App lets parents track school buses, estimate arrival times

The days of standing out in the rain waiting for the school bus might be coming to an end, as a new app lets parents and students find out exactly when the bus is coming.

Posted 11:02 p.m. Aug 30, 2018 — Updated 11:02 p.m. Aug 30, 2018

Brian Shrader

, WRAL anchor/reporter

HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. — The days of standing out in the rain waiting for the school bus might be coming to an end, as a new app lets parents and students find out exactly when the bus is coming.

Here Comes the Bus allows people to track the location of school buses and check the expected arrival times at various stops. School districts in Wake, Durham, Harnett and Granville counties use the free app and provide parents with special codes to create accounts and set up individual notifications.

Angie Abromitis uses the app to figure out when she needs to walk to the bus stop in her Holly Springs neighborhood to meet her son's and daughter's school buses. She said she doesn't miss having to guess at when the buses would come.

"We could stand at the bus stop for 45 to 50 minutes, especially in the afternoon, because you had no idea when the bus had left the school," Abromitis said.

But the app has some bugs that still need to be worked out, she said.

For example, her son's bus was coming down the street one afternoon when the app showed it was still five to 10 minutes away.

"Once all the tweaks get fixed, it'll be even better. But it's definitely a good thing, and it's moving in the right direction," Abromitis said.

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