school bus fleet

Bus Tracking App Allows Parents to Monitor Child’s Location in Real Time

DeSoto Parish School System is rolling out Edulog, a mobile app that lets users view bus routes and set up custom alerts for when a bus is leaving campus or arriving near a home.

School districts across the country are consistently on the hunt for technology to improve student safety, and Louisiana’s DeSoto Parish School System is no exception. The district announced earlier this month that its entire school bus fleet would be equipped with tracking software that allows parents to monitor its routes in real time.

By the end of August, parents and administrators will be able to view the location of buses through Edulog, a mobile application that also allows users to communicate with bus drivers and set up alerts. The district plans to release a basic version and add updates throughout the year.

Larry Hall, the district’s transportation coordinator, told EdScoop that the decision to adopt the app came after officials evaluated several other apps, talked to officials around the country who have used the Edulog system and tested it out for themselves.

“We found it to be the app that we felt was going to be most beneficial for our parents,” Hall said. “[Parents] can set as many alerts as they would like. If they want to set an alert to know when the bus leaves the campus in the afternoon, they can do that, or they can set an alert to know when the bus is five miles from their home.”

The app, run by the company Education Logistics, has already been rolled out by districts in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and more, according to local news reports.

In the past, Hall said that schools in the district received many calls from parents wondering why the bus had deviated from its set schedule and where their child was.

“I can tell you after school gets started, probably about 90 percent of the calls have to do with the bus maybe being late or the bus came too early or anything along those lines,” he told EdScoop.

In addition to its use as a communication tool, the app also collects data from bus routes, which could help improve the district’s transportation planning, Hall said. The ultimate goal is to keep parents informed about their child’s location at all times, he added: “Now they will have that information at their fingertips.”

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Ensuring School Bus Safety: Tech-Driven Advancements and Their Impact on Student Transportation

    Parents and school districts have always shared one fundamental, non-negotiable goal: to keep students safe while traveling to and from school. Period. Read Now

  • How Campus Security Became an Art of Disappearing

    Walk across any university campus at 8:47 a.m. on a Tuesday, and you'll witness something remarkable. Thousands of students stream through buildings, carrying everything from vintage MacBooks to oversized coffee cups, lost in conversations about weekend plans or upcoming exams. If the right weapons detection is in place, most will never notice the sophisticated security measures protecting them. This invisibility can represent the highest achievement in modern campus security design. Read Now

  • Torrance USD Standardizes Its Mass Communications

    The Torrance Unified School District is a cornerstone of the Torrance, Calif. community, dedicated to providing a high-quality education that prepares students for success in college, career, and life. Serving a diverse student population, Torrance USD delivers a comprehensive and enriching educational experience from kindergarten through high school. The school district comprises 17 elementary, eight middle, and five high schools, one continuation high school, and one alternative high school.  Read Now

  • How a Rural School District Enhanced Safety, Reduced Vaping, and Improved Efficiency by Modernizing Security

    As educational leaders, our primary mission is creating safe, productive learning environments where our students can thrive. Today, that unfortunately means addressing ever-evolving challenges that range from security threats to the growing epidemic of student vaping, all while managing tight budgets and (for many of us) geographically dispersed facilities. Read Now