Lincoln County School District #2 is offering a new tracking app for parents who have students riding buses to and from school or activities. Designed to help parents track their child while they ride any LCSD #2 school bus, the EZArrival app is available for parents to download from the Apple and Google Play stores. Parents are encouraged to download and activate the app before school starts on August 20.

EZArrival is a new “ridership program software we use,” said Ryan Lyman, Director of the LCSD #2 Transportation Department. The tracking system requires students to scan their school ID as they load or unload from a bus. “It helps us with logistics of knowing who is riding the bus, how many students are on which buses and where the routes are, and it helps our substitute drivers have turn-by-turn directions. Primarily, in the event of an emergency, we know who’s on the bus and which parents we need to get a hold of.”

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This is the fifth year that LCSD #2 has offered a tracking option for parents. Downloading the app is free and simple to activate.  Parents can use the same credentials that they used on Bus Quest.

“You don’t have to make a new account,” said Lyman. “If you were using the old app, you can just use the same credentials. If you weren’t aware that we had an app, you can get the new app. We feel like this new app is easier to use and it has more customization for parents.”

Not only will the app help parents track their child when the student is riding a bus, but it allows parents to see where the bus is located. This is valuable as they wait for the bus to arrive in the mornings and expect students as they arrive at their destinations after school.

“If the bus is 20 minutes away, that means it’s probably stuck or broke down, which doesn’t happen very often,” said Lyman. On occasion, the information can be helpful and relieve concerns.

Young students occasionally board the wrong bus, and parents can notify the transportation department immediately and the problem can be corrected quickly. “It’s saved us a lot of time and has saved a lot of heartache for parents. It’s easy to use, so we’re just encouraging parents to do that.”

Lyman reminded parents that the school district can only track a student that is currently on a bus. They cannot track any student who has left the transportation system.

Additional benefits to the app include customized messaging from the transportation department. In the past, a message regarding the happenings with a particular bus has gone to the entire district. With the EZArrival app, a message can be exclusively sent to families affected by that single bus.

Activation of a parent’s account on the new app requires registration with a phone number or email address, and the app will send a verification code to your phone or email to verify your identity. With the registration information you provide, the app will verify you as a parent or guardian through Infinite Campus, which allows you to track your student. You can then add other students in your household to the app. Your student cannot be tracked by anyone that is not registered as a parent or guardian to your child through Infinite Campus.

EZArrival is “completely customizable.” Parents can request various notifications such as how close the bus is to their stop or when the bus has arrived at school. Parents can also opt out of notifications.

To board a bus, students have been asked in the past to scan their school ID card, or a digital copy of their ID from their personal device. With the newer system, students are not required to have their ID but can type their ID number in when boarding.

For more information, families are invited to visit transportation.lcsd2.org where they will find a Q and A section. Parents are also welcome at any time to contact the transportation department by phone at 307-885-7146.