LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Jefferson County Public Schools rolled out a new bus tracking app Thursday, but some parents said it caused confusion on the first day of school instead.
This school year, JCPS replaced the third-party Edulog app with My Ride K-12, which connects directly to the district's transportation software. The district said the app would provide exact arrival times, a live map showing where buses are located and updates if a substitute bus is assigned.
All JCPS buses are also equipped with new GPS-enabled tablets that provide drivers with turn-by-turn directions and send information directly to the app.
But several parents, like Kendra LaRue, said the app was not giving them the real-time updates they expected.
"It says the ride is completed, but none of the kids have been dropped off," LaRue said while waiting for her daughter. "It tells you what time they got to school and says the ride has been completed... but my daughter hasn't even gotten off the bus."
While they waited, LaRue also helped another parent, Angel Logan, navigate the new app. Logan's children were riding the bus for the first time.
"She has been very helpful to me," Logan said. "My kids are just starting a new school, riding a bus for the first time, so I've been nervous. Every question that I asked her, she gave me a direct answer."
At the end-of-day press conference, JCPS Chief Operations Officer Rob Fulk said the district expected some first-day issues with the app.
"That's a new app obviously for this year for the district," Fulk said. "We had a few issues we troubleshooted today."
The app wasn't the only thing parents had complaints about. Fulk said the district also looked into glitches involving its new bus hotline, 485-RIDE, but didn't find any major problems with it.
"Some of the issues to 485 ride were user issues, and we didn't find any programmatic issues on our end," Fulk said. "We'll continue to fine-tune that over the next few days."
Even with the technology mishaps, JCPS called its first day back in the classroom a success. The district said the last student was dropped off by 6:22 p.m., clearing its 7 p.m. goal for the first day.
LaRue, however, said she isn't taking any chances for the rest of the week. She's sending her daughter to school Friday morning with an AirTag in her backpack.
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