App allows Racine Unified School District parents to monitor student bus routes



RACINE COUNTY (WITI) -- Thanks to some new technology, parents in the Racine Unified School District can keep better track of their kids.

Durham School Services is currently piloting the Durham Bus Tracker (DBT) app. This free app allows Racine Unified School District parents to monitor their child’s bus route.

The app is routed through a GPS system in each school bus. The GPS sends the route information to the bus company, Durham School Services, and the information then transfers to the app. The app came out in December.

The district's transportation supervisor says before this, it wasn't as easy to get the information quickly.

Gail Bergstrom with Durham School Services says the app can do more than track location.

"If their route changes, or they move and they are on a different bus, they go to a different school -- that is up-to-date information every day," Bergstrom said.

Anyone with a smartphone can download the app. However, specific information is needed, like a student ID number, in order to track a student.

School leaders want parents to be aware that this is a pilot program -- and that adjustments will be made to improve the app along the way.

The Durham Bus Tracker app is free for all smartphones. You can download it through the iTunes app store on an iPhone or the Google Play Store for Android.