Parents of Newton County School System (NCSS) students can use their smartphones to track their child’s school bus and quickly determine its location and projected arrival time.

The NCSS Pupil Transportation Department is offering the Versatrans My Stop app for free to parents of children in the district. By logging into the app, a parent can see if the bus is on the way or has already passed their child’s assigned stop. (The My Stop app only tracks a student’s schedule bus route to and from school; it does not track field trip buses.) The program updates the current location of the school bus automatically, every five seconds. As a result, estimated arrival times are quickly recalculated should the bus experience a traffic delay or other issue.

“We strive to provide information to parents that is useful and helps to keep students safe,” Michael Barr, NCSS executive director of operations, said. “Rather than make a phone call to determine if their child has missed the bus or if their bus is running late, parents can now simply check their smartphone or computer to determine, in real time, the location of the school bus.

“The MyStop app pulls the student’s information from Infinite Campus, so it’s important that parents make sure that the school has their child’s current address on file,” Barr said. “If a family moves to another residence in Newton County, parents should provide the new address to the school as soon as possible so the student’s Infinite Campus information can be updated.”

My Stop is accessible on any internet accessible computer or available for download via iPad, iPhone, Tablet, or Android mobile device. Instructions are posted on the Newton County School System homepage at newtoncountyschools.org or click on the link below to access the "NCSS My Stop Flyer" for instructions.