CINCINNATI — FirstView, a bus tracking and parent communication app and platform created by First Student, is now being used by nearly 200 school districts across North America.

FirstView, which was launched in April 2018, lets districts streamline daily decision-making through centralized, real-time fleet tracking, and can efficiently alert parents about school delays or issues. Parents can find out their child’s bus status and district messages from their mobile phone or desktop.

“We created FirstView to better support the school districts, parents, and students we serve,” said Claire Miller, First Student’s senior vice president of strategy, business development, marketing, and communications. “Parents want real-time updates and more peace of mind surrounding their child’s journey to and from school. Our school district partners want better tools for managing their bus fleet and staff resources. FirstView provides accurate and quick information, which frees parents and administrators from worry. We look forward to introducing it in even more communities next school year.”

The FirstView District Dashboard and parent app has seen a 667% increase in users over the 2018-19 school year, according to First Student. The platform is currently being used by 184 school districts across the U.S., tracking more than 350,000 students across 4,200 schools.

The FirstView Parent App can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play. The app is also available in 10 languages.

In other recent news related to First Student, its parent company, FirstGroup PLC, has sold Greyhound, its North American intercity bus line, and First Bus, its U.K. bus operation, with the intent of focusing on its pupil transportation and public transit brands.