transportation director of local routes and field trips.

Flores says parents can track where their child's school bus is in real time.

"They can see what bus number they're riding, the expected pick up time and drop off time from their stop location. And with the app, you can actually set up a geo-alert, which allows you to see when your bus is nearby," he tells CBS affiliate KENS.

Parents can also notify transportation services if their child is running late -- or if a student left something behind on the bus.

"It's an extra tool that parents can use to help get their students back into the classroom and feel a little more comfortable about the bus that they're riding on," Flores says.

Parents who want to download the Stopfinder app and sign up are urged to email or call the SAISD Transportation Department. Parents will need their child's student identification number to register.

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