By MARK STOSKOPF

The Mirror reporter

The Stevens Point Area Public School District has launched a new app, called “My Stop,” that will allow parents to track their child’s school bus.

“This app will provide that sense of relief, security and safety aspect to the parent” Stevens Point Area Public School District Transportation Manager Brad Carriveau said.

This app will be very beneficial for parents before and after work.  “It helps parents who need to go to work before their kids leave for school because they can see where the bus is on the route, and the same for afternoons since parents can see when the bus is making its stop to drop off their kids,” Carriveau said.

This app gives parents a simple way to track their child’s school bus from anywhere.  Users can use the app or the website.  The notification button allows parent to receive and about updated bus schedules and delays.

Another benefit to the parents is that the app is free.  This app is especially helpful in the winter when the weather is bitterly cold so a child does not have to stand outside for long.

The GPS tracking with this app is very good. Users have to option to view the bus route on a google earth view or in a road map view.  The location of the bus is updated automatically every five seconds.  The eta is also recalculated if there are any traffic delays.

The app has many benefits for the district as well.  One benefit is it gives the district the opportunity to communicate with families. “It will allow us to move forward in communicating better and faster with schools, parents and the community,” Carriveau said.   It also reduces the number of phone calls the district could receive pertaining to bus times and were they are at.  The district can also use the current routes on the app and try to make routes more efficient.