By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph School District's academic year begins Monday, and those families who rely on buses to get children to and from school now have a new, convenient way to track their bus and know when to expect delays.
The app is called Stopfinder. Apple Bus Company general manager Mark Alexander says this app provides families real-time alerts on where their bus is and when they might expect it to arrive.
"They're going to be able to see their bus in real-time for their students, wherever their students are at," said Alexander. "The beauty of it is, they can get geo-alerts. They can get a geo-alert when that bus leaves the school, and they can also put a geo-alert around where their bus stop is, so that they know, 'Okay. Hey, the bus is going to be here in a few minutes. I need to get out there.'"
The Apple Bus Company has a fleet of about 95 buses that travel 66 main stream routes. The Stopfinder app is able to track the buses through their GPS systems.
Over 3,200 kids in the St. Joseph school district rely on buses. Robert Sigrist, the district director of non-academic services, says this app will hopefully save families some time in their morning routine.
"It'll also save them maybe a little bit of that anxiety of not knowing, 'Why hasn't the bus shown up?'" Sigrist said. "Or, on the flip side, if the weather is not great, they can stay inside a few more minutes if they know the bus isn't there yet. So, I see a whole lot of benefits for families and being able to know when and where to expect their bus."
Sigrist says getting this app ready was about a two-year process that, like many things, got delayed due to COVID-19. As this app gets rolled out and as more and more families download it, Sigrist asks for patience in the first week or so.
"Have a little grace and a little patience the first few days," he stressed. "If that bus isn't there right exactly at the time we planned it to be, just know that as we work through the kinks in the first few days and everything, we'll get there and it'll be a good, safe situation to get your kids to and from school."
Students who ride buses this year will again be required to wear a mask while on the bus, in accordance with federal travel mandates.
Alexander says their bus drivers' main objective is to get kids to and from school safely, but they'll also have masks available for any kids who don't have one.
"We encourage the parents to give kids the masks," he said. "If they don't have one, we will offer them one. But, again, we have to make sure the kids get there safely. That's our main goal."
As over 11,600 students make their way back to school across the district, whether they arrive by bus, are dropped off by a parent, or if they're driving themselves, Sigrist urges a little patience on that first day.
"Take your time," he said. "Just know there's going to be more traffic. Probably one of the big things I always try and remind people of is that, along with the additional car and bus traffic that hasn't been going on for awhile, we'll have a lot of new drivers around the high schools."
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.