FAUQUIER, Va. — Parents in this northern Virginia community may never have to ask again, “When does the bus arrive?” thanks to a powerful new mobile application.
The Fauquier County Public Schools district is introducing a rapidly expanding mobile application that aims to improve how students, parents and school administrators manage the daily bus commute. It has earned 4.6 stars on the Apple App Store with more than 27,000 reviews and growing.
The school division is partnering with Synovia Solutions to integrate a suite of digital tools on the districts’ 157 buses designed to improve safety and enhance service.
Fauquier County is among the latest school districts nationwide to adopt the “Here Comes the Bus” mobile application and smart fleet technology that will deliver real-time tracking of school bus location as well as email and push notification alerts to ensure students and parents arrive at the school bus stop on time.
Launched in 2014 by Indiana-based Synovia Solutions following more than a decade in the school bus fleet tracking industry, the free mobile app has more than 1 million downloads and serves approximately 300,000 daily users across North America.
“Our app has become the go-to tool for parents, students and school administrators nationwide, thanks to its intuitive interface and straightforward approach to connecting buses with parents and student riders,” said Jon King, CEO of Synovia Solutions. “We’re thrilled to have earned the trust of Fauquier County schools and are excited to leverage our suite of services to help the district save money and deliver improved customer service.”
Fauquier County Schools said the app promises to take the stress out of parents’ morning and keep students protected from harsh winter weather.
“It has made mornings less stressful because we know exactly when we HAVE to walk out the door to catch the bus. No rushing to get to the stop only to realize the bus is running a few minutes later than usual and we could have taken more time,” said Amber Kiffney, a parent of several children who attend Fauquier County schools and was part of the test pilot program. “I work from home, so being able to track the progress of the bus on its way to our stop gives me a few extra minutes every day to wrap up whatever I’m working on.”
To get started, please visit the FCPS Here Comes the Bus webpage at https://www.fcps1.org/hctb. The app is available for download now and will be available to use beginning on January 7, 2019.
Details:
- 157 buses impacted
- 11,000 students use bus transportation
- Located 50 miles outside of Washington, D.C.
- The district is 660 square miles
- Drivers average 5 hours/day in buses
About Synovia Solutions, LLC.
Based in Indianapolis and founded in 2012, Synovia Solutions, LLC. provides GPS-driven smart fleet technology applications to increase savings, enhance safety and improve service. The powerful web-based solution is provided on a software as a service (SaaS) platform. With a nationwide customer base in K-12 transportation and municipal fleet management services, Synovia provides digital services that deliver essential, real-time data for smarter fleet management.
