Courtney Luciana Photo
The FirstView App.
As parents and students have adjusted getting back into the routine of in-person learning this year, bus driver shortages and delays have been causing confusion and disruption.
A new app unveiled Friday can help.
Alder Kampton Singh at Friday’s app announcement.
School officials gathered outside of Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School on Friday morning to introduce the launch of the app, called FirstView.
The FirstView App allows parents to track the real-time arrival of their child’s school bus and gives parents direct access to the school bus route. The tool allows them to track their child’s bus 15 minutes out from arriving at the stop and five minutes after the bus leaves. Think of Uber’s GPS tracking system —but for school.
There are currently 278 bus drivers working for the New Haven School District. According to the Director of Transportation Carl Jackson, the school system needs 301 drivers. Jackson said that the expectation is for all routes to be covered on the app; but with the lack of bus drivers, some routes might have to be combined.
New Haven Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Iline P. Tracey and Director of Transportation Carl Jackson.
Jackson, who has been in the transportation business for 40 years, said he learned about the app from other school districts across the state and is hoping that it will give parents some security about their child arriving to school on time.
The app is free to both parents and the city. Jackson has slowly introduced the app to parents so that he can receive feedback. About 500 parents on average are now downloading the app everyday as part of a pilot rollout.
Jackson tested the app himself, he said, sitting at some of the bus stop locations. He said he has received mixed reviews; that has helped him to troubleshoot issues directly with the bus drivers .
“So far, a lot of [parents] think it’s great, and some of them had some problems tracking,” Jackson said. “Some of them have let me know when the bus has arrived too early.”
The official rollout of the FirstView app for New Haven Public Schools will be this upcoming Monday.
Schools Superintendent Iline Tracey encouraged parents of New Haven’s 18,000 daily bus-riding children to download the app from the Apple app store or Google Play.
“FirstView helps parents to manage the hectic time before and after school. Parents can use the app through their smartphone devices or a desktop,” Tracey said. “Of course, the app doesn’t solve all of our communication problems. Serious bus delays that are 45 minutes or longer will be reported to parents by the child’s school using email or text. Not the app.”
Betsy Ross Magnet School has also piloted the FirstView app. Principal Jennifer Jenkins said that transportation is a key factor for parents deciding where their children attend school.
Mayor Justin Elicker and his wife, Natalie, who are public school parents, have participated in the app rollout. With so much unpredictability in the system, the mayor said, they were struck by how a small tool made such a difference in their morning routine.
“You have a ballpark idea of when the bus is coming. It’s accurate, and you can even show your kids the bus on the map and say, ‘The bus is almost here! We have to get your shoes on and get out the door right away.’ You’re not waiting out in the cold as long, and you’re way less likely to miss the bus.