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MORGAN — It's not unusual for the bus that takes Allison Jenks' children to elementary school to run 10-15 minutes late. She doesn't mind when it runs behind, she said, but it would be nice to have a heads up.
"It's part of the deal of living out in the middle of the country," the Morgan resident said. If we could find a away to sort of narrow that down, that would be great."
Within the next month, Jenks and other parents in the Morgan School District will be able track their children's transportation thanks to the district equipping each of its 25 buses with GPS technology. The technology has already been installed, but it will take a few weeks to get the systems that communicate the information to parents in place.
Bus routes in rural areas tend to be much longer than those in suburban communities, so a lot of variables can affect bus stop times. Long routes or unplowed roads can all significantly change the bus arrival times.
The service is being provided by Utah company RideSystems. The school is paying for the infrastructure and online service, where parents can visit a website and view maps and track their bus. For a fee, RideSystems also offers text message alerts that automatically notify subscribers when the bus is nearing. Personal notification subscriptions range from $6 to $10 a month.
"The key for us is safety for our kids," said Superintendent Ken Adams. "We believe this will give that added measure of safety. We can track the buses and the kids and know exactly where they are and when they're getting home."
Bus routes in rural areas tend to be much longer than those in suburban communities, so a lot of variables can affect bus stop times. Long routes or unplowed roads can all significantly change the bus arrival times. That's the case for Jenks' kids.
"This is a really rural road so it's one of the last ones to be plowed in the winter. And if the snow plow hasn't made it up here before the bus, sometimes (the bus) can't even make it," she said.
Those variables can mean her kids have to stand on the side of the road in snowstorms or downpours for 10 or 20 minutes. Buses can also come early, and parents may not realize it has already left, Jenks said.
The stop where her children board the bus is the only one for 2 to 3 miles, Jenks said. She usually drives her kids to the bus stop and waits with them until it comes.
"It's not the kind of neighborhood where I look out my front window and watch them get on the bus," Jenks said. "If I can know when they're about five minutes away, then I'll know if (the bus) is late. I'll know if (it's) early, and I can just adjust accordingly."
Email:,Email:mfarmer@ksl.com
