CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The first day of school is here for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, which means buses are going to be hitting the roads getting kids to and from home safely.
On Monday alone, CMS buses will make a remarkable 66,000 stops, carrying an estimated 100,000 students and traveling 125,000 miles of Mecklenburg County roads. As you can imagine, it’s no easy feat for the district or parents, for that matter.
But an app, yes, an app, is making it a lot easier for everyone. It’s called Here Comes the Bus, and its objective is to help parents and students track every bus in the district. Adam Johnson is the new executive transportation director for CMS, and although he’s new to the position, he’s quite familiar with school buses.
In fact, Johnson started out as a bus driver over 20 years ago to help pay for college. So, he understands that the new app is going to be a gamechanger for parents.
Here’s how it works:
Once a parent downloads the app for free, all they need to do is sign up using CMS’ district code, 73877. Next, they’ll follow the prompts and create an account. To complete the signup process and to track buses, you will need an active student ID number.
“Those buses will be traveling about 125,000 miles daily, making almost 33,000 stops in the morning and those same stops in the afternoon,” Johnson said.
And as you’re tracking your student through the app, if you happen to notice anything that’s a little off, CMS wants you to let them know.
“Always take a look over the summer at our bus routes, there’s also a form online that they can request an alternate stop or report an unsafe stop, they can report that to us,” Johnson said.
NBC Charlotte reached out to CMS to find out how many bus stops were reported as unsafe last year. CMS has not responded to that request at this time.