Stopfinder 4+

Let me just say that they read my mind with this one! I’m a Mom who likes to know that her kids are good when they’re not with me. This app allows me to feel a bit secure in being able to track my kids’ bus whether it’s running late before or after pick up. I’m the Mom who calls the transportation line to find out where the bus is located. So this app helps in many ways & very beneficial.

Our district is using this app for the first time this school year (24-25) On paper, it is a fantastic idea especially for bus routes that consistently run late or have substitute bus drivers. However, in use the app is too inconsistent or glitchy. I set up a GeoAlert to let me know when the bus was entering our neighborhood, but the notifications don’t always come in. The attendance alerts are also inconsistent, sometimes alerting me that my kids are getting on the bus when they’re sitting in front of me. I suppose I’m lucky to even get any notifications; I’ve tried to help fellow parents in our district get their notifications and GeoAlerts to work and nothing seems to help. I’ve contacted our district about the issues, and they are unresponsive. The app is not intuitive. Tutorials are ok, but there just seems to be something missing. When my district asks for parent feedback about the system, I won’t be able to recommend Stopfinder.

The Stopfinder app is clunky, unintuitive, and now the app has further distanced itself from accountability by removing bus routes and stops from the map. There is no use for seeing the bus moving around a giant map without context. When the app worked, which wasn’t a given, at least you can see that it was approaching the stop before yours and use that as the signal to leave the house. Further, there are no controls for what kind of notifications the app sends— why would I want notifications for busses that my kid doesn’t ride! Geoalerts for dense suburban areas are useless— it doesn’t matter if the bus is only a mile away when there are 15 stops (and thus 30 minutes) between the bus and our stop! Good on Stopfinder, though, for continuing to receive a contract with our County school system. Admirable grift.