New App Lets Atlanta Parents Track School Bus Locations

(TNS) — Atlanta parents can track their child's school bus using a new cellphone app and website.

Atlanta Public Schools announced this week the launch of the location service called "Here Comes the Bus."

Atlanta students in prekindergarten through second grade, as well as some special education students, had the option to return to school buildings Monday for the first time since March, when the pandemic prompted a move to online-only learning.

Bus service is available for students learning in-person who live outside their school's walking zone.

The bus-tracking app uses GPS to alert parents when their child's bus is within a mile of their bus stop and when it arrives at school, according to the district. It also notifies parents at the end of the school day during the student's return trip.

Parents can see the estimated number of minutes before the bus arrives.

The district's transportation department began discussing use of the app in 2019 as a way to improve bus service. Fulton County Schools launched a similar program in 2018.

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