‘It is very convenient’: Lee school district to launch school bus-tracking app

As the wheels on the bus go round and round, Southwest Florida parents can keep track of exactly where its taking their child with a new app.

The Lee County School District is working to launch an app called “Where’s the Bus?” that will allow parents to monitor their child’s school bus in real time.

Parent Jodie Payne worries when the bus is late to pick up her child.

“You don’t know if you’ve missed it, or if it came early, or if it’s going to be late. You just don’t know,” Payne said.

The school district has been made aware of those concerns and hopes the app will help ease some of those frustrations.

“You can sit at the bus stop for five to 10 minutes and wonder, ‘Did I miss it?’ Then you call transportation, well they can get overwhelmed with those kind of calls and you might not get an answer. Now, the answer is in the palm of your hand,” said Rob Spicker, Lee County School District Spokesperson.

Parents will be able to create a secure account using their child’s student identification number.

“Well it is very convenient ’cause it allows us to wait until the very last minute to get out here,” parent Debbie Wilkerwicz said.

Heights Elementary School in Fort Myers is finishing up a pilot test for the app. The goal is to launch the app before the 2018-2019 school year.