WAYNE, Mich. — A school district here is introducing a mobile app and a new routing feature designed to help improve how students, parents, and school administrators manage the daily bus commute.
Wayne-Westland Community Schools is partnering with Synovia Solutions to integrate a suite of digital tools on the district’s 87 buses designed to improve safety, enhance service, and save the district money.
Parents may never again have to ask “When does the bus arrive?” thanks to Synovia’s “Here Comes the Bus” app. The GPS-enabled fleet tracking solution is powered by hardware installed in the school buses and proprietary software developed by the Indiana company, which now serves approximately 1,100 customers across the U.S.
Wayne-Westland is among the latest school districts nationwide to adopt the app and smart fleet technology that will deliver real-time tracking of school bus locations as well as email and push notification alerts to ensure students and parents arrive at the school bus stop on time.
“We know from our daily lives in Indiana and from working with districts across the Midwest that winter weather presents some real challenges for parents and students when it comes to waiting too long for the bus,” said Jon King, senior vice president of operations for Synovia Solutions. “We’re pleased to have earned the trust of Wayne-Westland and hope parents around greater Detroit and all of Michigan will see the benefits of our solution.”
Wayne-Westland said the app can to take the stress out of parents’ morning and keep students protected from harsh winter weather, according to Synovia Solutions, and that the integration will help its drivers and student riders enjoy a better user experience.
Additionally, the collaboration with Wayne-Westland marks the first time Synovia has integrated the Polyplot mapping system into its routing software, with the aim of helping school districts analyze student information interactively and graphically.
The Polyplot system has been adopted by more than 110 school districts across Michigan and can be used in building/classroom utilization studies, boundary analysis, voting precinct information, or any other map-oriented study.
“We recognize the importance of being able to work with a diversity of routing systems and are excited our team has been able to collaborate with Polyplot to deliver this solution for Wayne-Westland,” King said. “This integration will allow us to expand our industry-leading technology to more districts in Michigan and allow more students to enjoy a safer and more predictable school bus experience.”
Launched in 2015 by Synovia Solutions, Here Comes the Bus has more than a million downloads, according to the fleet tracking solutions supplier. For more information on the free mobile app and the company's school bus safety grant program, go here.
The app has earned 4.6 stars on the Apple App Store with more than 48,000 reviews. To download it, visit the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Parents can contact Synovia with customer service issues here.
