HINESVILLE, Ga. — The transportation department at Liberty County School System is now using a mobile text service and social media postings to alert families to any school bus delays during the morning and afternoon commutes.

School buses can be delayed for any number of reasons, including weather, traffic, and mechanical issues. In an effort to help keep children safe, the new systems will give parents tools to better plan for those unexpected delays, according to Liberty County School System.

To enroll to receive text messages from the OneCall System, parents text the word "ALERT" to the number 22300 from the device on which they want to receive messages.

The alerts will be issued when a school bus is delayed by at least 10 minutes. District officials said that this will be particularly helpful when it is cold or raining, because families that are notified of bus delays can keep their kids inside longer.

Students are still encouraged to be at their school bus stop five minutes prior to the pickup time.

The Liberty County School System transportation department is also using Facebook to post delays for families who choose to use social media.

The district's transportation department serves nearly 10,000 students with home-to-school and extracurricular transportation. The department operates 127 school buses daily, logging more than 1 million miles per year on regular and special-education routes.