Live tracking
See how parents follow their child's school bus in real time, how admins monitor all active trips at once, and how stop-by-stop progress is recorded as a trip runs.
When a trip moves to In Progress, the bus position and stop-by-stop progress are broadcast live to parents and visible to administrators. No extra setup is needed beyond creating routes, stops, and trips — live tracking activates automatically when a trip starts.
Who this is for
Parents following their child's bus, and administrators monitoring the fleet.
What parents see
Parents open the School Bus section in the mobile app and see all their children's active trips at once — one card per child, per trip.
Each card shows:
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Bus position | The bus's current location on the map, updated in real time. |
| Current leg | Which stop the bus just departed from and which it is heading to next. |
| Route on map | The route path with the bus's live position. Only the parent's child's own stop is shown — other students' stops are not visible. |
| Student status | Whether the student has boarded (on a pickup) or been dropped off. |
Parents do not need to refresh the view — the map and status update automatically as long as the trip is in progress.
Multiple children
If a parent has more than one child using the bus, all active trips appear on the same screen. They don't need to switch between children.
What administrators see
In Transport → Trips, administrators see all trips for the current day. Any trip that has started shows a live progress indicator — which stop it is at and how many students have boarded or been dropped off so far.
Opening an active trip shows:
- the route on the map with the bus's current position,
- each stop with its current status (Arrived, Departed, Upcoming),
- each student's boarding or drop-off status at completed stops.
How a trip goes live
A trip starts broadcasting when its status changes to In Progress.
Start the trip
Go to Transport → Trips, open the scheduled trip, and click Start trip. The status changes from Scheduled to In Progress and live updates begin.
The trip can also start automatically at its scheduled time if your configuration enables it.
Record stops as the bus moves
At each stop, record what happened:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Boarded | The student got on the bus (pickup trip). |
| Dropped off | The student was let off at their stop (dropoff trip). |
| Absent | The student was not at the stop. |
| No-show | The student did not board when expected. |
The stop status (Arrived, Departed) updates automatically as student statuses are recorded.
Complete the trip
When all stops are done, mark the trip as Completed. Live tracking ends and the trip record is finalised with the full attendance log.
Frequently asked questions
Do parents need to do anything to see live tracking?
No. Parents open the School Bus section of the app and the live view appears automatically for any trip that is currently in progress for their child's route.
How does the bus position update?
Position updates are pushed via real-time connection as the driver records stop arrivals and departures. Parents see the bus's movement between stops as stops are marked.
What happens if a student is marked Absent?
The parent sees the Absent status on their child's card. The student's stop is still shown on the map, but the boarding or drop-off confirmation is replaced by the absence note.
Can parents track the bus before it reaches their stop?
Yes. Parents can see the bus's live position on the route map and the current leg, so they can estimate when it will arrive at their child's stop. Only their child's own stop is shown — other students' stops along the route are not visible.
Is there a separate driver app?
The driver uses the trip detail screen on the same app to record stop-by-stop progress. Each stop is marked as students board or alight, which triggers the parent-visible updates.
What if the trip is cancelled?
If a trip is cancelled, its card disappears from the parent's view and an updated status is shown in the trip record. Parents are not left watching a trip that will not run.