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New app will let parents track school buses in East Baton Rouge

5 years 11 months 2 weeks ago Friday, April 13 2018 Apr 13, 2018 April 13, 2018 6:51 PM April 13, 2018 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - More than 500 school buses in East Baton Rouge Parish have been installed with a GPS to track the fleet. 

The GPS goes along with an app called "Where Is the Bus?" Parents with children registered with the school system can download the app and track their child's school bus at any given time.

"It gives us speed, it gives us when the stop arms are deployed, when the amber lights are turned on and off all of that information is recorded," said Gary Reese, with East Baton Rouge School System Transportation Department.

Reese says the app will also be beneficial to school officials as well.

"So if we get a call that the bus is not there, or any question about the location of the bus, we can look it up and see exactly where they are," Reese said.

Friday, representatives from TripSpark Technologies spent the day installing the tracking devices inside of the buses.

"The unit itself is installed, and it hits the sensors for the doors, the reds, so we can track bus stops and a lot of information that they need for routing," said Thomas Rutgers with TripSpark.

Obviously, for safety reasons, parents with kids in the school are the only ones who are able to access the app. 

"It actually has a verification code that is sent to them. It checks what they've given the school, and verifies the phone number. That code is sent and then they have to put it in before this app is active for them to use," Rutgers said.

Within the next six weeks, the school system hopes to have the app ready to use for parents.

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