When Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools resumes classes on Monday, families will have more information than ever about their students’ trip to school thanks to the Edulog Bus Portal, the district’s new partner for real-time tracking of bussing schedules.
After experiencing issues last year with the Here Comes the Bus app, WS/FCS took parent concerns to heart and formed a panel to seek bids for a new service. The panel decided to pursue a new deal with Edulog, which field tested its services with Smith Farm Elementary School in January. Following a long list of positive user reports on the efficacy of the system, a district-wide implementation was prepared for the 2024-25 school year. The Edulog Bus Portal app is now available to download on iOS and Android.
The Edulog Bus Portal offers parents GPS tracking of a student’s school bus with updates coming in every three seconds, an improvement from every 10 seconds in the previous system. The app also sends push notifications when the bus is nearing a particular stop, which should cut down on time spent waiting outside at the bus stop for pick-ups and drop-offs. It can even let bus riders know when a substitute driver has been assigned to their route to accommodate for scheduling complications. Because Edulog has a larger server to handle the district’s data with, families can expect fewer technical issues and faster performance in the app.
As in years past, the Transportation Department wants to hear as much feedback as possible about how they’re doing running bus routes and what can be improved. Parents can still call the Transportation Parent Hotline at (336) 748-2287 with any questions or concerns. However, the Edulog bus portal will be the department’s new premier tool for communicating about bussing in a timely manner, so families are encouraged to download the app and get started as soon as possible.
The first few weeks of school are always bound to be a challenging time for bussing as students, families, and drivers get accustomed to their new schedules and the district strives to fill driver and mechanic vacancies. Senior Executive Director of Transportation Tisha Davidson asks for patience as her department continues refining the new system and normalizing the bussing process for the year. Even more importantly, she asks for commuters to be aware and alert to make sure that students can be safe on the road.
“I just want to stress the safety,” Davidson said. “If you see those flashing lights, if that stop arm is out, please stop… It’s not worth a child’s life.”