Track your kid's school bus in real time

If you are afraid that your kid would miss the school bus, there is an app to relieve you of that worry. Recently, the famous Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) in Virginia adopted a pilot programme called 'Here Comes the Bus' that allows parents to track their child's school bus in real time.

As of now, five schools are part of the pilot programme, according to media reports. 'Here Comes the Bus' links the user's smartphone, tablet or computer to the GPS technology on their child's school bus.

It allows parents to see the location of their child's bus both before and after school, and confirm that the bus has arrived at the bus stop and at school.

People can also receive push notifications or an email message, when the bus is nearby.

"We actually had a parent this morning, who actually told the driver, 'hey I have this on my phone. I watched as you came up to the bus stop'," NNPS transportation director Shay Coates was reported as saying.

Coates said it will not only give parents peace of mind, but a big break for the transportation office. He said the school division receives more than 100 phone calls a day from worried parents. During the first week of school, it's more than 2,400 calls a day.

"We get a lot of calls during the day and afternoon. Where is the bus? So, it will definitely cut down on the volume of calls we receive," he said.