The mornings of Indian Prairie District 204 students standing at the bus stop in the snow, rain or bitter cold only to find out the school bus is running late are over.
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Finally, there’s an app for that.
Ron Johnson, director support operations, told the school board this week it’s taken his team three years to implement the free myStop software application that allows District 204 families to get an estimated time of arrival of the bus at their child’s stop within a minute of accuracy.
Buses used by District 204 are now equipped GPS devices, allowing families to check their children’s bus routes from any internet accessible computer, tablet and Apple or Android mobile device.
Johnson said the Arrival Board application is a tremendous help for schools because staff members no longer need to reach out to the transportation team for information on a late bus. Schools can log into the system and see if the late bus is just around the corner or stuck in traffic, he said.
On Wednesday, the district communications team alerted Indian Prairie families about the technology and how to access it.
Monday will be the first day bus routes can be viewed via myStop.
Johnson said students still should arrive at their bus stop five minutes before the bus arrival time.
Some students might follow the time too closely and miss the bus because of the minute delay, he said.
“We don’t want to create unsafe situations where you’re chasing a bus, missing a bus or asking for a bus to come back, which is creating other obstacles, other issues,” Johnson said.
The app is a resource, and it likely wouldn’t be used every morning, he said.
“I see it being used when there’s a snowstorm or it’s raining outside,” he said.
Instead of standing in the inclement weather, families can check the app to see how far behind the bus is and make decisions based on the information.
The district advises that if students miss their bus, they should never chase after the bus or attempt to travel to another scheduled stop.
Instead, students should immediately return home and call their parent or guardian and the school.
Johnson said neither the district nor First Student will provide live support for the application, and there may be instances where the GPS signal on the bus is lost.
That does not mean the bus is not running. “A bus will come regardless of the app working,” Johnson said.
When the application is not working properly, parents are encouraged to provide feedback through a form that’s available on the district website.
“We do want to see if there’s something we can troubleshoot,” Johnson said.
In addition, Chief School Business Official Matt Shipley said District 204 has been working with bus provider First Student to secure a grant through the EPA’s clean school bus program to purchase five electric school buses.
Because of supply chain issues, the hope is to acquire the buses in the next couple years for a pilot, Shipley said.
Getting a grant through the EPA is a cost-neutral solution because electric buses cost three to five times more than typical diesel-fueled buses, he said.
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Among the goals of the Naperville Environment and Sustainability Task Force’s 2036 plan is moving school buses away from fossil fuels.